Raised in Chelsea, Masachusetts, Tiggie Peluso could have easily chosen a life of crime. His father was a bookie for the Mob, so he certainly had the opportunity. But no, Tiggie chose to move to Cape Cod and earn a hard, honest living as a commercial fisherman.
Tiggie: The Lure and Lore of Commercial Fishing in New England, by Sandy Macfarlane (paperback, 292 pp, iUniverse Star, $22.95), opens a window into the obscure world of commercial fishing as practiced on the Cape in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Macfarlane spent months interviewing Tiggie, who shared with her what a difficult enterprise earning a living from the sea was. There were no electronics. Navigation was by compass, weather was read by observing the sky, fishing spots located with a sounding lead covered in grease or wax. Tiggie survived storms, accidents, some of his friend’s drownings and suicides, his own troubled relationships with women, his struggles to make ends meet.
It would be easy to romanticize a book like this. To her credit, Macfarlane doesn’t. The book is authentic, some passages almost raw. There’s humor, too. It’s a good read.
Tiggie was the first person to become a freshwater fishing guide on the Cape, which I found particularly interesting.
Tiggie won’t be for everyone, and it won’t win a Pulitzer Prize. But to those who have a love of fishing, or an interest in Cape Cod, it’s fascinating stuff.
John Kumiski
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