The Sea-God at Sunrise - Paperback

by G. L. Tysk (Author)

It is 1841. Japanese fisherman Shima and his younger brother, out on a routine fishing expedition, are wrecked on an uninhabited island by a freak typhoon. Their rescue by a passing American whaling ship proves a short-lived miracle when, barred from reentering Japan, the ship heads for the whaling grounds of the South Pacific. Shima becomes an unwilling passenger in a strange floating world filled with foreign faces, a new language, and a hostile chief mate. But when the reclusive captain suddenly falls ill, Shima and third mate Daniel Ellis stumble upon a secret from his past that brings together their previously isolated worlds. Inspired by the true story of John Manjiro, one of the first Japanese in America and later interpreter to the shogun, "The Sea-God at Sunrise" is a tale of friendship and forgiveness across two cultures at the height of America's Golden Age of Whaling.

Author Biography

G.L. Tysk was born in Chicago to Hong Kong immigrants. She was raised in Texas, moved abroad to Japan, and now lives in Massachusetts with her Norwegian-American husband. This muddling of multiple cultures drives her to explore the effect of cultural exchange and diversity in her writing. Her work focuses on early American whaling and its impact on globalization, 19th century colonialism, and Asian and Pacific Islander immigrant culture. She has sailed square-rigged vessels with Sea Education Association and with Mystic Seaport aboard the historic whaleship Charles W. Morgan. She lives in Boston.