Globe Corner Blogs

The Last Fish Tale by Mark Kurlansky

Like Mark Kurlansky’s other books, including Salt and Cod, his most recent, The Last Fish Tale, explores one subject in great detail. In this case, the book could have easily been called Gloucester.  The narrative explores local Gloucester, Mass from past to present, covering fishing industry issues it has faced and how the city has progressed since then.

This book was particularly relevant to me, as I spent three frigid months last winter living out of a motel there, working on day-fishing boats for my job as a National Marine Fisheries Observer.  Since working at The Globe Corner Bookstore, I appreciate being dry, not being covered in fish slime, and being on solid ground.  Still, I miss Gloucester.  So when I picked up this book recently, I was transported back to that unique town.

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Memorial to Fisherman--photo by Llalan

The first stop on “Cape Ann Curiosities” in Lonely Planet’s New England Trips is Gloucester. Curious is not the first word I would use to describe the town, but maybe they couldn’t resist the alliteration. I probably would have gone with charming or simply lovely. My parents would have gone with, “It’s time to move here.” The main street, lined with budding trees and locally-owned businesses, winds down to the ocean and the iconic fisherman statue and memorial. Facing the ocean were old houses with widow’s walks around their roofs. Given the number of fisherman lost at sea who are honored at the memorial, Gloucester has known its fair number of widows.

The next “curiosity” we visited was an artists’ colony in East Gloucester. We walked down one street populated only by artists who were more than happy to show and explain their works to us. Even the

Cape Ann Brewing Company--photo by Llalan

shops themselves were artsy, each one decorated to match the personality of the artist living there. And there was something for everyone: paintings for my mother, jewelry for me, miniature replicas of ships for the boyfriend, and real ships bobbing at the docks outside for my dad. My parents’ desire to move there increased manyfold. Our visit to the Cape Ann Brewing Company further convinced Dad and me that it was time to order a U-Haul.

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