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Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
37 reviews
gringolet's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Colonisation
jhbandcats's review against another edition
4.5
He describes the plight of the officers, trying to outfit their ships with no money and few worthy crewmen, as well as that of the unwitting men press ganged (ie, kidnapped by the Royal Navy) onto ships they were ill-equipped to crew. No matter that some were sick, criminal, juvenile, or elderly, all were rounded up in a time of war and forced to serve.
The ship split into factions rather than working as a whole so in a time of crisis, it was no surprise that any discontent would devolve into mutiny. Alcohol, disease, starvation, and fear exacerbated the stresses on everyone. Before the benefits of vitamins were known, scurvy could wipe out a crew both physically and mentally. On top of typhus and shipwrecks, sometimes less than 20% of a crew made it back home.
Grann explains how this volatility affected the voyage of the Wager, and how the chain of command fell apart once the shipwrecked men were on shore. His copious research reveals that there were too many different versions of truth to know which was the most factual. The Admiralty wanted the embarrassment to just fade away so the court martial didn’t address any of the real issues.
I didn’t feel as much a part of this book as with Killers of the Flower Moon. I was wracked with guilt as I read what the white people did to the Osage and I felt complicit. I didn’t have that closeness to The Wager. Considering how dire the circumstances, that’s likely a good thing.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cait's review against another edition
3.5
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
sampcupp's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery and Alcohol
abicaro17's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
daughterofatom's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
pumpkincore's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Alcohol
erica_reads_everything's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
maison's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Racial slurs, and Slavery
Minor: Child death and Cannibalism
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
5.0
The story of the Wager is heartbreaking and amazing, with falliable human ingenuity and the unrelenting power of hope coming up against the forces of nature, disease, delerium, and himan depravity.
I really enjoyed Grann's writing. He made the story feel engaging as a living narrative rather than a historical account. I also appreciated how he took the time to call out the intrisic racism and imperialist motives of the venture. He made space for the indigenous peoples of South America, the African slave trade, and even class divides amongst the British.
I was mainly surprised by how the court martial ended, and I appreciated Grann's discussion of why it went the way it did.
Overall, a fantastic book.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Slavery, and Cannibalism