Customer Reviews

21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (Aubrey-Maturin)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

An excellent gift to the fans of Patrick O'Brian but, I am sure, of little interest to anyone else. Certainly it would be the worst possible introduction to O'Brian's wonderful nautical fiction. But for those of us who have for years read and re-read his tales, so beautifully written and so infused with the great friendship between his two central characters, this fragment of O'Brian's intended twenty-first novel in the series allows us to pay one last visit to these two fascinating men. And happily we find them in a time of comparative joy and leisure. Gentle humor abounds as Aubrey and Maturin tease one another, based on their sure knowledge of one another's quirks and modes of thought. Although it seems certain that the typewritten manuscript of the these three, rather short chapters would have received further polishing and likely substantial additions before the book was completed, what we have is not only recognizable, but very characteristic O'Brian prose, often illuminated by the choice of exactly the right adjective that is at once both unexpected and yet revealed as inevitable. I would go so far as to argue that even as it stands, the writing here more nearly approaches that of O'Brian's best books than that of at least the last few novels.

A unique feature of this final book is that it presents the printed text face-to-face with O'Brian's handwritten draft for that same text, and it can be fascinating to see how the prose evolved from pen to typewritten versions. But the typewritten text ended with still several handwritten pages yet to go, and the publishers have elected to present those last pages as they were found without transcription into print. As a previous reviewer noted, deciphering those handwritten passages can be a thorny task (after a week of it, there are still a number of words I can claim to read only tentatively and a few not at all). But I think the publisher was right in not attempting to integrate those last handwritten pages into the printed text drawn directly from what had already been typed up by O'Brian. First, there would have been a problem of continuity. As O'Brian worked on his manuscript, changes were being made in the storyline so that the remaining handwritten pages do not really reflect plot developments that had been typed up. And perhaps more importantly, much of this last handwritten portion bears evidence of being a rapidly written first draft, sketching out the storyline more than attempting to create anything close to an envisioned final version; some words are omitted, some are unintentionally repeated. Undoubtedly, these imperfections in these last few pages would have been corrected if O'Brian had had the opportunity to redraft them by hand (as seems to have been his usual working method) or typewriter, but for the publisher to transfer them into print would have required either a heavy hand in editing - thus departing unfortunately far from the O'Brian original - or acceptance of a stylistically incompatible finale. No, all in all I agree with the publisher's decision to leave these last several pages in O'Brian's own handwriting. For those of us sufficiently interested, decipherment at least to the extent of following the storyline is not too difficult a job, and it is a task that ultimately brings us closer to this most favored of authors as, in his last days, he once again sailed in company with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.

One final note: if given a choice between obtaining the American edition of this book published by Norton or the British edition issued by HarperCollins, I would suggest the latter. Although the Patrick O'Brian content of the two is the same, the UK edition also contains an illuminating introduction by William Waldegrave and, perhaps even more pleasing, it is printed on a superior paper stock for clarity and simply more luxurious feel.

I had just finished the 20th novel yesterday, BLUE AT THE MIZZEN, and then read this book, which came out just in time for me to finish THE AUBREYIAD.

The book has both a copy of the handwritten manuscript, and a typed up version of the work that O'Brian was able to revise before he died. The manuscript has more of the story that O'Brian didn't have time to revise, so about 5 pages are only found in manuscript form, and they aren't typed up. I really wish that the publisher had typed up these last 5 pages of the manuscript, because some of the manuscript is unreadable. The untyped manscript covers a duel, and would really make excellent reading. I'm afraid I don't have Dr. Maturin's ability to decode.

What a treasure this book is. Not only does Aubrey finally hoist his flag, but he and Maturin begin another adventure - one that will not end, but nonetheless a fitting departure.

Of equal interest to those who have followed the series is the mix of handwritten text with typescript that has gone through a first stage of revisions. You can actually see how O'Brian assembled the pieces of each chapter, notes to himself to add this detail or to flesh out that one, even a diagram of how the characters were placed as they sat around the table at dinner. Some observers believe that for outstanding writers such as Patrick O'Brian, these stories spring from his thoughts, practically complete at first blush. The handwritten text shows that excellent writing is very hard work.

This is clearly not the way for O'Brian newcomers to begin their acquaintance with Aubrey, Maturin, their families, the Surprise, Killick, or any other aspect of the series. It takes good eyes and tenacious dedication to read the handwritten manuscript. It is all still too raw to make a lot of sense for those fresh to this sea.

But for those who have read and reread this series, perhaps listened to the audio book versions, who have purchased Geoff Hunt prints and who, despite misgivings, saw "Master and Commander" in the theater, "21" cannot be missed.

I am grateful for any new crumb of an O'Brian seafaring tale that I can get my hands on. This one included. But even taking into account the unavoidably abrupt end of this novel fragment, "21" still lacks significantly due to some inexcusable decisions on presentation.

There were many ways that this project could have gone. Rumors of another author attempting to finish the work; pretending to the mastery of O'Brian's steady hand at the tiller. Rumors of a note-filled outline that would allow the reader to know the broad strokes of the story, even if it hadn't yet been filled with the flowing detail and observations that are the author's hallmark. It was hoped by many that whatever was to be released would remain true to O'Brian and his richly described world.

What we get in "21" is more, and less, than what we would want. O'Brian's handwritten manuscript is presented next to his approved typed pages. It reveals the steady flow of his narration, written out on the page in an almost finished form. Remarkable when considering the period dialect, obscure adjectives, and insightful eye for detail already present in this hand-scripted draft. Enlightening in what it reveals about the author's method and capability. In just 3 chapters the story is already off to a great start and promising more. Reunions, rivalries, complications are all well in motion when O'Brian is forced to take his leave, and the story left untold.

The decision was made not to present the final pages in a typed format on the excuse that O'Brian had not reviewed them in type prior to his death. They are presented only as facsimile copies of the author's handwritten notes. As a result, the last few storied words of O'Brian's unfinished tale cannot even be savored as they trail off into eternity, they must be deciphered, decrypted, almost mined from the page out of scrawled, scanned handwriting that in many places renders entire lines of text unreadable. Because of this short-sighted gimmicky decision, obtaining the last literary gasps of Admiral Aubrey and Dr. Maturin becomes not an act of story-telling, but one of crude indelicate interrogation (an activity that Dr. Maturin, and by extention, O'Brian, abhorred).

Instead of transporting me to the southern oceans and distant shores full of adventure, this presentation of O'Brian's final unfinished tale commutes me to an office cubicle where I find myself occupied with an activity more akin to deciphering old faded electrical schematics. I unfortunately have to knock my rating down from 5 to 4 stars.

Again I am grateful that even this much was presented, but in the end, one of the most important elements of O'Brian's work is intentionally missing from this book: it's accessibility.

It may have been better if this very imperfect first portion of the next A-M novel had never seen the light of day; as other reviewers have noted, it is rough and clearly has not seen the refinement and backfilling that is so evident in the rest of the series (for example, poor Wantage, sewed into his hammock and sent over the side in Blue at the Mizzen, is resurrected to help out with the same fluency in Portugese that cost him so dearly in the past). Yet all of us who have lost ourselves in O'Brian's world can't help but love even this limited glimpse of what happens next. It's like unexpectedly running into dear friends at an airport and getting only the sketchiest update of their lives before losing touch with them forever -- far from satisfying but oh so much better than not seeing them at all. Despite the joy of even these two chapters, it seems like the publishers could have given us the benefit of putting into type the final manuscript pages for ease of reading. But that's nit-picking. I am happy to have had the chance to view this final work in progress of a gifted, dedicated writer who has enriched my life.

Having read all 20 book I was excited to read the last book that Mr O'Brien wrote. This had the making of a great book and I was enchanted by the contents of the book. I was happy to see Jack Aubrey finally getting his blue flag and of actually doing the duties of a rear admiral and the story line was very interesting, especially wheen Stephen Mautrin got into the duel with Captain Miller. But that is the disappointing bit. As much as I admire Mr O'Brien he was over 80 years old, his wife had recently died and his handwritting was terrible. I could only make out about 25% of the handwritten manuscript. I tried and I tried because the story line was so interesting but I just couldn't read through most of what he wrote. I really wish that the publishers had typed out that portion for us all to read without having to guess what happend. I was so disappointed that I couldn't make out all what had happend during the duel. But I was able to grasp the gist of the action taken place. Except for that this was an excellent book and I so regret the death of Mr O'Brien because he was such an excellent story teller. I can only imagine what the entire story line would have been if he had lived. But this book did give me joy in seeing Jack Aubrey an Admiral finally after 20 books. A must read for any serious fan of the series

just a beautiful unfinished torso of a novel that could have opened a new chapter in the Aubrey-Maturineid.
I quite resented the editors' choice of leaving the final handwritten notes in fac simile, instead of typing them the way one would take for granted six centuries after Gutemberg.
O'Brian's prose reads smoothly as ever , but his handwriting is above me.
Oliviero Fuzzi

Beautifully produced and gives an insight into how O'Brien proceded with his planning.I felt I was saying good-bye to close friends.

I know there has been controversy over the release of this unfinished work, but too sound completely selfish I am so glad to have it.

To see how Mr O'Brian worked through his drafts to a final story is fascinating. Yes, it will take some work to read the manuscript pages, but it's a treasure hunt, not a drudgery in my mind.

If you read and enjoyed the first 20 books, you will want this one; the characters are all present, the humor is there and it's a glorious last taste of the genius that was Patrick O'Brian.

I have conflicting emotions about "21". While I am delighted to read these few opening fragments of what a 21st novel in the superb Aubrey/Maturin saga would have been like, with Jack Aubrey now finally a rear-admiral, and Stephen Maturin, his always erudite political, medical and natural history advisor, I do feel a little cheated reading this unfinished segment (Here we see Jack take command of a small squadron destined for an African adventure somewhere along the continent's west coast, probably in pursuit of slavers.). It would have been better for the publisher to have found someone who could have written a credible novel from O'Brian's opening chapters and possible fragments elsewhere, much in the same manner in which the late British musicologist Deryck Cooke successfully "completed" Gustav Mahler's 10th Symphony, than to publish "21" replete with Patrick O'Brian's beautiful - yet difficult to read - scripted prose. At best, this tiny coda offers an intriguing insight into O'Brian's ability to write well first drafts, but nonetheless, this was undoubtedly a draft he would have corrected substantially later had he lived. And yet fans of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin will undoubtedly be pleased to see one final glimpse of them as envisioned in the fertile mind and imagination and gifted prose of the late Patrick O'Brian.