The Dockporter

A Mackinac Island Novel

By: Dave McVeigh, Jim Bolone

Narrated by: Dave McVeigh

The Dockporter. He's got a bike, a basket, and a lot of baggage.

It's the summer of 1989. Jack McGuinn is a dockporter, transporting tourists' luggage piled high in the basket of his bike on Mackinac Island, Michigan. It's a summer resort where cars are outlawed and pedal power rules. He's got the season wired tight: a family cottage on the bluff, a dream job, and a loyal crew of hell-raising, tip-hustling buddies. When his old friend turned rival challenges him to ride a record-setting load of luggage, he takes the bet. Soon, he realizes he's not just carrying suitcases; he's carrying the island's future, which is about to be paved over for profit. With the help of his pals on the dock and the love of a romantic, free-spirited Irish cellist named Erin, Jack digs deep to discover skills he didn't know he had.

The Dockporter is an offbeat, nostalgic coming-of age-story that appeals to anyone who ever had a summer job. If Rushmore director Wes Anderson remade Caddyshack, but it emerged as a hybrid of Footloose and Meatballs (and was a book), it would be The Dockporter. Genre-smashing, hilariously fresh, yet refreshingly familiar, a novel about friends, family, love, luggage, and the summers we never forget.

Special note: The Audible edition of The Dockporter is unique: It's read by coauthor and award-winning TV producer Dave McVeigh and is musically scored and sound-designed like a Hollywood movie, complete with authentic sounds of Mackinac Island. No ordinary "book on tape", it's an audio experience that brings you into the story and transports you to one of the most magical places in the world.

©2021 David McVeigh (P)2022 David McVeigh

Wonderfully captured

As a kid growing up in northern michigan, this book took me right back to my childhood. It perfectly captures the life of a young man spending a summer caught between boy and man, and all the drama, antics, love interests, strife, and joy that can entail. Wonderfully written and beautifully read. Compliments to the author- you hit the mark.

Could Easily Be A Hit TV/Streaming Mini Series

This audiobook is just plain fun!!! I might add that is is produced extremely well, with a great narration by the author, along with enough sound effects and music to make it very enjoyable but not overbearing.

If you have ever been to Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw), then you will easily get into the mood of the novel. If you have never been to Mackinac Island…start packing!

I would love to see this made into a quality TV mini series or Netflix, Britbox, Acorn, etc, series. It would be a hoot. It has just about everything in it, including a romance…and that’s all the hints I will give you.

I highly endorse this audiobook.

Enjoyable listen

Thought it would be a silly story but as we listened to the audiobook on a long drive, we were drawn in by the characters and the lure of the island life. We have experienced our first summer job like Jack and could relate to his story. Having recently visited Macanaw Island made the story come alive. Well done!

Loved this

I lived on the island in the summer and fall of 1983 after 3 prior summers in Mackinaw City. i worked at Ty's Restaurant and knew the Horns. My then future wife and I romanced and were engaged there. Thad led to 3 now adult kids and 1 grandchild so far although the marriage lasted only about 16 years. I have taken the kids to the island and hope to take my current girlfriend there soon. The island is in my soul.

To say this story brought back memories would be an understatement. Honestly I happen to be working on a novel with significant reference to the area too. I can only hope my tale is half of his one.

Beautiful. Bravo. I just ordered a hard copy for my library.

Dan Castle currently residing in Massachusetts but frequently looking and dreaming of island real estate.

Best book ever read

This book is full of adventure and will take those who know the island back to there slice of paradise in the cold harsh winters. Great read!!

great book!

Really enjoyed this coming of age story! Never listened to an audiobook with a sound track before but I discovered I quite liked the ambience!

Excellent.

I worked on the island on and off through the years, I was even a dock porter for a short while. The story is very touching and brings back a lot of memories.

The narration was really good.

Half way thru the first chapter I felt like I was on the island. Great ending.

Sappy

I though the reader was good. I felt the background sound effects were too much. I found them annoying. I wanted to conjure my own sounds and emotions, not have the shoved down my throat. I really got tired of the seagulls and the party sound effects.

The story was sappy, predictable, and nostalgic. Very simple bildungsroman story about a young man’s romantic summer on Mackinaw Island in the late ‘80s. Not much more to tell. I prefer substantially more complex stories for my “fluff” reading moments.