Aransas: A Novel
Jul 2014 · University of Texas Press
4.5star
2 reviewsreport
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274
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About this ebook
“Beneath the genial surface” of this “resonant” first novel about a dolphin trainer who struggles with the ethics of his job “allusive undercurrents tug” (The New York Times Book Review).
A critically acclaimed debut novel first published in 1980, Aransas recounts a young man’s homecoming to his small Gulf Coast fishing town of Port Aransas. As Jeff Downing begins work training two porpoises to become part of a tourist attraction, he comes to love them as well as the woman who wants to release the pair to the wild.
“The sureness and poise of this first novel are as remarkable as the sharpness, oddity, and clarity of its feelings.” ―Newsweek
“Harrigan’s eye for locale and its effect is superb.” —Washington Post Book World
“Harrigan . . . Has a sharp eye for observing man, beast, seashore, and town in a vividly drawn setting.” ―Publishers Weekly
“An ardent and elegant book, beautiful in its language, mature in its perceptions, noble in its sentiments.” ―San Francisco Chronicle
“Sensitive [and] enormously evocative first . . . Spare but warm prose . . . Immerses us in atmosphere as insistently as it does the plot . . . Harrigan is a splendid novelist.” —Houston Post
“Aransas has several surprises, including dramatic suspense, counterculture revisionism, and what must be considered dolphin revisionism. More, Harrigan has written an acute American regional novel.” —The Village Voice
A critically acclaimed debut novel first published in 1980, Aransas recounts a young man’s homecoming to his small Gulf Coast fishing town of Port Aransas. As Jeff Downing begins work training two porpoises to become part of a tourist attraction, he comes to love them as well as the woman who wants to release the pair to the wild.
“The sureness and poise of this first novel are as remarkable as the sharpness, oddity, and clarity of its feelings.” ―Newsweek
“Harrigan’s eye for locale and its effect is superb.” —Washington Post Book World
“Harrigan . . . Has a sharp eye for observing man, beast, seashore, and town in a vividly drawn setting.” ―Publishers Weekly
“An ardent and elegant book, beautiful in its language, mature in its perceptions, noble in its sentiments.” ―San Francisco Chronicle
“Sensitive [and] enormously evocative first . . . Spare but warm prose . . . Immerses us in atmosphere as insistently as it does the plot . . . Harrigan is a splendid novelist.” —Houston Post
“Aransas has several surprises, including dramatic suspense, counterculture revisionism, and what must be considered dolphin revisionism. More, Harrigan has written an acute American regional novel.” —The Village Voice
Ratings and reviews
4.5
2 reviews
Olivia N Tucson
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February 12, 2024
I loved this book for reasons I can't quite describe. Jeff's yearning for connection to the dolphins is so strong it pulled me deeply into the story. Also, I am familiar with both northern NM and the gulf coast, and the author's descriptions of both settings is true and compelling.
About the author
STEPHEN HARRIGAN is the author of nine books of fiction and nonfiction, including the award-winning novels The Gates of the Alamo and Remember Ben Clayton and the critically acclaimed essay collection The Eye of the Mammoth. He lives in Austin, Texas, where he is a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly and a faculty fellow at the University of Texas’s Michener Center for Writers.
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