The Plover

Loosely, this is a sequel to Brian Doyle's Mink River (see my post on that title), only in that the main character in this book was also a character in the earlier one. Declan O'Donnell has left his land life and all its associated trials and tribulations behind, supposedly, by setting out on his small 30 foot fishing trawler, The Plover, for destinations unknown. But the universe still has lessons for Declan to learn and on that big, wide, and not very pacific Pacific, he encounters a remarkable array of people who come to be passengers, pursuers, and teachers. The first addition to the crew is a sea gull who apparently abandons ship and then rejoins The Plover. But this is no ordinary gull, being one of the Golden 13 beings who can make magical things happen, and she does. This is magical realism at its quintessential, lyrical best, for Doyle is a master of the language and loves nothing better than to play with it in dialog, lists, rants and description. Next up to join is an old friend of Declan's, Piko, and his disabled 9-year old daughter, Pip. They are both nearly washed overboard in a storm, and here I might say that, of course, the Pacific ocean is a character, as are all things in nature where Doyle is concerned. He eventually accrues the minister of almost everything from a small island nation who was set adrift at sea to die, a young man who escaped persecution in eastern Europe, a Polynesian woman who has lost her daughter, and an enemy who desires to destroy him and his ship. As always, this is a complicated tapestry of tales, at times easier reading than at others. There are things I love about this book, but as with Mink River, it is necessary to consume it in small does to avoid exhaustion. There is a very nice review by Kirkus here.
By comparison, two of his other books were much more easily digested and most enjoyable reading; my posts for those are at The Grail and Martin Marten. And if you EVER get a chance to go hear him speak or do a book reading, don't miss out. He is a funny, passionate, engaging speaker and you will laugh and cry along with him.