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pedantic_reader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
alienn's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
linaleigh's review against another edition
3.0
I lost track of the characters a few times. I think a few could have stood to be removed altogether and the rest expanded. Interesting read though.
steller0707's review against another edition
4.0
The German ship, called the Vera, is making a trip from Veracruz, Mexico to Bremerhaven, Germany, carrying first class passengers of various citizenship and an "underclass" of prisoners, revolutionaries and the poor. Katherine Anne Porter modeled the novel after her observations on an ocean trip she took in 1931.
The cast of characters is somewhat large, and although there was a list at the front of the book, I found making my own list with a few more notes on each helped to keep them straight at first. But Porter's prose is so vivid it gives life to each one and soon the list was not necessary. I felt like I knew them.
But it's not warm, fuzzy feelings, though. Ethnic prejudices and class snobbery are all too evident throughout the novel: the condescension of first class toward the steerage travelers, the nationalism of the German travelers, and the public ostracizing of the Jews. Young readers may wonder, knowing the horrors of World War II to come, how such blatant talk could have been so common. In this regard, the "Ship of Fools" might be read as a cautionary tale.
The cast of characters is somewhat large, and although there was a list at the front of the book, I found making my own list with a few more notes on each helped to keep them straight at first. But Porter's prose is so vivid it gives life to each one and soon the list was not necessary. I felt like I knew them.
But it's not warm, fuzzy feelings, though. Ethnic prejudices and class snobbery are all too evident throughout the novel: the condescension of first class toward the steerage travelers, the nationalism of the German travelers, and the public ostracizing of the Jews. Young readers may wonder, knowing the horrors of World War II to come, how such blatant talk could have been so common. In this regard, the "Ship of Fools" might be read as a cautionary tale.
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
People aren't really this bad, are they? Perhaps I should read this again when feeling perfectly content and at peace with the world. Now was apparently not the right time. I wasn't able to empathize with the miserable lives of these petty, bigoted characters. The relentless misery weighed me down to the point where I couldn't even enjoy the beautiful writing, and just wanted to throw myself overboard. Oh, and I remembered Betty Draper reading this book in an episode of Mad Men. Poor Betty, no wonder she was depressed.
paul_cornelius's review against another edition
3.0
KAP's novel can be a bit of a struggle at times. It certainly never comes close to the vividness of her short stories. In fact, the latter often pierce through the pages with a sort of bright luminosity, the prose burning its way into the imagination. With Ship of Fools, you simply want the voyage to be over and done with. At least at times. There was a movie based on this that fared no better, alas.
doramac's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
grandma_debby's review against another edition
3.0
I like Ship of Fools for in interplay of characters and insight into their behavior. As a microcosm of social condition and human behavior, it's depressing. I understand the theme of social degradation into Nazi Germany, and I can relate these rather unlovable persons to a certain dysfunctional family in our neighborhood, people being trapped into situations from which they find no means of extricating themselves, but I want to shout to both our neighbors and Porter's ship passengers, "Isn't there anyone who can actually learn to care about someone else?"
alexaperdomo's review against another edition
5.0
La uruguaya Cristina Peri Rossi fue una de las tantas exiliadas durante la dictadura del '72 y en su narrativa se descubre este exilio de forma amplia y nostálgica.
Considerada la única representante femenina del boom latinoamericano, «La nave de los locos» es una de las obras post-boom más importantes.
En esta novela, Rossi muestra dos caras de una moneda. Por una parte, define el tapiz románico de la creación y todo su orden y armonía.
Por otra parte, nos cuenta la vida de Equis y otros personajes ficticios del «barco», que no es más que una alegoría al exilio, al hecho de vivir en todos lados sin ser o sentirse de ninguno.
El que emigra, el que huye y el que viaja constantemente tienen algo en común: extrañan, irremediablemente.
Feminismo, política, sexualidad, religión, literatura, sabiduría... Todos son temas que tienen lugar en el barco y que la autora expone con suprema poesía para gusto del buen lector.
Rossi conmueve, ante ese realismo que le inyecta a la soledad que agobia a todos los hombres.
«— No nací extranjero –le informó–. Es una condición que he adquirido con el tiempo y no por voluntad propia. Usted misma podría llegar a serlo si se lo propusiera, aunque no se lo aconsejo. Por lo menos no de una manera definitiva.»
Considerada la única representante femenina del boom latinoamericano, «La nave de los locos» es una de las obras post-boom más importantes.
En esta novela, Rossi muestra dos caras de una moneda. Por una parte, define el tapiz románico de la creación y todo su orden y armonía.
Por otra parte, nos cuenta la vida de Equis y otros personajes ficticios del «barco», que no es más que una alegoría al exilio, al hecho de vivir en todos lados sin ser o sentirse de ninguno.
El que emigra, el que huye y el que viaja constantemente tienen algo en común: extrañan, irremediablemente.
Feminismo, política, sexualidad, religión, literatura, sabiduría... Todos son temas que tienen lugar en el barco y que la autora expone con suprema poesía para gusto del buen lector.
Rossi conmueve, ante ese realismo que le inyecta a la soledad que agobia a todos los hombres.
«— No nací extranjero –le informó–. Es una condición que he adquirido con el tiempo y no por voluntad propia. Usted misma podría llegar a serlo si se lo propusiera, aunque no se lo aconsejo. Por lo menos no de una manera definitiva.»
martydah's review against another edition
5.0
This novel almost requires a cast list to keep track of all the 'fools' on the ocean liner the Vera which sailing from Mexico to Germany. On board are a very mixed bag of travelers, all returning to Europe in search of something they are missing in their lives or to get away from past mistakes or simply to reunite with loved ones. There are merchants, academics, businessmen, artists, entire families, dancers and even soft-core prostitutes among the passengers in the first class section. Add to this heady mix the ethic, racist and societal tensions among Germans, Americans, Jewish, Spanish and Cubans and the reader knows form the beginning that this will be the quintessential 'bumpy ride' for all concerned.
Originally begun in the 1930's, Porter did not publish this novel until the early 1960's. Most of the characters are based on her own notebooks, written during one of her own voyages. None, besides the gentle Dr. Schumann, are very sympathetic, not even most of the children. Most of the Germans come off as stiff-necked, self-righteous and racist, the Americans are either self-absorbed, vulgar or unstable, and the Spanish passengers are depicted as brutal, opportunistic criminals. However, Porter does not turn all of them into two-dimensional caricatures - most have some sort of redeeming trait, whether it's Jenny Angel's boundless enthusiasm, the Hutten's devotion to their spoiled bulldog, Bebe, or Wilhelm Freytag's shaken but still relatively solid devotion to his Jewish wife, Mary. Even divorcee Mrs. Treadwell, wavering as she admits between being 'no-longer young and not-yet-old' uncertain about what to do with her life, has some appeal. The voyage proves to be life-changing in some fashion for each one.
What Porter does well is to present us human beings, with all their warts showing. The reader may not like many of the characters, in fact will probably be horrified by the anti-Semitism and stereotyping of some of the passengers, but the issues she raises in this book are those that we still struggle with today. This is not a quick or easy read since the plot switches back and forth between characters (most of the action taking place in their minds) and it is often difficult in the beginning to remember who is who. I stuck with it and found it to be a very rewarding experience.
Originally begun in the 1930's, Porter did not publish this novel until the early 1960's. Most of the characters are based on her own notebooks, written during one of her own voyages. None, besides the gentle Dr. Schumann, are very sympathetic, not even most of the children. Most of the Germans come off as stiff-necked, self-righteous and racist, the Americans are either self-absorbed, vulgar or unstable, and the Spanish passengers are depicted as brutal, opportunistic criminals. However, Porter does not turn all of them into two-dimensional caricatures - most have some sort of redeeming trait, whether it's Jenny Angel's boundless enthusiasm, the Hutten's devotion to their spoiled bulldog, Bebe, or Wilhelm Freytag's shaken but still relatively solid devotion to his Jewish wife, Mary. Even divorcee Mrs. Treadwell, wavering as she admits between being 'no-longer young and not-yet-old' uncertain about what to do with her life, has some appeal. The voyage proves to be life-changing in some fashion for each one.
What Porter does well is to present us human beings, with all their warts showing. The reader may not like many of the characters, in fact will probably be horrified by the anti-Semitism and stereotyping of some of the passengers, but the issues she raises in this book are those that we still struggle with today. This is not a quick or easy read since the plot switches back and forth between characters (most of the action taking place in their minds) and it is often difficult in the beginning to remember who is who. I stuck with it and found it to be a very rewarding experience.