A candid examination of the life of North Sea oil riggers, and an explosive portrayal of masculinity, loneliness and female desire. In her mid-30s and sprung out of a terrible relationship, Tabitha quit her job at a women’s magazine, left London and put her savings into a six-month lease on a flat in a dodgy neighbourhood in Aberdeen – she was going to make good on a long-deferred idea for a book about oil rigs and the men who work on them. Why oil rigs? “I wanted to see what men were like, with no women around.”

“It takes two revelations to leave a person you’ve once loved. There is the moment you realise you no longer love them. And there is the moment you realise you can no longer pretend.”

Tabith Lasley “Sea State”. Published by 4th Estate in 2021. Donated to the library by Adrian and Liz Arratoon from London, UK ❤️

Photos by Anna Iltnere / Sea Library