Reader / Listener Beware

Reader beware. This is the most unrelentingly brutal novel I have ever read. If I were rating this book based solely on the author's literary ability, this review would boost an additional star. It is compelling, well-researched, and carefully assembled. That said, it is frequently revolting in its graphically detailed descriptions of the slaughter of animals and humans alike. Please do not assume that this book is for you, based on the fact that the New York Times lists it as one of the ten best books of 2016. Beautifully read by John Keating.

63 people found this helpful

Dramatic but good narration

Where does The North Water rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very high.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, it was a very suspenseful story. A little bit gruesome and disturbing at times.

What about John Keating’s performance did you like?

I only wrote this review to say that while at first I thought the narrator was overdramatic, I got used to it quickly, and overall I very much appreciated him. He's a very competent narrator, with a nice voice and accent(s), and he uses his range clearly to distinguish the different characters' voices in dialog. I would put him in the top 10% of narrators. I had to get the Kindle book, and read that at times, because narration was sometimes too intense for my bedtime reading, because of how intensely disturbing some of the events are.

15 people found this helpful

Joseph Conrad + Cormac McCarthy + Patrick O'Brian

On a whaling ship! If you have the stomach for graphic violence, this book is suspenseful and very well written.

11 people found this helpful

No Frills Historical Fiction

Any additional comments?

This book is historical fiction without any of the asides or descriptive digressions that often appear in works of the genre, The plot gripping and suspensful plot is often violent, and the characters are rough. Not for the faint of heart.

7 people found this helpful

Brutal and Unflinching

Short-Listed for the 2016 Man Booker, this is an unflinching novel that immediately invades your senses, a forewarning of what you are in for on this doomed whaling voyage into the Arctic. With a style that is undiluted and vivid, McGuire christens the Yorkshire whaler, the Volunteer, immediately in violence with the rape of a cabin boy (left for dead) on the eve of the ship's departure.

Behold Henry Drax:
"Tonight he will kill, but the killing is not topmost in his mind. The thirst is much deeper than the rage. The rage is fast and sharp, but the thirst is lengthy. The rage always has an ending a blood-soaked finale, but the thirst is bottomless and without limit.” Stumbling out of a brothel just before dawn, he sniffs the "the complex air—turpentine, fishmeal, mustard, black lead, the usual grave, morning-piss stink of just-emptied night jars. He snorts once, rubs his bristled head, and readjusts his crotch. He sniffs his fingers, then slowly sucks each one in turn, drawing off the last remnants, getting his final money's worth."
McGuire has created possibly the most vile invertebrate in literature in Drax, a harpooner that represents the very depth of darkness possible in the soul of a man. Even his harpoon seems like a cruel appendage of this man, him experiencing the act of killing the whale almost on an orgasmic level...
"'Give me one last groan,’ he says.’That’s it, my darling. One last shudder to help me find the true place. That’s it, my sweetheart. One more inch and then we’re done.'"
Drax is more monster than man, and the vast unforgiving Arctic ocean, unreachable by the laws and virtues of man, is a comfortable theater for this kind of amoral beast and McGuire's fantastic tale of nature vs man/good vs evil.

Signing on as the ship's surgeon is former military man and avowed Atheist, Patrick Sumner. A principled Irish man that was dishonorably discharged from the army after fighting in the Indian Mutiny. Sumner is hiding his own demons, trying to escape from life through an addiction to laudanum (an opiate). Any captain would question a man of such caliber and education signing on for such a dubious and unconventional voyage; a journey of months elbow to elbow with the crew rough outcasts and degenerates. Captain Brownlee seems only delighted to have a man of Patrick's qualifications and distinction on board. It's soon revealed that the captain is preoccupied with more important chicanery. The suspect claim of a secret Arctic pool supporting flourishing pods of whales is only a ruse designed to hide a plan to scuttle The Volunteer for profit.

This is writing at its best...and man at his worst; a test of tolerance and endurance for any reader that loves writing that is exciting, vivid, creative and tense, but can't stand to read about the cruelties of man against man, or man against nature (other than some icebergs that deliver justice, here nature is relatively defenseless against man). McGuire plays with moral values and philosophies, pitting the nihilistic Drax against the regimented and socially conscious Sumner. If you are undecided about picking this book, possibly concerned about the cruelty of the whale hunting and creative demise of other creatures -- don't underestimate the graphic brutality. This is a tough story and a tough read that might not be for you. Listening along, I wanted to stay connected because of the excitement of a scene and the way it was so relevant to the state of the men as their values diminished the further away their journey took them from civility...it was a great metaphor terrifically written, BUT, the killing was painfully sharp and vicious. Ultimately, enduring through the whale killings and seal clubbing, I had to drop my earbuds during the polar bear event. I'll also prepare you for the language; a bombardment that even constantly endured, never seemed to become less offensive, to the point where I would have welcomed the relief of an occasional F-bomb. Realistically, I'd bet the language on these whaling vessels was even more salty.

A similar read, as far as the raw and gruesome events, AND quality of writing, might be *The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge* by Michael Punke, or *Butcher’s Crossing* by John Williams. For those that have read *Moby-Dick: or The Whale,* or Philbrick's *In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,* (the two novels about the 85 foot white leviathon), *The North Water* is similar in its intense description of the carnage. It's worth repeating the warning that McGuire doesn't spare the reader the gore or outrage.

(WARNING: don't read on if you are upset by graphic descriptions of the barbarity of whaling. The following excerpts are meant for those considering this novel, a small example (and the most benign) of what to expect.
"Jones nods, takes a fresh blubber spade from the malemauk boat, waits for one of the sharks to come close enough, and then stabs at it, opening up a foot-long gash in its side. A loose-knit garland of entrails, pink, red, and purple, slurps immediately from the wound. The injured shark thrashes for a moment, then bends backwards and starts urgently gobbling its own insides."

[From *In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex;* Nathaniel Philbrick]:
”When the lance finally found its marks, the whale would begin to choke on its own blood, its spout transformed into a fifteen-to twenty-foot geyser of gore that prompted the mate to shout. ‘Chimney’s afire!’ As the blood rained down on them, the men took up the oars and backed furiously away, then paused to watch as the whale went into what was known as its flurry. Beating the water with its tail, snapping at the air with its jaws--even as it regurgitated large chunks of fish and squid--the creature began to swim in an ever tightening circle. Then, just as abruptly as the attack had begun with the first thrust of the harpoon it ended. The whale fell motionless and silent, black corpse floating fin-up in a slick of its own blood and vomit.”
If you aren't outraged, sickened, or teary-eyed, this is your book. McGuire's monsters make Moby Dick look like Baby Beluga. Though undoubtedly worthy of the Man Booker, this choice takes some thoughtful consideration--if uncertain, I suggest passing.

39 people found this helpful

not as awesome as I was led to believe

this was a good book and interesting and the performance of the audiobook was excellent. But after seeing all the reviews I was led to believe that this would be an epic classic for the ages. It was just an interesting story with a lot of Gore and graphic violence. It was interesting and threw me back to a time that I didn't know much about and a place. But as for being a classic? Not so much. I found it long and tedious in parts but well written and as I said before very well performed.

5 people found this helpful

Dark, edgy, excitement...on a whale ship

Combines a great story, good writing and wonderful narration- all that I can ask from an audiobook. One of my all time favourites.

2 people found this helpful

Not for the Faint of Heart!

Any additional comments?

Great story, with an interesting plot and vivid characters. I'd love to read another book by this author involving the main character and his nemesis meeting up again. Just a note that there is some pretty graphic language (more graphic than "normal," which, I assume, was typical for that period in time), violence, and raunchy sexual references.

2 people found this helpful

Great story; imperfect narration

Any additional comments?

The story was very engaging, almost cinematic. (It would make a good movie.) As for the narration, John Keating has a flair for accents. He also, unfortunately, has a flair for the dramatic. I found that his dramatic, exaggerated tone when reading the narrative, non-dialogue portions of the novel were a bit too much and distracted from the simple pleasure of the writing.

5 people found this helpful

Not bad, just not for me...

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. The narrator does a great job with it and was very easy to listen to. The sample your given to listen to,at least for me, makes me think of a game of thrones type of book simply set in a whaling atmosphere - very vivid, a very in your face kind of book. So I took a leap and got it. Where it made me regret it was just past the sample when a boy is raped... Had no idea it was coming, still I pushed on hoping the rest of the book would make up for it soon.... It happened again... Became a piece of the overall plot overall so I won't go any deeper than that. It also wasn't clear who the main character was for a good while, if there even was to be one. There is. As long as you can push past that, then it's not a bad book- ok plot, very detailed, great narration. That being said, would I listen to it again? No, it's just not a book for me.

14 people found this helpful