A critically acclaimed debut novel first published in 1980, Aransas recounts a young man’s attempt to find his place in the world as he navigates the moral dilemma of training an “exquisitely conscious being” to perform in a seaside dolphin circus.

"A resonant first novel. Beneath its genial surface, allusive undercurrents tug." - New York Times Book Review

"The sureness and poise of this first novel are as remarkable as the sharpness, oddity, and clarity of its feelings . . . Aransas is an elegant debut." - Newsweek

"Harrigan’s eye for locale and its effect is superb." - Washington Post Book World

"Harrigan . . . has a sharp eye for observing man, beast, seashore, and town in a vividly drawn setting." - Publishers Weekly

"An ardent and elegant book, beautiful in its language, mature in its perceptions, noble in its sentiments." - San Francisco Chronicle

"A sensitive, enormously evocative first novel in a spare but warm prose style that immerses us in atmosphere as insistently as it does the plot . . . Harrigan is a splendid novelist." - Houston Post

"Aransas has several surprises, including dramatic suspense, counterculture revisionism, and what must be considered dolphin revisionism. More, Harrigan has written an acute American regional novel." - Village Voice