Reviews

The Far Side of the World by Patrick O'Brian

neilrcoulter's review against another edition

5.0

Ah, to dip into the Aubrey/Maturin story again--the evening musical improvisations, the toasted cheese, the morning pot of coffee from Killick... It's halfway through the series now, and the characters, settings, and plot devices are like comfortable old friends. [b:The Far Side of the World|672492|The Far Side of the World (Aubrey/Maturin, #10)|Patrick O'Brian|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388360954s/672492.jpg|19475] is one of my favorite volumes so far. It's possible that [a:Patrick O'Brian|5600|Patrick O'Brian|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1212630063p2/5600.jpg] by this point was feeling that the series didn't have much time left--as he points out in his introduction, he is running out of days left in the war--and so he packs Book 10 with a great number of interesting scenes. Most memorable is probably the marooning in the Pacific, by a boatload of anti-male Polynesian women. But the whole story is a thrill, guided by a single chase across the world, through every kind of climate and weather, with more ups and downs within the Surprise's own crew than ever before. Much of the book was a real test of the fan's patience, as Aubrey's luck continues to be poor; but the ending promises (yet again) a possible change of fortune for Jack. I found the last hundred pages or so of this one impossible to put down; and though I love the Aubrey/Maturin series, that is not always the case with all parts of all the books.

The characters continue to grow and develop realistically. Stephen (who may, humorously, be leaving one addictive substance for another one) has a few moments of contemplating what his duplicitous past has done to his character:

'The Odyssey is a fine tale, sure, though I never could cordially like Ulysses: he lied excessively, it seems to me; and if a man lies beyond a certain point a sad falseness enters into him and he is no longer amiable.' Stephen spoke with some feeling: his work in intelligence had called for a great deal of duplicity--perhaps too much.

I love reading a novel by a master wordsmith--an author who, for example, uses the word "enormity" to mean "an act of heinous atrociousness" instead of "really big." The historical archaisms are, as always, great fun to decipher, especially when the reader can trust that the author is fully in control of the language. It's a rare treat.

My reviews of the Aubrey/Maturin series:

Master and Commander

Post Captain

H.M.S. Surprise

The Mauritius Command

Desolation Island

The Fortune of War

The Surgeon's Mate

The Ionian Mission

Treason's Harbour

The Far Side of the World

The Reverse of the Medal

The Letter of Marque

The Thirteen-Gun Salute

The Nutmeg of Consolation

Clarissa Oakes

The Wine-Dark Sea

The Commodore

The Yellow Admiral

The Hundred Days

Blue at the Mizzen

21

michael5000's review against another edition

5.0

Nov 2012: Some improbably surrealistic events in this one, which probably means that O'Brian had exact accounts in triplicate to support them, but still. Showcases the tendency of the A/M books to end precisely where most authors would begin the big climactic action.

April 2015 (audio): Such an odd installment, with the most surreal passages of the entire epic, but so dramatic, so funny, and so satisfying. The joyful Surprise!

saglo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

aaronreadabook's review against another edition

4.0

A strange one in the series, very little combat or spy action, yet full of incident. Stephen is even more clumsy than usual. Parts of this were used in the brilliant Peter Weir film adaptation, but it is not recognisable as the same story as most of it was borrowed from earlier books in the series.

mordshunger's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

2.5

Maturin refuses performing an abortion AGAIN and there are terrible consequences. Medical malpractice and casual murder. Very upsetting and unlikely to be fully historical accurate, Higgins should have gotten his comeuppance by the Captain or the doctor. They failed to protect the young woman who was a guest aboard, and I was surprised that Jack was not more perturbed by this lapse in responsibility. In comparison, the movie sterilised the situation and turned all blame away from our two heroes and fully onto the mean, superstitious mass of sailors. A spineless adaption, very Hollywood.

leeborkman's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

ielerol's review against another edition

4.0

This is the second time Maturin has refused to perform an abortion, and it still bums me out! I know Patrick O'Brian did a lot of historical research, but was his attitude really consistent with how doctors of the time understood the directive to "do no harm?" Especially given the extremely obvious consequence that

Spoiler

Mrs. Horner gets an abortion from Higgins instead, which surely caused a lot more harm to her, personally, than if Maturin did it. Like if the option is killing the fetus and the woman or just the fetus, I know that modern-day anti-choice activists are in fact fine killing the woman, but surely Maturin would not be!

I thought that historically speaking, before a lot of modern medical technology like ultrasound, fetuses weren't considered "alive" at all before quickening, and the modern form of extreme anti-abortion beliefs are relatively new. And yet, the narrative on the whole (as well as Maturin personally, beyond that refusal) is very sympathetic to the woman in question, and women in general, while still not giving characters absurdly anachronistic beliefs. The portrayal of Polynesians as cannibals is maybe not great, and yet, those Polynesian women are amazing, and Maturin is clearly sure they have the right idea. Maybe I should do more research myself.

Still, everything else going on here is excellent.

mbondlamberty's review against another edition

5.0

I liked this book even though it was a bit far-ranging geographically and in terms of topics covered. Tempted to give it a 4 with the treatment of the Polynesian women. But loved Maturin's handling of things as always.

nukehavoc's review against another edition

4.0

Although I've been reading the Aubrey/Maturin books on and off for years, I saw the Far Side of the World movie before I got to the book. As others stated, it was interesting to see what was kept and what was dropped in the film, and ultimately, I think they nailed the feel of the books as best they could.

As for the book, O'Brian packs a lot into this one, but ultimately I prefer the conclusion of the movie to that of the book.

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The wreck of the Norfolk was a disappointment, especially after the Surprise spent so much time chasing her. While I know O'Brian based his work on the historical record, I preferred the movie's subterfuge and close-quarters ship battle to the anti-climatic wreck in the book. The tension between the American survivors and their British opponents was ruined by the sudden arrival of the Surprise at book's end. It was something that had been hinted at to be sure, but ultimately it felt to arbitrary.

doodlebuginarug's review

adventurous funny informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0