Reviews

The Great Offshore Grounds by Vanessa Veselka

jenniferlepstein's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

emwinch's review against another edition

3.0

There was so much I loved about this book, but an equal amount of things I didn’t love. So here it is:

The Great Offshore Grounds has the makings of an indie movie from the very first page. The quirky siblings, the strange and estranged father, the odd wedding, and the “gift” of some longed-after information.

Veselka wraps a history lesson inside of a journey from a fishing boat in Alaska, to a castle in the middle of Texas, to a yurt in the forest... and everywhere in between. At times, the historical context was totally lost on me- but I could still enjoy the story without it.

I agree with some of the other reviews I’ve seen- that the inclusion is Raleigh and Lejeune was a little strange. The mystical undertones of this story were slightly hard to follow.

With quick chapters and varying voices and storylines, this story moved quickly for me, although I do think it was a little long. The takeaways:

1. You might now know where a decision will take you, but sometimes that can be better than anything you’re leaving behind

2. Our material possessions are not the most important thing that we leave behind. We work so hard our entire lives to have THINGS (homes, cars, money, objects) but the lessons we teach others and the things we instill in our families and friends are what live on.

dominika_benmichael's review against another edition

4.0

There is a lot to chew on in this book - themes of futility, hope, community, perseverance, love. I didn't understand many aspects of it, but the ones that resonated did so forcefully

bury's review against another edition

4.0

8/10. This book definitely is high on my ranks for the insane plot—there was just so much that happened in this book, from a tornado in Texas to salmon fishing in Alaska to a cult in North Carolina. Every time I reflect on the book I remember a new storyline or event. As a result, the book feels rushed at times, but I think the character development makes up for it. I’m always going to love a book about sisters from Seattle, but I liked the mystery of figuring out exactly who these characters are through the insane way in which they live their lives entirely on impulse.

brittneyn125's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Cancer, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use

ldubs82's review against another edition

I just didn’t enjoy this and couldn’t get into it

loneal5's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

alcyon_alcyon's review against another edition

5.0

Excellent novel. I felt instantly at home with the characters and their lives because I grew up in 1980s Seattle and Portland, a white kid with a single parent on the edge of poverty, hanging out in places like the Last Exit. I didn't experience the characters as poor, weird, woo-woo or any of the other things some other readers appear to be alienated by. Just seemed like my people, journeying the way you can if you aren't too owned by the system.

Thank you Vanessa Veselka for what it took to finish writing this novel. Please write another. (Zazen was great, too.) You remind me of some great novelists of forty-odd years ago that I read when I was supposedly too young....

readers_block's review against another edition

4.0

3.75/5

A pretentious novel full of hippies who do nothing with their lives and complain about it the whole time-- but very enjoyable!

I appreciated the way the author wrote. She's clearly very talented and is able to sweep you away with her prose. I can't say I liked any of the characters, save for maybe Essex and that's still a maybe, but it doesn't much matter.

mosleyjen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The writing was beautiful but the characters were so unbelievable in many ways. It never quite cohered the way I wanted it too.