The Boatbuilder

By: Daniel Gumbiner

Narrated by: Shawn Compton

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.

©2018 Daniel Gumbiner (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

The Boatbuilder

This was an Interesting story, with well drawn characters and great dialogue. It really resonated.