Book: Master and Commander
January 5th 2004
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brien
I decided to start this series after someone posted on The Usual Suspects about the movie. I know Chris likes books like this so I bought him the first two for Christmas. Of course, I am reading it first, but I made sure he had it for at least a couple days before I dove in.
I found it a bit of a hard slog at first, because the language is a bit off-putting at first. Not in the sense of vulgarity, but because the style is quite different from modern English. There are certain naming conventions that are different, and transactions in the conversation follow similar but just different enough routes that one really has to pay attention. But, after a few pages, you become immersed in that world and it makes sense. The writing is wickedly funny in parts. I found myself grinning like a fool involuntarily at some points.
Another reason why the style was somewhat jarring is that a lot of the action happens in the background, and is only referenced obliquely. Master and Commander is when Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin meet, and they go have rollicking adventures on the Sophia. I found the retelling of ship’s life to be absolutely engrossing, even if I have no idea what sail is the topgallant versus the reefs and sheets and lines and all that stuff. The schematic in the opening page is very helpful. There are twenty books in this series, so we’ll see how far I get.