book cover of The Boatbuilder
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The Boatbuilder

(2018)
A novel by

 
 
Long-listed for the 2018 National Book Award in Fiction

At 28 years old, Eli "Berg" Koenigsberg has never encountered a challenge he couldn't push through, until a head injury leaves him with lingering headaches and a weakness for opiates. Berg moves to a remote Northern California town, seeking space and time to recover, but soon finds himself breaking into homes in search of pills.

Addled by addiction and chronic pain, Berg meets Alejandro, a reclusive, master boatbuilder, and begins to see a path forward. Alejandro offers Berg honest labor, but more than this, he offers him a new approach to his suffering, a template for survival amid intense pain. Nurtured by his friendship with Alejandro and aided, too, by the comradeship of many in Talinas, Berg begins to return to himself.

Written in gleaming prose, this is a story about resilience, community, and what it takes to win back your soul.


Genre: Literary Fiction

Praise for this book

"A meditation on love, loyalty, and the shared experiences that turn strangers into family." - Tayari Jones


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