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natesea's review against another edition
4.0
This year I find myself drawn to large books of historical fiction. We, The Drowned is a great addition. Its 667 pages reads as a great sailing legend spanning 100 years of a Danish maritime town from the mid 1800s through the second world war. Its an incredible journey of the men and women, the generations of family existing in a small corner of the world, and yet playing a large, often forgotten role. There are shipwrecks, mutiny, violent trials of war, love, hate, friendship, and even the sea seems to play its own brutal character. If a sailing epic sounds like something you'd skip over, I encourage you to pick this up, not only to admire the cover art, but delve into the story within. You won't be disappointed.
kiramke's review against another edition
3.0
I rate up (or down) from 3 stars, but I wish I could give this a perfectly neutral 2.5, for the balance between what I liked and did not. The first 100 pages, I was sustained only by my interest in the first person plural voice. Around 130 a narrative picks up that held me for another 100 or so; then a flat bit, some terribly annoying men, a few chapters of searching for my narrator, some promising bits towards the end, and who knows what else. Here at the end I feel like I've liked it enough, but I remember those earlier phases. Too many things (voice, narrative) needed to be more developed - in any direction, but more committed to that direction. Still I love my Danes and my history and my sea narratives, so I'm rounding up to 3.
pharmdad2007's review against another edition
2.0
This one dragged a lot for me. It was like a Wagner opera, there were some great moments and some really terrible half-hours. 😁
empress_of_the_sun's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
emmaprew's review against another edition
4.0
If I could, I would probably have given this book 3.5 stars rather than 4. It's probably not the book's fault but I took, I think, a long time to read this. I also didn't read in particularly large chunks (except towards the end, when I just wanted it finished!) Because of this, I don't think I took everything in. This is a long book and the story spans 100 years, covering many different characters lives. They are each interlinked with their own connection to the sea, the Danish sailor's town of Marstel and each other… Yet the whole thing seemed a bit disjointed to me. Again, probably due to me not dedicating enough time to it. If I had more time (and a shorter ‘to read’ list), I would attempt to read the whole book again. BUT most importantly, I didn't give up reading We, The Drowned and all-in-all it was a good book, even if I wasn't the best reader.
theinquisitxor's review against another edition
4.0
This was a sweeping novel covering roughly 100 years of history about the people and the town of Marstal, Denmark. From the 1840s when Marstal was one of most prominent sailing towns, to the end of WW2, this novel follows the lives of several different people who are all connected to one-another, as well as the history and progress of the town. At almost 700 pages, it is quite a large book and one full of rich detail. The cover is also one of the best book covers I have ever seen.
The book starts out with a man called Laurids Madsen, who according to the townspeople, "went up to heaven and came down again thanks to his boots.” After Laurids, his son, Albert Madsen takes over the narration as he learns how to be a sailor and travels the world in search of a certain someone. This was probably my favorite part of the novel. I have always wanted to sail and travel on a boat across the world. It is something that I would like to experience: the open ocean, the functions of a boat, life at sea. Reading this part of Albert's journey was great, reading about his travels, explorations and dangers he encountered made me feel like I was right there on the boat too.
The book then takes a slower turn as we return to Marstal and get to know the town and its occupants more. This part felt slow to me and there were a few scenes that made me cringe in kinda a gross way. These scenes felt very unnecessary and high-key grossed me out. Other than that, I accept that this slower section was important in the building of Marstal, the town's future and the introduction of the next set of characters. After Albert, the main focus is on his semi-adopted son, Knud Erik and his mother. While we sailed through the tropics with Albert, Knud Erik travels through the icy northern Atlantic. WW2 is at the very end of the book and Knud Erik and his group of sailors face the everyday reality of German U-boats, torpedoes and bombs. This last section was my second favorite and the last several pages were a bittersweet testament to all the characters we met in Marstal.
The book starts out with a man called Laurids Madsen, who according to the townspeople, "went up to heaven and came down again thanks to his boots.” After Laurids, his son, Albert Madsen takes over the narration as he learns how to be a sailor and travels the world in search of a certain someone. This was probably my favorite part of the novel. I have always wanted to sail and travel on a boat across the world. It is something that I would like to experience: the open ocean, the functions of a boat, life at sea. Reading this part of Albert's journey was great, reading about his travels, explorations and dangers he encountered made me feel like I was right there on the boat too.
The book then takes a slower turn as we return to Marstal and get to know the town and its occupants more. This part felt slow to me and there were a few scenes that made me cringe in kinda a gross way. These scenes felt very unnecessary and high-key grossed me out. Other than that, I accept that this slower section was important in the building of Marstal, the town's future and the introduction of the next set of characters. After Albert, the main focus is on his semi-adopted son, Knud Erik and his mother. While we sailed through the tropics with Albert, Knud Erik travels through the icy northern Atlantic. WW2 is at the very end of the book and Knud Erik and his group of sailors face the everyday reality of German U-boats, torpedoes and bombs. This last section was my second favorite and the last several pages were a bittersweet testament to all the characters we met in Marstal.
thelastcolour's review against another edition
2.0
one of the most disappointing reads of this year. full review to come.
coboshimself_'s review against another edition
5.0
“Hope can be like a plant that sprouts and grows and keeps people alive. But it can also be a wound that refuses to heal.”
A book dealing with a Marstal, Danish seafaring town, and a century's worth of its history. It was a big book. I read it. I am now left trying to figure out the words that could best describe such an amazing tale.
We start with a man named Laudris Madsen. A man that fought in World War I and whose boots kept him tied to Earth. The story passes character to character through the generations. These fact will lead us to Albert Madsen's story on his voyage through the Pacific where he will encounter cannibals, shrunken heads and more and many more tales from Marstal's inhabitants.
This is an epic tale regarding the sea and its effects on a small town. How Marstal will expand, how children will grow and explore the world, how fathers will leave and never return, how mothers will raise kids to see them take their father's steps, how wives will become widows and how cemeteries will fill with empty graves.
The book's narration style is quite particular. It is "we", telling us "we" are always there. "We" follow Alberts voyage. "We" fought in The Great War. "We" lost our sanity by looking at galaxies. "We" are everywhere. "We" the drowned.
A book dealing with a Marstal, Danish seafaring town, and a century's worth of its history. It was a big book. I read it. I am now left trying to figure out the words that could best describe such an amazing tale.
We start with a man named Laudris Madsen. A man that fought in World War I and whose boots kept him tied to Earth. The story passes character to character through the generations. These fact will lead us to Albert Madsen's story on his voyage through the Pacific where he will encounter cannibals, shrunken heads and more and many more tales from Marstal's inhabitants.
This is an epic tale regarding the sea and its effects on a small town. How Marstal will expand, how children will grow and explore the world, how fathers will leave and never return, how mothers will raise kids to see them take their father's steps, how wives will become widows and how cemeteries will fill with empty graves.
The book's narration style is quite particular. It is "we", telling us "we" are always there. "We" follow Alberts voyage. "We" fought in The Great War. "We" lost our sanity by looking at galaxies. "We" are everywhere. "We" the drowned.