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Title: Voyage of the Narwhal: A Novel by Andrea Barrett ISBN: 0393319504 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: September, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67
Rating: 5
Summary: A thoughtful, elegant page-turner
Comment: A fictional ship, The Narwhal, heads up to Greenland and the Canadian Artic to search for the remains of John Franklin and his crew. It is the mid-1800's. The civil war has not yet begun, and no one knows whether there is an open artic ocean. The story is narrated by Mr. Wells, the ship's naturalist and the commander's future brother-in-law. He is a flawed 19th century gentleman who struggles to reclaim his life and to understand what he has experienced.
This book is a page-turner in the best sense of the word. I stayed up late three nights in a row because I wanted to know what happened. More than that, I felt my own life slip away as I joined the crew of the Narwhal, so convincing was Barrett's portrayal. Isn't that why we read fiction? Perhaps one more reason: to see our world differently when we close the covers. This book satisfies that demand as well.
It is nourishing, thought-provoking and beautifully written. One of the best modern American novels in recent years.
Rating: 5
Summary: A wholly hospitable book about an inhospitable gorgeous land
Comment: All I ask is that you read the first paragraph. After that, you're hooked. Or perhaps harpooned. From the first captivating phrases, the reader is absorbed into a world of terrible cold and beauty, against which is played a 98.6 degree drama of survival and ambition. It's a story that pits one man's singular quest for glory against an entire crew's natural survival instinct. It's told primarily from the viewpoint of Erasmus Wells, a naturalist who has spent most of his life in failure and retreat and who sees the Narwhal as his long-sought vehicle of redemption. The Narwhal sets sail ostensibly on the trail of Sir John Franklin's doomed expedition to find a northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean. But the real mission is broader: to accrue glory to the commander and driving force of the voyage, Erasmus' future brother-in-law, Zechariah Voorhees. When things don't go quite his way early on, Zeke puts in motion events that ultimately put the entire crew in peril. Narcissistic, single-minded, charismatic and paranoid, Zeke can't help but remind one of Captain Queeg in his more lucid moments. The unstated struggle between Zeke and Erasmus and the consequences of adhering to ingrained hierarchies is fascinating to observe. These human struggles play out against a white backdrop of frozen beauty. Cold like few of us on the Internet are likely to experience firsthand. Cold that will freeze your flesh right on the bone. In this land, the ice moves slowly but God help you if it catches you. In the end, this is a story of redemption, written with grace and authenticity. I loved it.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Journey into the Struggles of Man
Comment: To suggest this is an adventure novel would be to suggest that Heart of Darkness was an adventure novel. Rather, it is a remakbable journey into the souls of men and an exploration of the human struggles that draw people together and tear them apart. Barrett's book doesn't waste words hand feeding the reader every detail of the journey, but rather allows us to feel the impact of events by sharing the emotional toll they take on the characters. This refreshing approach flies in the face of modern day Harrison Ford heroes whose struggle against evil is blazed in black and white decisions and death-defying physical feats. Narwhal's characters face impossible choices, their struggles against natural forces are more often lost than won, and for each and every decision, the weight of lives and relationships hangs in the balance. An amazingly real and gripping journey it is, and one that was an absolute joy to read.
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Title: Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett ISBN: 0393316009 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: December, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Servants of the Map: Stories by Andrea Barrett ISBN: 0393043487 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The FORMS OF WATER : THE FORMS OF WATER by Andrea Barrett ISBN: 0671795228 Publisher: Washington Square Press Pub. Date: August, 1994 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: MIDDLE KINGDOM by Andrea Barrett ISBN: 0671729616 Publisher: Washington Square Press Pub. Date: March, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape by Barry Holstun Lopez ISBN: 0375727485 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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