Darwin: books of the sea
Darwin: books of the sea
Some time ago a reader asked me for a list of my ten--more or less--favorite books about the sea. Here they are in no particular order.
Conrad, Joseph TYPHOON; THE NIGGER OF THE NARCISSUS; and short stories, particularly “Youth” and “The Secret Sharer”
Hughes, Richard IN HAZARD, which is a deliberate variation on Conrad’s TYPHOON.
Slocum, Joshua SAILING ALONE AROUND THE WORLD
Dumas, Vito ALONE IN THE ROARING FORTIES. The Argentinean, Dumas, was the first person to survive rounding Cape Horn alone. I hedge this recommendation because I read this book only once many decades ago.
Nordhoff and Hall THE BOUNTY TRILOGY. There is more than just the mutiny. The second book is about Bligh’s open boat voyage, and the third about the self-destruction of the mutineers at Pitcairn.
Marshall, James Vance THE WIND AT MORNING. A novel about Magellan's voyage. Another good sea book of his is MY BOY JOHN THAT WENT TO SEA. He is perhaps best known for his Australian novel, WALKABOUT, which was made into an excellent movie.
Hartog, Jan de THE CALL OF THE SEA, which is actually a trilogy including THE LOST SEA, A DISTANT SHORE, and A SAILOR’S LIFE. Also his, THE CAPTAIN. THE CALL OF THE SEA is about the last days of working sail in Holland; and THE CAPTAIN set in WWII.
Tomalin and Hall THE STRANGE LAST VOYAGE OF DONALD CROWHURST. I have no sympathy for Crowhurst, who killed not only himself but Nigel Tetley as well, but I remember this book as very readable.
Druett, Joan ISLAND OF THE LOST. I’m not sure this deserves to be on an all-time best list and may have included it only because I read it recently, yet I was impressed by how differently two almost simultaneous shipwrecks on the same island turned out, and how ingenious the one group of men were.
Chiles, Webb You could do worse than read me. I know that is vain, but an artist who hasn’t aspired to greatness and doesn’t believe in himself is worthless.
I considered but did not include Homer’s ODYSSEY because I don’t believe it is a book about the sea and Hemingway’s THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA because although I liked it when I was young, I haven’t read it recently and, generally, Hemingway has not aged well for me.
MOBY DICK was also a deliberate exclusion. I have read it three times and will probably read it again one day. I believe it contains great passages, but too much of the novel is tedious to recommend.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008