Ahab's Wife: Or the Star-Gazer by Sena Jester Naslund

image from LibraryThing

This book was recommended to me by a seed corn dealer convention!  He told me it was his favorite book.  I was in need of a new one - so I started reading.  It is odd to read a book about characters you sort of know...I have never read Moby Dick, have actually had no desire to attempt it, but even I know who Ahab is and how his life goes.  But, I really liked this book and was drawn in very quickly!

That's because of Una! With a name like Una, you have to be something special.  And she certainly was!

Her life was anything but ordinary - especially for a woman the early 1800s!  She was born in Kentucky, the daughter of a fanatic, bible-thumping father and open -minded mother.  Her first contact with the ocean was living with her aunt, uncle and cousin on the shores of a beautiful lighthouse island in the Atlantic.

And then she was drawn to the sea.

This is one of those big fat books that draw you in.  Una sees the world differently and her descriptions about life and faith and nature are beautiful and thought provoking.  This has made me want to spend more time at the ocean - not on a whaler, but along the shore!

I can't say this was my favorite book - but it was one that I am glad that I read!