Customer Reviews

HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour

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I'd recommend the book for two of its three offerings and not worry about the third. The title story is one of the great sea stories of World War II and is worth the price of the book. Buy it for that alone. I also enjoyed "Heavy Rescue," though it wasn't quite as compelling as the title story. "Leave Cancelled" was disappointing to me, though it may not be for you. I consider the title story as good as Montsarrat's classic novel "The Cruel Sea," if not better.

I firmly believe that Monsarrat's "The Cruel Sea" is one of the best books I ever read, but his short story "HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour" is of the same high quality of that epic book. "Marlborough" leads off the three short stories in this book and describes a crew's effort to survive after a German torpedo causes massive damage to their naval sloop returning to base after escorting a convoy across the Atlantic. It's seafaring writing at its best and, like "The Cruel Sea", gives us added dimension to tales of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. As another reviewer has noted, the book is worth buying for the "Marlborough" story alone. I didn't finish the second story, "Leave Cancelled" -- I dunno I just couldn't get into it -- but the third story in the book, "Heavy Rescue" was a winner. It's the tale of a discontented World War I vet who finds meaning and purpose by volunteering for the unit which pulls survivors -- if any -- from the debris of the London Blitz. Anything Monsarrat has written is a gift, in my opinion, and this book is most enjoyable and unforgettable.