SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood

For such a young guy, Benjamin Wood is an old soul. There’s something of the classicist about him, and I tend to think of him as heir to a kindgom most recently ruled by Andrew Miller, Andrew O’Hagan and Colm Toibin. All of which is to say that, while being of this moment, he could have been writing two hundred years ago and not seemed out of place. His prose is gorgeous, his touch light. There’s little flash. Just exquisite storytelling.

Seascraper continues in this vein, telling the quietly contained tale of Thomas Flett, a small town shrimp fisherman who still lives with his mum while eking out a simple, honest existence and pining for his best friend’s sister. The chance appearance of a Hollywood director upends Thomas’s life. You see this big talking yank wants Thomas involved in his next project. No doubt in lesser hands, Seascraper might have devolved into the cheap lead-up to a big rug pull. And while there is painfully sad twist, there is no sensationalism to be found. Instead, we get a loving hymn to male friendship, the music of nature and the precariousness of shared dreams.

A lovely, life affirming read.

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
Penguin, 2025
163 pages