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A review by theinquisitxor
We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen
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.