We are delighted to announce that for May’s Text Book Club, we will be discussing Benjamin Wood’s Booker-longlisted novel, Seascraper.

The book club will be held upstairs in our Reading Room at 10am on Sunday 17th May, and is suitable for ages 18+. Tea and coffee will be provided.

To book your place, please click here, or to purchase a year-long subscription to our Text Book Club, please click here.

About the book -

Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.

When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?

Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.