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A review by xkrow
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann
4.0
Cannot believe my only two 4-star reads this year are non-fics...
Covering the trip of The Wager in the War for Jekins' Ear in which Britain and Spain went to war for neither the first nor the last time, it follows its crews backgrounds, the numerous deaths and illnesses that plagued their ships (The Wager was only one of seven ships in its armada), its shipwreck, the survival of its crew members on an island, the anarchy and quest for order, the mutinies (yes, multiple), the escapes (yes, again, multiple), and the trial and aftermath. All together, this is a wild, wild story, and Grann's careful hand weaves its many perspectives into a singular tale that hopes to get at the truth. Many times we are told multiple views on events, the various justifications each person gave for the actions the took because they all knew if they ever got back to England they might be hanged for their acts.
The beginning of this story is slow. We are introduced to the basic socio-economic background of the time and the reasoning for the travel, alongside the many different people we will follow and say farewell too. Nearly a hundred pages go by before the shipwreck, but I was never quite bored. Grann takes care to drip out details about this time-period (details I personally enjoy but might not be interesting to others). What were the diseases that plagued these folks? What were the different hierarchies? What was the difference between a midshipman vs a powder monkey vs an officer? How many damn times can captains die and be replaced within a single trip? Crucially, Grann teases his later discussions of order and chaos via the existence of marines aboard the ship who had to follow the captain while at sea but were their own troops when they touched ground.
I will not go into much detail about the shipwreck as it was the most delicious part of the story and should be savoured unimpeded. What sort of "Lord of the Flies" situations occur, and whose writings can be believed? Just know that just when you think the craziest events have passed, something wilder rears its head.
What I'd like to leave on is the sudden turn Grann takes in the end in his broader discussion of society and empire. Throughout, Grann mentions the supremacist and racist ideas these sailors and officers had of Indigenous Americans. They made up lies and stories about them to justify their abboherent treatment of the "savages" (who were supposedly so "barbaric" to be uncivilised, but the book tells of a group of Kawesqar that tried to help the castaways but ended up leaving them because of the sailors' infighting and incompetence). The results of the trial also reflects this. These supposed "gentleman" of Empire devolved into their baser instincts when faced with survival in nature. Order is implemented with law and violence, but when detached from a larger authority, the incompetence of hierarchy is laid bare. The added anecdote of the slave rebellions on ships adds to this understanding of the story - mutinies are either punished severely or swept under the rug, for their truly show the cracks within the foundation of a "supreme empire".
Covering the trip of The Wager in the War for Jekins' Ear in which Britain and Spain went to war for neither the first nor the last time, it follows its crews backgrounds, the numerous deaths and illnesses that plagued their ships (The Wager was only one of seven ships in its armada), its shipwreck, the survival of its crew members on an island, the anarchy and quest for order, the mutinies (yes, multiple), the escapes (yes, again, multiple), and the trial and aftermath. All together, this is a wild, wild story, and Grann's careful hand weaves its many perspectives into a singular tale that hopes to get at the truth. Many times we are told multiple views on events, the various justifications each person gave for the actions the took because they all knew if they ever got back to England they might be hanged for their acts.
The beginning of this story is slow. We are introduced to the basic socio-economic background of the time and the reasoning for the travel, alongside the many different people we will follow and say farewell too. Nearly a hundred pages go by before the shipwreck, but I was never quite bored. Grann takes care to drip out details about this time-period (details I personally enjoy but might not be interesting to others). What were the diseases that plagued these folks? What were the different hierarchies? What was the difference between a midshipman vs a powder monkey vs an officer? How many damn times can captains die and be replaced within a single trip? Crucially, Grann teases his later discussions of order and chaos via the existence of marines aboard the ship who had to follow the captain while at sea but were their own troops when they touched ground.
I will not go into much detail about the shipwreck as it was the most delicious part of the story and should be savoured unimpeded. What sort of "Lord of the Flies" situations occur, and whose writings can be believed? Just know that just when you think the craziest events have passed, something wilder rears its head.
What I'd like to leave on is the sudden turn Grann takes in the end in his broader discussion of society and empire. Throughout, Grann mentions the supremacist and racist ideas these sailors and officers had of Indigenous Americans. They made up lies and stories about them to justify their abboherent treatment of the "savages" (who were supposedly so "barbaric" to be uncivilised, but the book tells of a group of Kawesqar that tried to help the castaways but ended up leaving them because of the sailors' infighting and incompetence). The results of the trial also reflects this. These supposed "gentleman" of Empire devolved into their baser instincts when faced with survival in nature. Order is implemented with law and violence, but when detached from a larger authority, the incompetence of hierarchy is laid bare. The added anecdote of the slave rebellions on ships adds to this understanding of the story - mutinies are either punished severely or swept under the rug, for their truly show the cracks within the foundation of a "supreme empire".