Norman G. Gautreau

Reviews, Comments & Notes

                                                                                                                                                                  
"… the whale rose silently up out of the deep waters of Jericho 
Bay, heralded only by a scurry of seagulls.  The whale breached the surface no more than twenty yards to starboard in a long parabola of flesh. And in that instant, the whale set against a vast sprawl of blue-saturated sky, Jordi’s mind reeled with all the details of its form. An impression of large white flippers spread heavenward, of a mighty head, a massive sloping rostrum, long parallel throat runnels, huge bifurcated flukes. A great bulk of flesh swaddled in light." 
                                                -Chapter 9 
  Photo used with the permission of
Island Marine Institute  (See Related Links)

   “In Sea Room, Norman Gautreau transports the reader back in time when 
    integrity and a higher purpose in life was not merely an aspiration but an
    honorable resolve. Thumbing through these exquisitely written pages, I found
    myself experiencing the wake of distant ships and retracing the footsteps of
    those who manned the helms of times gone by.”
                                   
                                    – David Baldacci, New York Times best-selling author of 
                                        Last Man Standing and Absolute Power

    “With deft use of detail, Gautreau pulls the reader into the lives, the homes, and the boats of three generations of Maine lobstermen. While most of he action takes place on the shore, woven throughout is the waiting ocean, omnipotent and ever present.”
                                – Douglas Kelley, author of The Captain’s Wife

            “Sea Room is a strong first novel, as raw and clean as the sea.”

                                      – William Kelly, Oscar-winning author of Witness

I was immediately swept away in time and place by this evocative 
and accomplished first novel.  Norman Gautreau has created an 
irresistible universe that centers on a saltwater farm on the rugged 
coast of Maine during World War II.

This is the story of family love and courage under unspeakable 
circumstances.  And the honorable lives of the members of the 
Dupuy family teach us that, with enough hope, we can always 
find a little sea room. 
                                                -From the Macadam/Cage Catalogue, Spring 2002