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maviemerveilleuse's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely one of the best of the series, along with The Mauritius Command and, of course, H.M.S. Surprise.
sadie_slater's review against another edition
5.0
The Far Side of the World is the tenth of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels, which means I'm now halfway through the series. (Counting the remaining books to work this out I discovered that I own two copies of The Wine-Dark Sea - does anyone need one?) This one takes Jack and Stephen, once again on board the Surprise, round Cape Horn and into the vast expanse of the South Pacific in pursuit of a US naval ship, the Norfolk, which has been sent to prey on British whalers. As always with O'Brian's novels, though, it's less about the ostensible mission and more about the smaller incidents and accidents of day-to-day shipboard life, dealing with extremes of weather and all the difficulties resulting in a large group of people co-existing in a small space for a long time. It is, as always, a delight; I read O'Brian much more for the prose and the characters than I do for the plot, and the descriptions of the voyage, the weather, the marine life and occasional landfalls are wonderful. There are also many delightful interactions between the characters; I particularly enjoyed the sequence where Stephen falls overboard (surely not, I hear no-one at all cry) and he and Jack, who has dived to his rescue without a moment's hesitation, become separated from the ship and are rescued by a boat of Polynesian Amazons, while Jack's tendency to misquotation results in some very funny moments. A lovely book to immerse myself in.
justlcruz's review against another edition
3.0
An exciting adventure across the globe, but just like the sailing, it included some doldrums.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
4.0
Captain Aubrey of the British Royal Navy is sent to the South Seas to prevent the American frigate Norfolk from harassing English whalers. It's an excellent book all around, but there are moments of pure perfection in it. The prim parson Martin shows Maturin the letter he wants to woo his lady-love with, it's horrifyingly bad, Maturin tries to tell him so as gently as possible, and Martin completely refuses to hear it. Or at one point Maturin falls out of the cabin window while Aubrey is talking. Aubrey immediately realizes what happens and, without a moment's hesitation, dives in after him, for Maturin is so uncoordinated that he could drown in only an inch of water. Later, upon finding entering the cabin and finding both Aubrey and Maturin missing, their shipmate immediately knows that Maturin fell out of the ship and Aubrey went after him. And of course the ending is basically the best ending of all endings in the entire world. In order to secure the shipwrecked Norfolk's people, Captain Aubrey lands his gig on a small island surrounded by reefs and dangerous tides. The tides mean he can't get back to the Surprise that night, and in the morning he can't see the ship at all. The Norfolk crew assures him that the Surprise has definitely wrecked, and Aubrey is afraid they're right. At least a week goes by without sighting any ship, but then he sees an American whaler coming toward the island. Aubrey knows that if the whaler picks them up, he and his men will be imprisoned, and so he works at brutal speed to get his little gig sea-worthy. But the Norfolk's men destroy his gig at the last moment (I was so angry at this point I was practically weeping with rage), and Aubrey is without hope. The whaler is close enough to hail--and THEN! STUFF HAPPENS! VERY EXCITING STUFF!
I will note that this book contains Maturin once again refusing to help a woman have an abortion. It's a particularly bad situation because he's pretty sure that her sterile husband will kill her once he finds she's pregnant. And lo and behold, her husband does indeed kill her. Your principles sure did help, huh Maturin? If the vaunted spy-master really wanted to save lives, surely he could have come up with SOMETHING besides just letting this teenager go back to her abusive husband and waiting till he kills her. He couldn't come up with a medical lie, like she's suffering from dropsy? Or ask his "particular friend" Captain Aubrey to put the abusive husband on a treasure ship or something? gah! My frustration with him was mitigated somewhat when, later in the novel, he goes on a several minute tirade about how shitty the patriarchy is for women. But still. Maturin, get your shit together.
I will note that this book contains Maturin once again refusing to help a woman have an abortion. It's a particularly bad situation because he's pretty sure that her sterile husband will kill her once he finds she's pregnant.
unionmack's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to the audiobook for this and, in all honesty, most of the time it was background noise. For one reason or another, it really failed to hold my attention. At their best, the Aubrey-Maturin books are perfectly balanced portraits of the past, with equal parts enjoyable action, believable characterization and insightful, amusing conversation. At their worst, they succumb to the worst sin a a series of books can commit: becoming formulaic. Even though this one took place in a far different locale than any of the prior novels, it felt really tropey and predictable. I'll probably keep going with the series and it seems like plenty of other people really love this volume. Oh well! I always enjoy spending time with Jack Aubrey, Stephen Maturin and the other usual suspects of these books, even if it's usually more fun that it was this time around.
bokashi's review against another edition
3.0
Great read (listen) on a cloudy weekend. More interpersonal conflict and fewer sea battles. I enjoyed this installment more than some other recent ones.
suffolkbadger's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This is book ten in his series following Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin and I just love the stories and the way Patrick O'Brian writes. Each book manages to be quite different and are not simply a battle at sea novel.
I find myself rationing reading these books as I simply don't want to run out of them! If you haven't read him yet and you like adventure / historical fiction I don't think you will be disappointed
I find myself rationing reading these books as I simply don't want to run out of them! If you haven't read him yet and you like adventure / historical fiction I don't think you will be disappointed
sidneyleedham's review against another edition
4.0
3.5; some v v fun parts but also some plot points ended up
being kind of underwhelming, and there was no big fight scene >:-(
10/10 for some classic jack/stephen moments though
being kind of underwhelming, and there was no big fight scene >:-(
10/10 for some classic jack/stephen moments though
darwin8u's review against another edition
4.0
“Martin was a thoroughly amiable man, a man of wide reading, but when he came to write he mounted upon a pair of stilts, unusually lofty stilts, and staggered along at a most ungracious pace, with an occasional awkward lurch into colloquialism, giving a strikingly false impression of himself.”
― Patrick O'Brian, The Far Side of the World
'The Far Side of the World' is driven by a fairly simple plot. It is a chase, a hunt, a sea race from Gibraltar, down around Cape Horn into the Pacific. The Surprise has been tasked with intercepting the American frigate the Norfolk as it hunts for British whalers in the Great South Sea on the Far Side of the World. The benefit of this novel's simple plot structure is it really boils the book down to what makes the series great: O'Brian's nautical prose and the relationship between Dr. Stephen Maturin and Captain Jack Aubrey.
The relationship between Maturin and Aubrey is one that captures the unique relationship that forms between some men in battle, war, etc., that seems to almost transcend relationships of blood or the liquid link of lovers. Some of the most touching parts of this novel are those lines where Captain Aubrey recognizes how his role as captain requires him to do something that will cause distress or pain to Dr. Maturin. The affection is real. It is honest. It is mature. The amazing thing is this type of love between men almost NEVER gets exposed in modern literature or art. Again, I say almost because there are example, but the great thing about this series is O'Brian lets this relationship grow and develop and adds complexities to it that are unparalleled anywhere in literature.
I also adore how these two men explore two great models* of masculinity. Captain Aubrey (to me) represents almost a Ruler form of masculinity while Doctor Maturin represents the Explorer form. These two men, with these two very distinct FORMS and WAYS of BEING men are able to interact, cooperate, resolve conflict, etc., through their linked affection, to a world at war and a world unknown. I read these novels and I believe there is nothing that Victorian rules and the Age of Enlightenment can't accomplish.
* Borrowing a bit from Clare W. Graves here.
― Patrick O'Brian, The Far Side of the World
'The Far Side of the World' is driven by a fairly simple plot. It is a chase, a hunt, a sea race from Gibraltar, down around Cape Horn into the Pacific. The Surprise has been tasked with intercepting the American frigate the Norfolk as it hunts for British whalers in the Great South Sea on the Far Side of the World. The benefit of this novel's simple plot structure is it really boils the book down to what makes the series great: O'Brian's nautical prose and the relationship between Dr. Stephen Maturin and Captain Jack Aubrey.
The relationship between Maturin and Aubrey is one that captures the unique relationship that forms between some men in battle, war, etc., that seems to almost transcend relationships of blood or the liquid link of lovers. Some of the most touching parts of this novel are those lines where Captain Aubrey recognizes how his role as captain requires him to do something that will cause distress or pain to Dr. Maturin. The affection is real. It is honest. It is mature. The amazing thing is this type of love between men almost NEVER gets exposed in modern literature or art. Again, I say almost because there are example, but the great thing about this series is O'Brian lets this relationship grow and develop and adds complexities to it that are unparalleled anywhere in literature.
I also adore how these two men explore two great models* of masculinity. Captain Aubrey (to me) represents almost a Ruler form of masculinity while Doctor Maturin represents the Explorer form. These two men, with these two very distinct FORMS and WAYS of BEING men are able to interact, cooperate, resolve conflict, etc., through their linked affection, to a world at war and a world unknown. I read these novels and I believe there is nothing that Victorian rules and the Age of Enlightenment can't accomplish.
* Borrowing a bit from Clare W. Graves here.