What makes two friends set off in a small, rubber boat in some of the world’s most remote and dangerous seas, to try and catch a massive Greenland shark? That’s the question that bubbles away beneath the surface of Shark Drunk, by Morten Stroksnes.

But this is not just a madcap adventure. With his partner Hugo Aasjord, Stroksnes plunges deep into the mythology, history, and culture of Norway’s northern seas.

It’s a translation of an old expression from the north of Norway— hai full, literally shark drunk. Back in the old days, when people ate Greenland shark for want of getting something better, they risked getting shark drunk if the meat wasn’t treated the right way. They would get