Deep Water Blues by Fred Waitzkin is a quick, eventful, and delightful read about Rum Cay, a Bahamian island found about halfway between Nassau and The Turks and Caicos Islands. Over the course of many years, Waitzkin’s protagonist visited there for fishing trips on his boat, the Ebb Tide. Waitzkin wrote about the characters he encountered over the years including the owner of the marina, Bobby Little, Mike who lived in a relic of a boat, Rasta who manned the kitchen, Flo who sang out of happiness on her pig farm, and Dennis, the rich guy who drove Bobby off the island (and others). The story alternated from happiness and satisfaction, to greed and the trauma that comes with it.

The author is probably better known for an early novel that was turned into a 1993 movie, Searching for Bobby Fisher starring Ben Kingsley. Waitzkin’s writing is beautiful and descriptive, and it transfers the mood of being on the island. I read this one in an afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed the time it took to complete it.