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A review by mediaevalmuse
The North Water by Ian McGuire
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
The AMC adaptation of this book is on my to-watch list, so when the ebook was available at my library, I figured I'd go for it. I like a good whaling mystery, and like many, I have a fascination with stories like the Franklin Expedition. While parts of this book were atmospheric and I think the author achieved a desired bleak tone, I found it overall hard to enjoy because of the racism and homophobia. I know a lot of people might say it's "historically accurate," but if you know me, you'll know that "accuracy" is not a good argument.
WRITING: The parts of this book I enjoyed most were the descriptions of the environment and states of being. McGuire has a knack for crafting vivid and unique similes, and I think he does a good job of not only communicating the appearance of the world, but it's particular mood. He also does a good job communicating bodily sensation, and I found the similes coupled with stark, punchy sentences to be particularly compelling.
PLOT: The plot of this book generally follows Patrick Sumner, an Irish surgeon who takes a job aboard a whaling ship after he is discharged from the British military. Sumner is put through a number of wringers, from surviving freezing waters to wrestling with hunger to sniffing out a murderer who has killed an innocent cabin boy and may be out for him next.
This book isn't really focused on the murder so much as it is a story about survival. The point is to show how lucky Sumner is and all the ways he survives war, ambush, and other things. If you like a good survival tale, you'll probably like this plot; but if you're looking for a thrilling murder mystery, this isn't the book for you. McGuire puts no stock in drawing out the tension and the suspense, so if anything, this book is mostly a disaster tale.
As a result, the tone of this book is bleak, and it's made even breaker by its racism and homophobia. I know what some people might say: 19th century Europeans were racist and homophobic. And that's true, but I think it was overdone in this book. The opening chapter, for example, left a bad taste in my mouth, and honestly, the racism and homophobia did little for me than to add unwanted "texture."
CHARACTERS: Sumner, our protagonist, is somewhat likable, but also goes along with things that made me not entirely want him to succeed. I appreciated that he stuck up for the cabin boy and wanted to protect him, but his complicity in the British colonization of India was... eh. It would have been one thing if Sumner grew as a person and saw non-British people more favorably, and granted, he does seem to form positive relationships with the Indigenous people of the Arctic. But it didn't strike me as character growth. He doesn't really seem to see the British troops as the bottom of the barrel of humanity, and he doesn't seem to reflect on his own failures while in India. He more seems angry that his superior didn't protect him.
Still, there was something about Sumner becoming a hardened, pessimistic fellow that was satisfying. He seems to start his journey as someone wanting a new start and has some optimism about him; by the end, he's jaded and loses a lot of faith in humanity. That was well done, though again, I don't think we needed so much racism and sexism to do that.
Personnel aboard the ship were fine. Cavendish was suitably annoying and easy to dislike for his ruthless ambition. Otto was a beacon of light amidst a sea of drudgery, and I genuinely enjoyed his banter with Sumner. Brownlee, the captain, was interesting in that he was determined to make up for past failures, and various other crew members were distinct enough to be characters yet didn't steal the spotlight from the main action.
I was, however, confused as to why we needed POV chapters and passages from Drax. Drax's perspective seemed to destroy the tension, but maybe McGuire wasn't setting out to write mystery or suspense. If that's the case, then fine, but honestly, I think the book might have benefitted from developing Drax more as either Sumner's foil or a stronger architect of the ship and crew's downfall. The description seems to suggest that Drax and Sumner are circling each other, but I didn't get that sense at all because it didn't feel like the crew or even Sumner himself was being hunted.
TL;DR: The North Water is a fairly bleak tale of survival with interesting similes and a satisfying downward spiral into pessimism. However, much of my enjoyment of this book was dampened by the racism and homophobia, and more so the sexual assault and death of children.
WRITING: The parts of this book I enjoyed most were the descriptions of the environment and states of being. McGuire has a knack for crafting vivid and unique similes, and I think he does a good job of not only communicating the appearance of the world, but it's particular mood. He also does a good job communicating bodily sensation, and I found the similes coupled with stark, punchy sentences to be particularly compelling.
PLOT: The plot of this book generally follows Patrick Sumner, an Irish surgeon who takes a job aboard a whaling ship after he is discharged from the British military. Sumner is put through a number of wringers, from surviving freezing waters to wrestling with hunger to sniffing out a murderer who has killed an innocent cabin boy and may be out for him next.
This book isn't really focused on the murder so much as it is a story about survival. The point is to show how lucky Sumner is and all the ways he survives war, ambush, and other things. If you like a good survival tale, you'll probably like this plot; but if you're looking for a thrilling murder mystery, this isn't the book for you. McGuire puts no stock in drawing out the tension and the suspense, so if anything, this book is mostly a disaster tale.
As a result, the tone of this book is bleak, and it's made even breaker by its racism and homophobia. I know what some people might say: 19th century Europeans were racist and homophobic. And that's true, but I think it was overdone in this book. The opening chapter, for example, left a bad taste in my mouth, and honestly, the racism and homophobia did little for me than to add unwanted "texture."
CHARACTERS: Sumner, our protagonist, is somewhat likable, but also goes along with things that made me not entirely want him to succeed. I appreciated that he stuck up for the cabin boy and wanted to protect him, but his complicity in the British colonization of India was... eh. It would have been one thing if Sumner grew as a person and saw non-British people more favorably, and granted, he does seem to form positive relationships with the Indigenous people of the Arctic. But it didn't strike me as character growth. He doesn't really seem to see the British troops as the bottom of the barrel of humanity, and he doesn't seem to reflect on his own failures while in India. He more seems angry that his superior didn't protect him.
Still, there was something about Sumner becoming a hardened, pessimistic fellow that was satisfying. He seems to start his journey as someone wanting a new start and has some optimism about him; by the end, he's jaded and loses a lot of faith in humanity. That was well done, though again, I don't think we needed so much racism and sexism to do that.
Personnel aboard the ship were fine. Cavendish was suitably annoying and easy to dislike for his ruthless ambition. Otto was a beacon of light amidst a sea of drudgery, and I genuinely enjoyed his banter with Sumner. Brownlee, the captain, was interesting in that he was determined to make up for past failures, and various other crew members were distinct enough to be characters yet didn't steal the spotlight from the main action.
I was, however, confused as to why we needed POV chapters and passages from Drax. Drax's perspective seemed to destroy the tension, but maybe McGuire wasn't setting out to write mystery or suspense. If that's the case, then fine, but honestly, I think the book might have benefitted from developing Drax more as either Sumner's foil or a stronger architect of the ship and crew's downfall. The description seems to suggest that Drax and Sumner are circling each other, but I didn't get that sense at all because it didn't feel like the crew or even Sumner himself was being hunted.
TL;DR: The North Water is a fairly bleak tale of survival with interesting similes and a satisfying downward spiral into pessimism. However, much of my enjoyment of this book was dampened by the racism and homophobia, and more so the sexual assault and death of children.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War