The Weir

Written in 1943, this period piece tells the story of a hardscrabble family on a Maine coast island and their struggles to make a living off the sea (a herring weir). Their neighbors, accountable in a crisis, prove meddlesome and troublesome during periods of calm...Moore rightly assesses their "boredom." This was a time of change for those in the rural areas and the dilemmas posed by the lure of the outside world are well depicted. There is no reference to the war, so the book was obviously set in the 1930s. It's an excellent look at a long-gone lifestyle with a plot that keeps moving but the writing is very much of its time. I would not describe this as "light-hearted" in any way; life was very difficult for these people who persisted against the noreaster' and temperatures of 15 degrees below zero.

This book was fantastic I just got down reading it in class.Our whole freashman class had to read at first "I thought just another to read" but I found out it is not just a book, I mean you got into it after but what amazed me so much is that the characters are so real. I hope that before you move out or move into Maine you will read this book.

A friend recommended Ruth Moore to me and so far I have not been disappointed. The Weir is surprising in that the story line takes an unexpected twist which caught me off guard and which kept me thinking for long after. This is not a softened version of quaint Maine coastal life, but a book filled with well drawn characters who are very real.

Ruth Moore communicates the quintessence of everyday life in coastal Maine. Her characters are salt-of-the-earth folk whose concerns are both particular to the coastal region in which they live and universally shared among families and neighbors everywhere. The Weir gives readers a lighthearted glimpse of traditional New England values and coastal village life by following the daily routine and challenges of a family whose sustenance depends primarily on the tending of a weir and whose strength is derived from the relationships between kin and neighbors. Should you vacation in coastal Maine and desire the full romantic effect of the region, read The Weir or any of Ruth Moore's books (Candlemas Bay and The Spoonhandle, to name a couple).