The Catch: A Novel

My wife gave me this book to read and I loved it. We moved to Calgary 2 years ago and reading the Catch made us both want to move back home to the Island. Minnie’s observations of PEI life are typical of what one would expect of a displaced Torontonian. The seemingly simple pastoral life on the Island hides a more complex reality. The author has captured this struggle perfectly.

Having read Ms McCormack's first brilliant book, "Six Weeks to Toxic" I was very excited to read her new book. I wasn't disappointed, this is a fun, very well written novel with very interesting characters and an unusual surprising story. I love that it is set in PEI, and how she writes about the island and it's people.
And the sex scenes--- they are worth the price of the book right there!
Few can write as beautifully as this author. The Catch was a joy to read.

Having read Ms McCormack's first brilliant book, "Six Weeks to Toxic" I was very excited to read her new book. I wasn't disappointed, this is a fun, very well written novel with very interesting characters and an unusual surprising story. I love that it is set in PEI, and how she writes about the island and it's people.
And the sex scenes--- they are worth the price of the book right there!
Few can write as beautifully as this author. The Catch was a joy to read.

I'm a senior citizen, living on social assistance. I enjoy going to the library and picking up a good book to read once a week, what else do I have to look forward to at my age. (76 and still kicking ladies) This book was highly publicized here on Prince Edward Island, and the author fancied herself the heir to Lucy Maude Montgomery's throne. This intrigued me, so I put in a request for it at the library. Surely, anyone bold enough to make that comparison must have the talent to back it up? Not so in this case. What Island does this take place on? Surely not the one I've spent the last 76 years of my life living on. I've lived in Charlottetown, and I've lived in the fishing villages. I've worked in the potato fields, and the tobacco fields. I've raised cattle and raised children. I've seen many faces pass on throughout my long, varied life. There were no recognizable characters from the landscape I lived and breathed all my life. The characters are nothing more than a stereotypical tapestry, an approximation of what 'Islanders' are supposedly like, from someone who really doesn't have a clue what it takes to be one. I have read plenty of books in my time, and I'm well read for an old fella. I read everything from westerns, to true crime. I read the classics, and even these cute little stories for forward thinking women. I pride myself on staying current you see. I have read many books set in Atlantic Canada in my day, among my favorites is The Birth House by Ami McKay. The characters in this book spoke like they were straining their eyes to read a poorly written script. I find a regular visit to the optometrist takes care of that. I couldn't make any sense of it. I didn't feel like I was reading a book at all, I felt like I was on a rail car at Canada's Wonderland...forced to watch the story unfold in a cold, stilted, robotic fashion. I didn't like this authors tone at all. It takes a lot more imagination and determination to survive on Prince Edward Island, than it does to leave it. The cowards way out! Lack of imagination has little to do with why I stayed here. I stayed here, because people take the time to look after each other and be involved in their community. I hope I haven't come off as being harsh. I'm sure the author is still a very young lady and has much growing up left to do. I look forward to reading her next book.

Coming from a fishing family on PEI (and more specifically, from the village upon which the fictional 'Tuck Harbour' was based), I was very curious to read this novel. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. It was interesting to see some of the issues around fishing practices raised and it's clear that the author did research this topic. But in terms of capturing Islanders and our way of life, the book falls short. I found the depiction of Islanders to be insulting, condescending and two-dimensional. The plot was weak, the characters superficial with little development, and so much filler that one is tempted to skim page after page. I really hope people do not judge the Island or those of us who live here (the 'less imaginative ones') by this book.

From one of the 'good people of PEI'

The Catch by Louisa McCormack is a great read! What I loved best about this book is the way McCormack “got” Prince Edward Island. Her descriptions of the people, the land and the way of life were so accurate that it made me feel the island. The story of Minnie, leaving Toronto to spend the summer in Prince Edward Island, was a solid storyline. I felt it slowed down just a little in the middle of the book but then it picked up again for an unpredictable finish. One of my favourite lines from the book was used to describe Minnie’s impending trip to Prince Edward Island: ‘Perhaps the whole purpose if this trip had been to give my thoughts a good salt scrub’. As a Maritimer on the prairies, I completely understood this thought.

I am not usually a big fan of Canadian fiction. However, The Catch has all the elements that make it a wonderfully perfect read.

Louisa McCormack has absolutely captured the essence of the perfect chik lit story. She has created a flawed but adorable main character in Minerva. She has given Minerva a brilliant cast of characters and more importantly she has set her novel in one of the most beautiful places in the world PEI.

I loved this smart novel - it touched my heartstrings, made me laugh and made me want to move to the Island immediately.

The writing is rich and full of deep, touching subtext and I found myself reading page after page to find out about Joe - would he and Minerva end up together or not? Wow! what else can you ask for - friends, LOVE AND PEI. I am jealous.