The Wooden Nickel is a boat. Its owner, Lucky Lunt, is an endangered species: a Maine lobsterman who works the same waters as his father and grandfather. Lucky's world is changing faster than he can fathom - his heart is failing him, too - and soon he is embroiled in a turf war that forces him to abandon what he should hold most dear: family, health, solvency, and even the rules of the sea. It only makes matters worse that Lucky's partner in crime is the sexy, not-quite-ex-wife of the local lobster wholesaler. Brilliantly capturing all the pathos and hilarity of Lucky's epic battle for survival, this remarkable novel announces the arrival of a startlingly fresh, mature, and important voice in American fiction.