4 out of 5 stars
Working on oil rigs is a physical and demanding job, and the rigs off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea are some of the toughest. Just getting there is a challenge, especially in the winter storms where the men are often stuck there for much longer than their standard three weeks.
Tabitha Lasley had just quit her job at a women’s magazine and escaped a grim relationship. She wanted to realise her idea about writing a book about the men who live and work on these rigs, and to answer this question: “I wanted to see what men were like, with no women around.”
This book is her answer to that question.
It is not a passive view either, she questions over 100 men, and becomes heavily involved with one, falling into a toxic affair that takes up a lot of the book. She is a very good writer as she immerses you in the world she has joined, but it is very intense at times and mirrors how the men are after they have come off the rig. Definitely worth reading but might not be for everyone.
Hm, I think I’d enjoy the main idea of the book but not the toxic relationship; what a shame!
Probably not one that you’d enjoy. She is a good writer though