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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
This audiobook is a theatrical performance of historical fiction persona poems. Some poems are from the point of people who were on the Titanic, others are from the point of the rats and the iceberg itself.
This book started off confusing the hell out of me, but that was largely my own fault. It was an impulse grab in the audiobook section of the library. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. Once I figured out that was I was hearing was performance poetry it all made a lot more sense.
I would give a spoiler warning here but come on, we all know how this book ends right? The ship sinks? Ok, glad we have that covered.
Wolf has done two things I'm not quite as keen on with this book. The first is the rat. Aside from being comical, he doesn't offer much for me. He is repetitive and if I had been reading the paper version I probably would have flicked past him. The other plot ties, like the girl's money bag and the "dragon hunters" keep the story moving much better than this obnoxious rodent.
The other thing I take issue with is the way Wolf personifies the iceberg. I understand the need for some sort of omniscient being to describe the ship hitting the iceberg, that I'm okay with even if it was a bit too faux-avant-garde for me. But the iceberg almost sounds sadistic at points, as though she was seeking out the ship. Hunting the hearts of the souls within it. The reader is given the opportunity to vilify her in a situation when the true villains were chance and circumstance and human error more than any chunk of ice.
I really appreciate that Wolf clarifies what is true in his narrative and what is the product of his imagination in his last chapter, revisiting where his research took him and what he stretched along the way.
I am glad I happened to find this book, and even more happy it was in audio form. This performance far outweighed reading it silently. Wolf writes to be heard and this work should be experienced. It will change the way you look at historical fiction and where that genre can be taken in today's literary world. I had a lovely and emotional time on Titanic's promenades.
This book started off confusing the hell out of me, but that was largely my own fault. It was an impulse grab in the audiobook section of the library. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. Once I figured out that was I was hearing was performance poetry it all made a lot more sense.
I would give a spoiler warning here but come on, we all know how this book ends right? The ship sinks? Ok, glad we have that covered.
Wolf has done two things I'm not quite as keen on with this book. The first is the rat. Aside from being comical, he doesn't offer much for me. He is repetitive and if I had been reading the paper version I probably would have flicked past him. The other plot ties, like the girl's money bag and the "dragon hunters" keep the story moving much better than this obnoxious rodent.
The other thing I take issue with is the way Wolf personifies the iceberg. I understand the need for some sort of omniscient being to describe the ship hitting the iceberg, that I'm okay with even if it was a bit too faux-avant-garde for me. But the iceberg almost sounds sadistic at points, as though she was seeking out the ship. Hunting the hearts of the souls within it. The reader is given the opportunity to vilify her in a situation when the true villains were chance and circumstance and human error more than any chunk of ice.
I really appreciate that Wolf clarifies what is true in his narrative and what is the product of his imagination in his last chapter, revisiting where his research took him and what he stretched along the way.
I am glad I happened to find this book, and even more happy it was in audio form. This performance far outweighed reading it silently. Wolf writes to be heard and this work should be experienced. It will change the way you look at historical fiction and where that genre can be taken in today's literary world. I had a lovely and emotional time on Titanic's promenades.
This is a fantastic novel in verse that gives a personal voice to the tragedy of the Titanic. It details the entire journey in the voice of 25 different characters. Most of the characters were real passengers on the ship, some of the other voices are the iceburg and a rat scuttling around the boat. I liked how the end notes detailed the true stories of the people that Wolf fictionalized in the book. I also found the poems to be very clear on point of view, with 25 different voices, this could have been a problem. I would definitely recommend this to any fans of historical fiction or novels in verse, but the large size of book might discourage some readers. This book is content- appropriate for ages twelve and up, but older teens might have an easier time getting through the whole story.
This audiobook was fabulous! I truly enjoyed it. Multiple narrators bring the large cast of characters to life and sound effects are used sparingly to heighten the listening experience (example: telegraph beeps introduced each section of the wireless operator's point of view). I feel like a lot of these poems beg to be read aloud (a favorite example? The poem about the first-class promenade and the third-class promenade, the word pronounced differently in the different classes) and audiobook is a great way to experience this book. I will say that there were a couple of times when poems were read by multiple narrators and it was hard to tell the voices apart, but those instances didn't mar the overall listening experience too much. Highly recommended!
This was a fantastic book, told in a very unique way. It gave names and personalities to the generally faceless victims of the Titanic sinking and I loved it.
The only reason I give it four stars is because I didn't read the middle- I was introduced to the characters in the first 100 pages and then skipped ahead and read the last 100 pages.
The only reason I give it four stars is because I didn't read the middle- I was introduced to the characters in the first 100 pages and then skipped ahead and read the last 100 pages.
I love historic fiction and this book was amazing. My school librarian told me about this book and once I found out it had something to do the Titanic I was in love. Now of course the first thing you think about when you here Titanic is usually...Iceberg, drowning, people floating in icy water and for some romantics like myself I think of....you guessed it! Jack and Rose from James Cameron's beautiful movie Titanic. I love this book. I was a little afraid of reading a book in verse though. I never did read in verse because I'm not a poem type of person. This was anything but poetry. Yeah some words rhymed here and there but what book doesn't? I was shocked by the emotional words Alan Wolf put into his fantastic work. I have to say this was probably the best historically accurate book to a T. I would so stand up and give Wolf a round of applause for the extrodinary piece of work. Thank you Mr. Wolf. P.s. At the end of book...the notes section it made me laugh when under the TIME section he wrote: Time to watch the movie Titanic: 3 hours. Hahaha I love that he had some comic relief!!!
The multi-viewpoint story was an interesting approach, though I thought some of the voices were annoying. The sinking of the Titanic has always been a fascinating story to me.
A novel in verse. Many voices tell the familiar tale of the RMS Titanic, a topic that continues to fascinate people 100 years after the famous sinking. I liked the added voice of the iceberg and the ship's rats. A little too long and drawn out for my taste, but I appreciate what the author was trying to accomplish here. Extensive notes and bibliography help distinguish fact from fiction.
This poignant novel-in-verse (plus some letters and telegrams,) is incredible. Allan Wolf has woven together voices of many passengers - as well as a rat, the promenade decks, and even the iceberg! - to create a one-0f-a-kind account of the Titanic. The writing is masterful, each POV a little different in it's poetry layout. Throughout the book, I learned a lot about the infamous ship, it's passengers and their varied occupations and backstories. What is truly fascinating is that so much of it was gleaned from fact. Testimony to the author's detailed research are the biographies of each real-life character that are included in the back along with statistics and a long list of books on the Titanic. But more important than the facts is the people, the writing that portrayed them all in a sincerely human way - their struggles, their hopes, their misplaced confidence that the boat could not sink, their love for their families, their courage in the face of disaster. For some, there were even literal identity crisises - I had not known before I read this how some passengers boarded under an assumed name (or were thought to have.) The interactions between them all were not always harmonious, and the differing points of view were very well portrayed. At times it was hard to keep track of the different voices in the beginning, but their stories were unique and the writing distinct, so by the end I felt like I knew many of them quite well. Oddly enough, one of my favorite characters was the ship rat. His poems were strangely moving in their simplicity: a single line with the word "pain," the following line, "survive." Other favorite characters included Frankie Goldsmith, the young third class boy hunting dragons; Margaret Brown, the spunky socialite; Jamila, the lovestruck immigrant; Charles, the baker, and Jock the violinist. I would definitely recommend this book to any fan of historical fiction and/or novels in verse, and especially anyone interested in the Titanic.
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this book, even though it was poetry- the different points of view, even the rat and the iceberg- were really creative.