Ducks, Newburyport and the Michigan Wolverines
Ducks, Newburyport By: Lucy Ellmann
Published: July 4, 2019 Date Finished: January 6, 2024
Rating: 9/10
Ducks, Newburyport is a big commitment. It tips the scales at almost 1000 text dense pages. I devote quite a bit of time to reading and it still took me all of a month to finish. The author, Lucy Ellmann, is the daughter of a famous James Joyce biographer and the work is very Joycean in nature. Undertaking reading Ducks, Newburyport is a big risk too, since most reviews out there either loved the book (like me) or couldn’t stand it or abandoned it before they finished. It was awarded the 2019 Goldsmiths Prize and shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize, but popular book reviewers on YouTube can be found excoriating the work.
A big reason for the divergent opinions is the way the bulk of the novel is written in a single sentence, stream of consciousness style with thousands of clauses that begin with “the fact that…”. This internal monologue of the protagonist is only occasionally briefly interrupted to tell the story of a mountain lioness and her saga of having, losing, and searching for her kittens.
The narrator is a middle-aged woman in Ohio who survived cancer recently and quit her college teaching job (which she hated because of her overwhelming shyness). She supplements the family income by making baked goods for local restaurants. She spends most of her time worrying about her husband and four kids as well as her finances, pollution, global warming and mass violence. She laments her shortcomings as a parent and how she has never recovered from her mother’s premature illness and death when she was growing up. She remembers weird dreams, classic films, books (especially the Little House on the Prairie Series) and poems while struggling to remember much of her eldest daughter’s youth.
Despite the stream of consciousness and all of the seeming random thoughts that occur to the narrator, there is a story going on beneath it all. To me, the book is entertaining and under the radar really funny. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I thoroughly endorse it.
Michigan -4.5 -110 at Draftkings
YTD 0-1-0 and -1.05 units
I’m finally convinced. The 2023 Michigan Wolverines are the truth. Their last three games saw wins against two of the “super teams” of college football (Ohio State and Alabama) filled with blue-chip recruits, and they bullied them. They were by far the tougher team on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and made enough big plays to set up a date with the Washington Huskies in the National Championship game.
Unlike the matchups with the Buckeyes and the Crimson Tide, Michigan will have the talent edge on the Huskies according to the 24/7 talent composite that ranks teams based on their past 4 recruiting classes. Washington struggled to a losing record two season ago, but following that disappointing campaign they brought in new head coach Kalen DeBoer from Fresno State and former Indiana quarterback Michael Pennix Jr from the transfer portal. That combination, helped with the Joe Moore award winning offense line and one of the best receiving corps in the sport give the Huskies a menacing offense. Michigan’s defense will have their hands full trying to keep Washington from moving the ball, but after they contained and repeatedly sacked Jalen Milroe in the semifinal, I think they’re more than up to the challenge of slowing down the explosive Washington offense.
My biggest concern coming into the playoffs for Michigan was quarterback JJ McCarthy and the dearth of explosive playmakers Michigan had on offense. I wasn’t sure they could put up the points needed to win a championship. He got off to a slow start in the semis, but then orchestrated a clutch touchdown drive when it mattered most and forced overtime. Michigan is still a run first team, but if they need to match Washington blow for blow in a shootout, I’m now convinced that they can.
4.5 points is a lot to lay in a big game like this, but Michigan vs Everybody seems to be the storyline of the season and I don’t see it coming up one game short. Give me the Wolverines to win by a touchdown 31-24.