The Commodore: A Novel of the Sea [Hardcover]

Jan De Hartog (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his latest seafaring epic, de Hartog has brought back Martinus Harinxma, narrator and hero of the successful The Captain. Now 70, Harinxma is coaxed from retirement to act as a consultant onboard an ultramodern ocean-going tug that has been sold to a Taiwanese shipper. Longing for one last fling with the sea, Harinxma quickly discovers how wrong he was. The tugboat seems jinxed by a flaw that nearly causes it to capsize in heavy seas. Run by an incompetent captain and an inexperienced crew who speak only Chinese, the tug seems doomed until Harinxma decides he must see it safely through its voyage. Battling the elements as well as unscrupulous owners who may want to see the tug go down, Harinxma copes with unexpected problems at every turn. The book does not generate the excitement of de Hartog's previous nautical adventures, but his insight into character and thorough knowledge of his milieu lift the narrative well above the ordinary run.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In Hartog's The Captain, ocean-going tugboat captain Martinus Harinxma, aged 30, battled the Nazis in the North Sea. Now 70, Harinxma is hauled out of retirement to sail as advisor on a 30,000-ton tug equipped with the latest technology on the first leg of a 4000-mile journey to Taiwan. The "bitch killer" tug has driven off two captains already. Her Dutch owners have sold her to the Chinese in desperation; the new owner has staffed the ship with an inexperienced crew and an incompetent, possibly suicidal captain. Hartog is resolutely old-fashioned in his insistence on telling a good story. Populated with absolutely convincing characters and an appealing hero, The Commodore offers one hair-raising adventure after another; it is even funny at times. This is very high quality escapist fiction, with some serious thoughts to share on the nature of heroism and the shock of growing old. David Keymer, SUNY College of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 406 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (May 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060390417
• ISBN-13: 978-0060390419
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,202,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent yarn of the sea and ships, February 11, 2008

By 

Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Commodore: A Novel of the Sea (Hardcover)

This is an excellent and engaging story of men, ships, and old age by one of the masters of the genre, Jan de Hartog. The story is fairly straightforward -- the protagonist is a retired Dutch sea captain (technically a "Commodore") who is comfortably retired and out to pasture living quietly in the South of France. His old shipping company coaxes him out of retirement to supervise a voyage of a modern oceangoing tug from Holland to its new owners in Taiwan. But of course it is not as straightforward as all that, and in reality this becomes a contest to see who is more tricky and unscrupulous: the ruthless Dutch shipping master, who has long been the reigning king of deep-ocean salvage, or the equally ruthless Taiwanese mandarin who has ambitions of his own. The protagonist, a man of old-school integrity, is caught in the middle of a pitiless struggle for money and power.

Jan de Hartog writes with authenticity, as he was a Dutch tugboat sailor himself. This novel features his usual clear writing, and deliberately-paced storyline. This is an engaging story that captures and retains the reader's interest. Although the story gets a little slow in parts, and takes its time building to its real point, the entire trip is one worth taking, and the patient reader will appreciate this fine novel.