The writing in this novella is lean and economical. It tells a tale that sets the hook and guides the reader through several surprises to the final reveal. For me, this book belongs on the same shelf with “The Ledge“ (1959) by Lawrence Sargent Hall, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA (1952) by Ernest Hemingway and “To Build A Fire“ (1908) by Jack London.
As a teenager, Les Galloway (1912-1990) shipped out to New Zealand as a seaman and a few years later, dropped out of college to enlist in the Bolivian army. Most of his life he was a commercial fisherman out of San Francisco. His stories were published in Esquire and Prairie Schooner.