Choppy Waters
Overall the book was decent. I was not WOW'd by the book. I'm a big Bernard Cornwell fan and I became interested in O'Brian after reading Sharpe's Trafalgar (which I highly recommend). Many reviews criticize the use of nautical terms, but I did something crazy and got the book "A Sea of Words" which can be used to assist with the understanding of nautical terms. "A Sea of Words" is also useful in reading C.S. Foresters Hornblower series in case anyone's interested in those books. Anyway, it's amazing how a little research can shed light on a tiny thing like a nautical expression.
My problem with this book was the flow. The book seemed to be written in segments that didn't connect very well. That is to say, O'Brian didn't transition well from one scene in the book to the next. I found that to be kind of frustrating and I would go back to make sure I didn't miss something. Towards the end I got used to O'Brian's style and I do plan on moving forward and reading "Post Captain".
If you're willing to use "A Sea of Words" or other reference to help with the nautical terminology I recommend reading this book. If you're a passive reader then I recommend you stay away from it. I'm in the middle of the first book in the Hornblower series, "Mr. Midshipmen Hornblower" and I've found it to be a much more smooth read; so give Hornblower a chance if you find O'Brian to be too much.
Lost in Translation.
Lost. Utterly lost. If I had studied a naval manual before I began this book, it may have been different, but alas, no. I so looked forward to billowing sails, salty sea air and wind in my face but the arcane, archaic and mostly unintelligible language left me high and dry. It was like an out-of-body experience looking down on the happenings but feeling nothing. At a certain point in the story one of the ship's mates was injured in a skirmish and ship's surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin had to perform brain surgery. Wow! Gory? Fascinating? Not really. It was glossed over and reduced to a sordid blow-by at a cocktail party which Captain Aubrey was thrown out of! And that brings me to the biggest disappointment of all: the good captain himself. My God, what an unattractive man! I was looking for a hero instead I got a florid, selfish, prize-seeking, questionably literate, vulgar man whose "hams shake when he walks". Eww! Grant it, Aubrey is a math whiz and a master seaman, but one who apparently has a lot of growing up to do. I'm so interested in the missions and possible adventures in the other novels that I may give it another go and read on. Maybe.
I would never do this, but this time I'd have to say watch the movie. Watch Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany bring out the best attributes of that time and place: Disciplined, compassionate, courageous, handsome, literate and spirited men! The music they play is sublime and highlights the more refined aspects of their characters. While in the book, not so much. As a matter of fact, in a fit of repressed uncontrolled pique, the book's Captain Aubrey actually snaps his beloved violin in half! Start with the movie. You'll forget the cold mutton, hard tack and scurvvy and feel honored to come aboard the Sophie!
The Maturity of the Writing Rewards the Mature Reader
Patrick O'Brian writes in a fluid, rich fashion that rewards the patient reader with perception, inflection, and reflection. He certainly builds his plot on adventure and the hardship of the British naval adventures in the Napoleonic era, but the reader who enjoys his stories best is the reader who appreciates understanding what is inferred and what is left unsaid. I thought this book, the first in the series, introduced Jack and Stephan very colorfully and happily, but over the course of the rest of the series a reader will be rewarded with much more knowledge of them, and surprised by the development of their characters. Loved this book, loved the Sophie, appreciated the tension that grew and dissipated among the characters. It is all completely believable and enjoyable.
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