Name: Shark Drunk
ISBN: 9780451493484

Morten Andreas Strøksnes

"In the great depths surrounding the Lofoten islands in Norway lives the infamous Greenland shark. At twenty-six feet in length and weighing more than a ton, it is truly a beast to behold. But the shark is not just known for its size alone: its meat contains a toxin that, when consumed, has been known to make people drunk and hallucinatory. Shark Drunk is the true story of two friends--the author and the eccentric artist Hugo Aasjord--as they embark on a wild pursuit of the famed creature--from a tiny rubber boat"--

The Art of Catching a Large Shark from a Tiny Rubber Dinghy in a Big Ocean

Shark Drunk

jam 🍯

I have finally read this book! I 100% picked up this book because of its gorgeous cover design, yet put off reading it for over two years because I was never in the mood for nonfiction. This year, I've made it a goal to read more nonfiction, and this book was an absolutely lovely treat.

Despite the lack of a traditional narrative arc/structure, Shark Drunk has a single, great premise to act as a rough frame for the book as a whole: two friends spend a year trying to catch an elusive Greenland Shark. Though their seafaring adventures are not without adventure, most of their fishing journey (and therefore, most of the book) is spent preparing, waiting, and failing. Strøksnes fills the rest of the pages with historical facts about the shark and the sea, the movement of continents, evolutionary lines, and even space itself. The prose is well written and flows well enough that one can almost imagine themselves upon a small rubber inflatable boat, bobbing along the waves in all sorts of weather as one reads.

For me this lacks a star simply because there are certain sections that could have been a bit shorter, or tied back to the overall goal of shark fishing sooner. Nevertheless, Shark Drunk is a book I would emphatically recommend to anyone looking for a calming and interesting read.

Morten Strøksnes

** BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week ** Shark Drunk is, in part, the tale of two men in a very small boat on the trail of a very big fish. It is also a story of obsession, enchantment and adventure. A love song to the sea, in all its mystery, hardship, wonder and life-giving majesty. In the great depths surrounding the remote Lofoten islands in Norway lives the Greenland shark. Twenty-six feet in length and weighing more than a tonne, it can live for 200 years. Its fluorescent green, parasite-covered eyes are said to hypnotise its prey, and its meat is so riddled with poison that, when consumed, it sends people into a hallucinatory trance. Armed with little more than their wits and a tiny rubber boat, Morten Strøksnes and his friend Hugo set out in pursuit of this enigmatic creature. Together, they tackle existential questions, experience the best and worst nature can throw at them, and explore the astonishing life teeming at the ocean's depths.

Mirella Hetekivi

** BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week ** Shark Drunk is, in part, the tale of two men in a very small boat on the trail of a very big fish. It is also a story of obsession, enchantment and adventure. A love song to the sea, in all its mystery, hardship, wonder and life-giving majesty. In the great depths surrounding the remote Lofoten islands in Norway lives the Greenland shark. Twenty-six feet in length and weighing more than a tonne, it can live for 200 years. Its fluorescent green, parasite-covered eyes are said to hypnotise its prey, and its meat is so riddled with poison that, when consumed, it sends people into a hallucinatory trance. Armed with little more than their wits and a tiny rubber boat, Morten Strøksnes and his friend Hugo set out in pursuit of this enigmatic creature. Together, they tackle existential questions, experience the best and worst nature can throw at them, and explore the astonishing life teeming at the ocean’s depths.

Shark Drunk The Art of Catching a Large Shark from a Tiny Rubber Dinghy in a Big Ocean

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