1999 Shortlist
The Ordinary Seaman
ABOUT
THE BOOK
The Ordinary Seaman is a lyrical and spellbinding story of hope, despair, and the promise of love. Esteban, a nineteen-year-old veteran of the war in Nicaragua, has come to America with fourteen other men to form the crew of the Urus. Docked on a desolate Brooklyn pier, the Urus is a wreck and the men its prisoners. Esteban, haunted by the loss of his first love in the war, escapes from the ship to start a new life in the city. Francisco Goldman was raised in Boston and Guatemala and divides his time between New York City and Mexico. The Ordinary Seaman is his second novel.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Date published
01/07/1997
Country
United States
Original Language
English
Publisher
Faber & Faber
Nominating Library