“Fisherman’s Blues is a colorful and affecting portrait of an entire way of life, but it’s also a report from the front lines of a small industry in the twilight of a struggle it never thought it would even face, much less lose.... There isn’t any realistic light at the end of the story Badkhen tells. But readers can still be grateful for this graceful, perceptive account.” (Christian Science Monitor)

“A profound account of a single community - its primary industries, religious beliefs, and rhythms...[it] unfolds like a novel, featuring well-drawn and sympathetic characters and show[s] how thoroughly the implications of environmental disaster seep into everyday life.” (The New Republic)

“A conventional account of life in Joal would be fascinating reading in and of itself - a crucial snapshot of an endangered lifestyle. What Badkhen has written instead is something more like a ghost, an incantation, a life captured in words. In powerful language shaped by the winds and tides, Badkhen not only describes the fishers’ lives but also imbues them with an energy that borders on the uncanny.” (Paste Magazine)

“Badkhen is a spellbinding writer, her observations at once hypnotic and elegiac, witnessing a fragile community just barely getting by.” (Booklist)