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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Dieses Buch lag bereits auf meiner Wuschliste, als ich vom Unionsverlag ein Leseexemplar erhielt. Die Freude war gross. Gross war auch die Lesefreude, denn Barretts Buch entspricht haargenau meinem Beuteschema.
Wir fahren in den wilden Norden, aber es ist kein Abenteuerbuch, das wir hier in den Händen halten, sondern ein nachdenkliches Werk über das Wesen der Seele. Es ist eindeutig ein Charakterbuch. Die Figuren und ihre Beziehungen, Wünsche, Gedanken stehen im Mittelpunkt.
Gleichzeitig erfährt man auch einiges an historischen Fakten über diverse Fahrten in die Arktis. Zusammen mit dem wundervoll gefühlvollen Schreibstil Barrett ergibt das einen Roman, der es schafft, tief zu blicken. Tief in die Unwirklichkeiten von Schnee und Eis, von Verzweiflungstaten, von Freundschaft und Loyalität, von Einsamkeit und starkem Willen.
Wer sich für das eine oder andere Thema begeistern kann, wird das Lesen nicht bereuen. Leser, die beides sehr schätzen, kommen hier voll auf ihre Kosten. So wie ich. Ich habe Seite für Seite geliebt. Mit den Figuren gehofft, gelitten, geweint, gelacht. Dabei auch noch Informationen aufgeschnappt und unvergessliche Szenen in meinem Kopf abgespeichert.
Genau das, worauf ich gehofft hatte, als ich dieses Buch auf meine Wunschliste legte, und sogar noch mehr.
Wir fahren in den wilden Norden, aber es ist kein Abenteuerbuch, das wir hier in den Händen halten, sondern ein nachdenkliches Werk über das Wesen der Seele. Es ist eindeutig ein Charakterbuch. Die Figuren und ihre Beziehungen, Wünsche, Gedanken stehen im Mittelpunkt.
Gleichzeitig erfährt man auch einiges an historischen Fakten über diverse Fahrten in die Arktis. Zusammen mit dem wundervoll gefühlvollen Schreibstil Barrett ergibt das einen Roman, der es schafft, tief zu blicken. Tief in die Unwirklichkeiten von Schnee und Eis, von Verzweiflungstaten, von Freundschaft und Loyalität, von Einsamkeit und starkem Willen.
Wer sich für das eine oder andere Thema begeistern kann, wird das Lesen nicht bereuen. Leser, die beides sehr schätzen, kommen hier voll auf ihre Kosten. So wie ich. Ich habe Seite für Seite geliebt. Mit den Figuren gehofft, gelitten, geweint, gelacht. Dabei auch noch Informationen aufgeschnappt und unvergessliche Szenen in meinem Kopf abgespeichert.
Genau das, worauf ich gehofft hatte, als ich dieses Buch auf meine Wunschliste legte, und sogar noch mehr.
When Zeke came back my heart sank - there was just no good that could come from him and his way of stealing all the happiness in a room for himself. I slammed the book down and walked away, and it took me three days to sufficiently nerve myself for whatever was to come.
When Dr. Boerhaave died my heart broke for him and also for Erasmus, who was just beginning to see the beauty of having a dear friend. When Erasmus got the letter from one of the doctor's other friends, and that friend called the doctor by his first name, I felt Erasmus's sadness and shame that his priceless friendship apparently hadn't even made it out of stage 1. Who among us hasn't been crushed by the knowledge that someone is more important to us than we are to them.
When the author described how the doctor's drowned head had washed up on the cliff below the men's camp, and that they simply didn't look over, nor did they hear the wind whistling across the jawbone, I gasped. The way that she showed us something that could have been life-altering for Erasmus but wasn't, how she played with going past coincidence into far-fetchedness BUT DIDN'T, was brilliant.
Wonderful wonderful wonderful book.
When Dr. Boerhaave died my heart broke for him and also for Erasmus, who was just beginning to see the beauty of having a dear friend. When Erasmus got the letter from one of the doctor's other friends, and that friend called the doctor by his first name, I felt Erasmus's sadness and shame that his priceless friendship apparently hadn't even made it out of stage 1. Who among us hasn't been crushed by the knowledge that someone is more important to us than we are to them.
When the author described how the doctor's drowned head had washed up on the cliff below the men's camp, and that they simply didn't look over, nor did they hear the wind whistling across the jawbone, I gasped. The way that she showed us something that could have been life-altering for Erasmus but wasn't, how she played with going past coincidence into far-fetchedness BUT DIDN'T, was brilliant.
Wonderful wonderful wonderful book.
this is a weird book. read if you're interested in 1850s whaling?
I've always been interested both in science and in the history of science, so a book following the voyage of an arctic expedition in the 1850's, even if it's fictional? Yes, please.
And while I was captivated by the details of survival in the arctic, by the forming friendships and rivalries of the crew, and the constant troubles that assaulted them on the journey, then the journey was over--halfway through the book.
The entire middle section was a directionless morass of personal misery for the (arguably) main character Erasmus, and only when the assumed-dead Zeke returned home with two of the natives who saved him (a mother and her son) to tell a fantastic story of his survival, did the story pick up any speed again.
Then it's a parable of racism, when the only way Zeke has to make any money from the badly botched journey is to put on a traveling show exhibiting the natives, and everyone else in his family is basically horrified by it (though his wife is more jealous of the time they take up than horrified by his treatment of them.) Erasmus, with a little help from the few friends he still has, rescues the boy after his mother dies of fever, and returns him home, because while they may be white Americans in the 1850's and casually racist about a lot of stuff (and they are!) even they know what Zeke is doing is cruel and wrong.
And then it's over.
I enjoyed the writing style, I enjoyed the science, I enjoyed the characters for the most part. I'm a little mystified by the plotting and pacing, because everything really does fall apart in the middle. Even if Erasmus is depressed and directionless, it didn't mean the arc of the narrative had to be.
And while I was captivated by the details of survival in the arctic, by the forming friendships and rivalries of the crew, and the constant troubles that assaulted them on the journey, then the journey was over--halfway through the book.
The entire middle section was a directionless morass of personal misery for the (arguably) main character Erasmus, and only when the assumed-dead Zeke returned home with two of the natives who saved him (a mother and her son) to tell a fantastic story of his survival, did the story pick up any speed again.
Then it's a parable of racism, when the only way Zeke has to make any money from the badly botched journey is to put on a traveling show exhibiting the natives, and everyone else in his family is basically horrified by it (though his wife is more jealous of the time they take up than horrified by his treatment of them.) Erasmus, with a little help from the few friends he still has, rescues the boy after his mother dies of fever, and returns him home, because while they may be white Americans in the 1850's and casually racist about a lot of stuff (and they are!) even they know what Zeke is doing is cruel and wrong.
And then it's over.
I enjoyed the writing style, I enjoyed the science, I enjoyed the characters for the most part. I'm a little mystified by the plotting and pacing, because everything really does fall apart in the middle. Even if Erasmus is depressed and directionless, it didn't mean the arc of the narrative had to be.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed this. I've always loved reading the accounts of adventurers on their journeys to the poles, the deserts of Asia, and other places I'll likely never see, so reading this well-researched novel was a pleasure. The descriptions of the freezing north, especially during the winter, were vivid enough that I had to put on a sweater and wrap myself in a blanket. The characters were interesting, and their conversations about the discoveries and the leading scientific views of their day were a pleasant learning experience. It's been sitting on my shelves for years and years; I'm glad I finally took the time to read it.
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wasn't very excited about the book in the beginning, because the main character was insufferable. But I figured that would give him lots of room to change--but he didn't change much. He had some good revelations at the very end, but otherwise was still a bit annoying. The story itself was very thoughtfully written and very interesting. The depiction of the exploration had an accurate feel--both with how the characters related to one another, and with the reality of sickness and injury (for the most part). I also enjoyed how the author changed voice several times, in order to depict what other characters (besides Erasmus) were thinking and feeling.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes