📖 Novel of the Week: Shark Drunk - The Art of Catching a Large Shark from a Tiny Rubber Dinghy in a Big Ocean by Morten A. Strøksnes

The English cover vs the Italian cover

There are times were novels have cryptic titles that could not be further away from what the actual plot is so there's no chance of spoilers and then you have...THIS BOOK! where the subheading practically tells you everything about what you're going to read.

Yep, that is it. Two friends (the author and Hugo) set their minds about wanting to catch the famous Greenland shark on a rubber dinghy (for real!) and the story is all about their multiple attempts to it, throughout the different seasons in the Norwegian small island group of Skrova, where the weather is often hostile and you got to know what you're doing, you can't just improvise and hope for the best.

👍👎My Thoughts

After a few paragraphs, I understood immediately that "Shark Drunk" was going to be more than the comical attempt of two friends of fishing a massive shark: this book is a mix of that combined with philosophical essays about how little we still know about the oceans, shark fishing's historical background and even some biology notions.

I found some parts prolix and unnecessary, but they surely were well explained and informative. I'm an animal lover so I didn't quite get (and still don't) the charm of sport fishing, but what I liked was that the two protagonists of this story were experienced fishers and respectful of the marine life in its general, almost resulting in devotion.

This is not a book for everyone: I'd say it would make the perfect gift for people who love uncontaminated nature and desolate Nordic landscapes. I, myself, found it hard to keep on reading it even if the parts of the actual story were entertaining and funny to read.  

My vote: 7/10

Ph: penguinrandomhouse.com & goodreads.com