last month i picked up a bunch of used books, including a couple of melvilles and a richard hughes. it got me thinking about novels that take place on the high seas, and knowing how much people around here like high seas films and a good dose of melville, i was wondering what everyone's favorite novels of the high seas are.
a starter list:
bengtsson- the long ships
carpentier- the century of lights (explosion in a cathedral)
hughes- a high wind in jamaica, in hazard
matthiessen- dry tortuga
melville- typee, omoo, mardi, redburn, moby dick
mutis- the adventures and misadventures of maqroll (seven novellas)
porter- ship of fools
woolf- the voyage out
any other suggestions?
update, adding:
du maurier- the escort (short story)
lange- 45 days and 30 sailors
conrad: lord jim, the secret sharer (short story)
london: the sea-wolf
high seas novels
high seas novels
Last edited by brian d on Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:42 am, edited 2 times in total.
"Most esteemed biographer of Peter Barrington Hutton"
Conrad.. lord Jim, maybe also nostromo? Can’t remember how much of the latter is set on board a ship. I am not lord jim’s biggest fan, but the early parts are quite good.
I came here to rep the Maqroll books, but I see that's already taken care of! Jack London's The Sea-Wolf is one of my favorites (and when it comes to Conrad, I'm partial to "The Secret Sharer," if short stories are allowed).
oooh this maqroll thing looks excellent
conrad's a good choice, even if i haven't like his stuff in the past. i read heart of darkness, the secret sharer, and lord jim. just found him verbose and not capable of telling a story that really moves. if there's a better work to read by him, i'm open to it.
it looks like typhoon might be the best option, but not sure if anyone's read that.
it looks like typhoon might be the best option, but not sure if anyone's read that.
"Most esteemed biographer of Peter Barrington Hutton"
i could have posted this on the currently reading thread, but it's the high seas! i got a copy of the narrative of arthur gordon pym, by poe, and it's really bizarre fun. i don't care one way or another about most of his stories, but this is a novel that feels like it's hanging together by a thread, which is always the best kind of novel. and apparently melville really liked it too, and i'm a sucker for a melville recommendation.
"Most esteemed biographer of Peter Barrington Hutton"
have always meant to read this!
