Brothers of the Sea

Continuing my theme of looking at books previously issued as part of the Reader's Digest condensed book series, in part because of my theory that it's one way to discover good books from the (relatively recent) past that are now overlooked, I picked up a copy of D.R. Sherman's Brothers of the Sea, a novel that would now be called a 'young adult' book but one that will reward the adult reader as well.

Denis Ronald Sherman, who was born in Rhodesia in 1934, lived in Bechuanaland, modern-day Botswana, and wrote several books that deal with nature, and conservation, with Old Mali and the Sea being one of his most famous works.


Brothers of the Sea is the beautifully written story of 15 year-old Paul Mistral, abandoned at birth, who lives with Roger, his fisherman stepfather, in a thatched hut in the luxuriant Seychelles. Their life is simple and their needs are few, as the sea provides amply for them. When Roger breaks his leg, however, Paul must take to the sea to spear fish for their meals and to earn money to pay their essentials. While Paul is out fishing one day a dolphin saves his life by driving off a shark, and the two soon become friends. Paul learns how to take rides on the back of the marsouin, and they swim together every day.

Paul is unable to earn enough to pay their rent, however, and so they are threatened with eviction. Only a large catch can generate enough to save their home, and so Roger urges Paul to kill his friend. "It is there to be caught, by son." The boy is torn between his love for his friend and for his father, and the tragic outcome is hard to forget.

The man waited, watching the dolphin close. He held the harpoon with a love that was almost obsessive. My sweet God, he thought, it is almost like putting the knife of your body into a woman who has never been a woman before. He felt a great hurting inside him, for himself and for this thing which he had to do, and for the big fish who was like a woman. He lifted the harpoon a little higher and then started it plunging down. I love you, fish, he thought joyously.

Sherman's prose is simple, and the story is a moving and evocative paean to the sea, to friendship, and to love. Highly recommended.