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katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Utterly engaging historical account of a sea voyage.
It took a little while to settle to the change in narrator, but I loved the period from the get-go, the unfolding story of an exploratory sea voyage to surpass previous famous voyagers (Cook) and fill in maps in a time of discovery and enlightenment.
In a series of connected but not always sequential chapters, we see the preparations for the years-long voyage, life on board ship, storms, accidents, contact with native peoples, wrecks, and the voyagers (and their families) in the years after they first set sail.
Each chapter asks you to start from scratch and see the voyage from a new perspective, some characters are more likeable than others, more trustworthy and sometimes a new account backs up a previous one, or shows their narration to be unreliable. The picture builds of the hardships, camaraderie, dangers and adventures they undergo.
And their adventures are amazing. The world is such a different one, so much still unknown to these men, with communication and travel a world and several centuries away - it's an education seeing our small-seeming planet through their eyes.
I absolutely loved it. The fate of many characters is tragic, deaths at sea regular and brutal, some escapades taking several chapters and narrators to give us the full picture. Cleverly done.
This surprised me when I learned partway through (reading the notes at the end) that this is an account based on a real-life voyage and persons. It only made it all the more intriguing and astonishing, putting myself in the mindset of these intrepid explorers.
Fictionalised true account, and one that is beautifully conveyed. A superb way of accessing the past, and a very talented new writer. This was recommended to me and is one I won't hesitate to recommend to others.
It took a little while to settle to the change in narrator, but I loved the period from the get-go, the unfolding story of an exploratory sea voyage to surpass previous famous voyagers (Cook) and fill in maps in a time of discovery and enlightenment.
In a series of connected but not always sequential chapters, we see the preparations for the years-long voyage, life on board ship, storms, accidents, contact with native peoples, wrecks, and the voyagers (and their families) in the years after they first set sail.
Each chapter asks you to start from scratch and see the voyage from a new perspective, some characters are more likeable than others, more trustworthy and sometimes a new account backs up a previous one, or shows their narration to be unreliable. The picture builds of the hardships, camaraderie, dangers and adventures they undergo.
And their adventures are amazing. The world is such a different one, so much still unknown to these men, with communication and travel a world and several centuries away - it's an education seeing our small-seeming planet through their eyes.
I absolutely loved it. The fate of many characters is tragic, deaths at sea regular and brutal, some escapades taking several chapters and narrators to give us the full picture. Cleverly done.
This surprised me when I learned partway through (reading the notes at the end) that this is an account based on a real-life voyage and persons. It only made it all the more intriguing and astonishing, putting myself in the mindset of these intrepid explorers.
Fictionalised true account, and one that is beautifully conveyed. A superb way of accessing the past, and a very talented new writer. This was recommended to me and is one I won't hesitate to recommend to others.
emze8's review against another edition
5.0
Truly amazing and I can not praise this book enough. Recommending to everyone I know.
snoakes7001's review against another edition
5.0
I had no prior knowledge of the ill-fated Lapérouse expedition before I read this fascinating fictionalised account.
There is a chapter for each landfall of the expedition (and beyond) and each is told from a different viewpoint. This structure works brilliantly, avoiding the inevitable repetitious nature of the long and arduous sea journeys between each landfall. As one chapter ends and the next begins there is a brief sense of loss that this is the last you will hear from this character, but within a few sentences you are engrossed in the next character's story.
Highly accomplished, interesting, informative and totally engrossing.
There is a chapter for each landfall of the expedition (and beyond) and each is told from a different viewpoint. This structure works brilliantly, avoiding the inevitable repetitious nature of the long and arduous sea journeys between each landfall. As one chapter ends and the next begins there is a brief sense of loss that this is the last you will hear from this character, but within a few sentences you are engrossed in the next character's story.
Highly accomplished, interesting, informative and totally engrossing.
juliwi's review against another edition
4.0
Landfalls is a novel that had me on the edge of doubt until the moment I started reading it. Was this a book for me? Would I be as gripped by it as I was hoping to be? It turned out that I didn't have to worry at all because Williams had me right where she wanted me after the first few chapters. Thanks to Little, Brown and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange of an honest review.
Multiple-person narratives can be either the best thing for a novel or can be incredibly detrimental to understanding the actual plot of the novel. Each of the characters allowed to speak has to actually add something to the story or else they only serve as a distraction to the reader. Williams takes it one step further in Landfalls and also has different chapters and narrators write in different mediums. You see everything in Landfalls, from straight up first-person narration to seemingly dramatized incident reports. And the best thing is that it all works. Williams weaves all of these different stories, points of view and mediums together into a single, whole story, illuminating the story of a single voyage. Through her switching in narratives, which remains largely chronological, Williams very much makes the reader a part of the exploring party while also giving the reader the chance to try to figure out for themselves what happened to Lapérouse and his crew.
I absolutely loved Landfalls and it is a novel I will no doubt be rereading. This may not sound like a compliment but there aren't a lot of contemporary novels which I feel that need with. I'd recommend this to fans of adventure novels and aren't afraid of novels that switch it up a bit.
For the full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/review-landfalls-by-naomi-j-williams.html
Multiple-person narratives can be either the best thing for a novel or can be incredibly detrimental to understanding the actual plot of the novel. Each of the characters allowed to speak has to actually add something to the story or else they only serve as a distraction to the reader. Williams takes it one step further in Landfalls and also has different chapters and narrators write in different mediums. You see everything in Landfalls, from straight up first-person narration to seemingly dramatized incident reports. And the best thing is that it all works. Williams weaves all of these different stories, points of view and mediums together into a single, whole story, illuminating the story of a single voyage. Through her switching in narratives, which remains largely chronological, Williams very much makes the reader a part of the exploring party while also giving the reader the chance to try to figure out for themselves what happened to Lapérouse and his crew.
I absolutely loved Landfalls and it is a novel I will no doubt be rereading. This may not sound like a compliment but there aren't a lot of contemporary novels which I feel that need with. I'd recommend this to fans of adventure novels and aren't afraid of novels that switch it up a bit.
For the full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/review-landfalls-by-naomi-j-williams.html
maureensbooks89's review against another edition
4.0
In ‘Landfalls’ we go back to 1785 at the time of the historical La Pérouse expedition, a voyage were many men went out to sea to explore unknown parts of the world. ‘Landfalls’ is a book filled with twelve chapters written from a different point of view and from different parts of the world.
The beginning of this book was a little hard for me. I had a little trouble getting used to the world back in the 18th century and because of that I really needed a view chapters to get used to the scene. But slowly on I felt myself being enchanted by this book. I must admit I hadn’t heard about the La Pérouse expedition, before starting this book. So this book was a really fun look back into the history of the 18th century. Although this isn’t a teaching book, I really felt a little smarter after reading it. LOL.
Naomi Williams definitely has a gift with words. I loved the way every chapter was written through the eyes of a different character. I’ve never read a book that was written this way before, and although it was really interesting to read I don’t think many authors can pull this off. This way of writing can easily make the readers lose their way but Naomi Williams was able to make this book even more interesting because of it.
This book was fascinating, really touching, but at times also really funny. Definitely a read which had a little of everything.
I’m so glad I was able to read ‘Landfalls’. Especially since I probably wouldn’t have picked this one up myself and I would have missed this beautiful written novel. Every page of this book makes you feel the way the author put a lot of time and effort in this book.. Although I’m still not a big Historical Fiction fan, I loved reading this book and would really recommend it.
The beginning of this book was a little hard for me. I had a little trouble getting used to the world back in the 18th century and because of that I really needed a view chapters to get used to the scene. But slowly on I felt myself being enchanted by this book. I must admit I hadn’t heard about the La Pérouse expedition, before starting this book. So this book was a really fun look back into the history of the 18th century. Although this isn’t a teaching book, I really felt a little smarter after reading it. LOL.
Naomi Williams definitely has a gift with words. I loved the way every chapter was written through the eyes of a different character. I’ve never read a book that was written this way before, and although it was really interesting to read I don’t think many authors can pull this off. This way of writing can easily make the readers lose their way but Naomi Williams was able to make this book even more interesting because of it.
This book was fascinating, really touching, but at times also really funny. Definitely a read which had a little of everything.
I’m so glad I was able to read ‘Landfalls’. Especially since I probably wouldn’t have picked this one up myself and I would have missed this beautiful written novel. Every page of this book makes you feel the way the author put a lot of time and effort in this book.. Although I’m still not a big Historical Fiction fan, I loved reading this book and would really recommend it.
lizzy_lisko's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lochmaben's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
an_enthusiastic_reader's review against another edition
4.0
3/5/2017: I'm not far into this yet, but already I can say the writing is excellent, full of period details, imagination, and strong characters (of which there are many, but the helpful character list at the beginning allows for quick checks.) I think more people should read this. Underrated and under-read.