Summers in Squid Tickle

A Newfoundland Odyssey

By: Robert Finch

Narrated by: Rick Adamson

Robert Finch arrived in Newfoundland in the summer of 1995 heartsick, directionless, his old life on Cape Cod in tatters. Burnside, located in Newfoundland's rugged northeast, seemed like a good place to heal.

Eventually Finch became a summer resident, buying a house, playing organ for the church, and fishing the area's waters. Offering a portrait of the Newfoundland character and culture, Summers in Squid Tickle explores how three generations of the village have grappled with the changes of the past century—from the rise and collapse of commercial cod fishing, and the migration of young people away from the outport, to the distant hope for tourism and new industries to sustain a disappearing way of life. With characteristically elegant prose and deep sensitivity, Finch introduces us to Squid Tickle's inhabitants—a collection of hardy fishermen, vigorous retirees, and close neighbors, as well as the woman who would become his wife.

Even as the fish in Squid Tickle's waters vanish, Finch sketches the enduring relationship of a village with the sea—for food, work, leisure, and a rich community life—in the midst of an unforgiving but stunning landscape. Summers in Squid Tickle speaks to the desire we all have in our era to seek quiet, and to reevaluate our connection to each other and the natural world.

©2025 Robert Finch (P)2025 Tantor Media

About 3.5 Stars

I really wanted to like this book a lot, but ended up liking it a bit. As the title indicates, the book chronicles roughly two decades of summers spent by the author in a remote town in Nova Scotia. The back story on why he decided to go in the first place is a bit thin.

Anyway, Finch is quickly accepted into the community, which consists largely of quirky senior citizens, some very senior. Finch is invited to dinners, church and other gatherings and becomes part of the community. The problem is that not much happens in Squid Tickle, so one ends up with reminiscences of dinners and character studies of the residents. It's amiable enough, but slow moving.

Eventually, Finch's girlfriend and then wife joins him. She seems to be a delightful person, but is clearly less enthused with the town than he is. They buy an old house and renovate it just a bit ... one gets the impression it is just enough that she can stand it.

However, as happens, the octogenarian protagonists begin dying off, slowly at first, and then at an accelerating pace. As the book proceeds, it reads more like tales from an old folks home, with talk of nothing but ailments and death.

New people move in, but the author seems less enthused with them, and then with Squid Tickle generally. After a very languid start, the book just fades away quickly. An Epilogue about who bought the house or reflections on what was learned or gained would have been nice, but is missing.

I give the narrator two stars. He has a kind of wheezy voice for the author and then one voice--a supposed local accent I guess--for every local person. He uses that voice for everyone. It gets old pretty quickly.