Author : Rudyard Kipling
What is it about : A heroic tale about a rich daddy's boy in his mid-teens who fell overboard during a storm in the middle of the Atlantic and was later rescued by a group of fishermen. The boy transformed from his old dependent ways to become an old deck hand as he learnt the fishermen's trade during his ten months' voyage. Oh yes, happy ending at last, as the delayed news of his rescue reached his parents (who literally owned much of the US) and full generous gratitudes were dispatched to the fishermen crew.
Some thoughts after having read the book : Most of the book was written in a new language - Fishermen Speak and as a result I could hardly understand half the conversations although of course I did get the gist of the idea. Such mind-boggling examples :
"sure, crews an'gear made no differ to her driftin'. She'll etch loose in a flat ca'am."
"she'a as stiddy as a haouse an' as dry as a herrin."
"Ef she's spewed her oakum he'd better git to his pumps mighty quick."
Also, reality check during my reading pauses and I found it very difficult to imagine a well-looked-after boy of fifteen (think comfy slippers, hot coco before bedtime, mummy giving approving nods to his every thought and action), who just fell off a cruise liner and ended up working and living with a bunch of stinking fishermen, speaking the Fishermen Speak, eating salted herring every other meal, sleeping in soggy bunk beds and did not cry once or expressed any form of home-sickness - that would be one logic-defying incredibly tough boy !
"sure, crews an'gear made no differ to her driftin'. She'll etch loose in a flat ca'am."
"she'a as stiddy as a haouse an' as dry as a herrin."
"Ef she's spewed her oakum he'd better git to his pumps mighty quick."
Also, reality check during my reading pauses and I found it very difficult to imagine a well-looked-after boy of fifteen (think comfy slippers, hot coco before bedtime, mummy giving approving nods to his every thought and action), who just fell off a cruise liner and ended up working and living with a bunch of stinking fishermen, speaking the Fishermen Speak, eating salted herring every other meal, sleeping in soggy bunk beds and did not cry once or expressed any form of home-sickness - that would be one logic-defying incredibly tough boy !
Would I recommend this book to you : A difficult one to recommend (or not) because although the book was seemingly targeted for readers in the early to mid-teens, the reading was tough-going and I definitely would not say that the readers' English would improve by learning the Fishermen Speak (accounted for about three-quarters of the book). You could of course argue that by reading bad English, one would learn the proper English. Nonetheless, if you are looking to gain an insight into the unique style and prose of one of the Greats - check it out !
