Close Quarters [Hardcover]

William Golding (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1987

The enthralling sequel to Golding's Booker Prize-winning 1980 novel, Rites of Passage, continuing the story of the 18th-century fighting ship carrying passengers and cargo from England to Australia.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What began with Rites of Passage (1980) continues with this second volume of a planned trilogy. Nobel Laureate Golding again displays his accomplished storytelling, not to mention an intimidating command of all things maritime at the time of the Napoleonic wars. Although it lacks deeper levels of significance, this is a rousing tale of the tragic misadventures befalling an 18th century fighting ship now converted to transporting cargo and passengers on the treacherous voyage from England to Australia. The novel is cast as a journal written by Edmund FitzHenry Talbot, a well-meaning, somewhat uncertain, slightly pompous officer and gentleman enroute to Sydney and a career in His Majesty's service. As a result of a green sailor's blunder, the ship's masts shatter, and it founders. Golding's principal achievement is the vivid, detailed depiction of a disintegrating vessel in the tropical seas, its progressive decay, and the wretchedness and despair of its passengers. None of this prevents a chaste, mannerly romance between Talbot and a sweet young thing. At the end, which Talbot himself calls "abrupt," it seems doubtful the ship will survive its ordeal. Howor whetherit does awaits the third volume.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This lively sequel to the Nobel laureate's Rites of Passage ( LJ 10/1/80) finds Edmund Talbot continuing his voyage to Australia. The year is 1815. A chance encounter with another ship yields up the welcome if illusory news that "Boney" has been defeated and exiled to Elba. Talbot also falls madly (and oh so blindly) in love, only to lose his beloved as the two ships part after a surreal victory gala. We leave Talbot as his ship, dismasted by a squall and fouled with weed, drifts helplessly southward. As before, the self-absorbed Talbot remains comicallyand sometimes painfullyoblivious to the true import of the events he records. A further sequel is promised. For most fiction collections. Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1St Edition edition (June 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374125104
• ISBN-13: 978-0374125103
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,941,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Cornwall, England, William Golding started writing at the age of seven. Though he studied natural sciences at Oxford to please his parents, he also studied English and published his first book, a collection of poems, before finishing college. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, participating in the Normandy invasion. Golding's other novels include Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors, The Free Fall, Pincher Martin, The Double Tongue, and Rites of Passage, which won the Booker Prize.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 2nd part of a trilogy, and does not stand alone, November 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Close Quarters (Paperback)

Wonderful prose, beautifully observed character study, as WG slips into the skin of an extremely priggish and snobbish early twenties aristocrat as he comes of age and begins to understand a little more of the virtues of the ordinary people around him. Sea journeys of that era were long, tedious, largely uneventful and extremely uncomfortable. All 3 books in the trilogy carry this perfectly: the maritime atmosphere is conveyed as perfectly as the arrogant character of the narrator. However, the tedium of the journey also comes across in the virtually non-existent plot which makes the books drag on somewhat. It is probably, though, as brilliant description of the English class system at the start of the 19th century as you will read. I believe that the books in Trilogies should be able to stand alone, if they are to be sold separately, & on that basis, this trilogy definitely fails. I'm glad I read it as a single 750 page tome.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting tale at sea, November 26, 2006

By 

kellyreaderofbooks (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Close Quarters (Paperback)

This is the second book in Golding's "To the Ends of the Earth" trilogy. I first got hooked on these books after watching the made-for-TV adaptation on PBS (Masterpiece Theatre). I thought it looked like it would be an interesting read, and it has been! Although the sailing details are interesting, for me the best part of the book is reading about the clashes of the levels of society back then. The narrator of the series is Edmund Talbot, who is "high society" with connections. In fact, he's partly jokingly referred to as "Lord Talbot" because of his airs. He is at times pompous, self-centered and not very likeable--which makes this book even more fun to read since everything is from his point of view.

An exciting book, and I highly recommend it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Order confusion, January 9, 2007

By 

Elisabeth B. Butler "bbutler" (San Clemente, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Close Quarters (Paperback)

I returned this book as I found out later it was included in "To the Ends of the Earth".