Book review: Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (Penguin/Viking, £14.99)

I pick up books to read for a multitude of reasons, and I’d spotted SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood whilst browsing in Hatchards, Piccadilly. I was attracted first by the cover ( yes, I’m one of those readers who adores a good jacket design). But I was already a Benjamin Wood fan, as I’d enjoyed his previous novel, THE YOUNG ACCOMPLICE (Viking/Penguin). SEASCRAPER is set on the shoreline of a lonely beach, and focusses on young Thomas Flett, who trawls the shallows for shrimps to sell, in every weather, at dawn and dusk. It is beautifully written, with a focus on the sea, the weather, the relentless trials of hard work for little gain. Yet the character of Thomas, with his nascent hopes and dreams, is tenderly drawn, and the ending is both satisfying and perfectly realised. The bonus? At the end of the book, there’s a website link to a song that features in the novel, providing a perfect fusion of the imaginary novel world, and real life. I listened to it with a smile. SEASCRAPER was long listed for The Booker Prize 2025.

SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood (Penguin/Viking, £14.99)