Benjamin Wood: Seascraper

Benjamin Wood is the author of five novels, the first of which – called The Bellwether Revivals, was shortlisted for the 2012 Costa Book Awards and Commonwealth Book Prize. His fifth novel, Seascraper, won the Nero Book Award for fiction and was longlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Walter Scott Prize.

Seascraper is a portal to the seaside where we follow a young man called Thomas who works a pretty archaic job as a seascraper, which his family rely on him to do. He dreams, however, of becoming a folk singer, and longs to perform at his local pub. One day he comes home to find a man called Edgar waiting for him – Edgar is a Hollywood producer who wants to shoot a film on the beach, and asks for Thomas’ help and expertise.

The book is atmospheric and moving, at times capturing the isolation and monotony of the work and his aspirations to be anywhere else, and at other times fast-paced and intense – reminding us of the extreme danger of such a job.

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