Customer Reviews

The Oxford Book of Sea Stories

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Like all anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. But, for lovers of the sea and stories of it, this collection is well worth having to endure the more shallow stories for the deeper treasures. I'll just confine myself to some personal plaudits and qualms concerning a few of the stories to give the prospective reader a general idea of what he's in for.

First off, the best "story", anchors down, so to speak, is the extract from Moby Dick herein entitled The Chase. It reminded me of just what a genius America was bequeathed with in Melville.-Ahab's poetic, philosophical "ravings" leave one speechless before their innate profundity and insight into humanity and nature.

Not surprisingly, Jack London's "Make Westering", though very short, gives us more powerful writing from a writer vastly underappreciated today.

And, of course, there's Joseph Conrad, whose famous Secret Sharer gave me quite a shock. I was forced to read this story in my teens and saw nothing in it. Rereading it, I found it to be probably the most insidiously terrifying story in the collection. The notion of meeting one's otherworldly double has never been so explored.---I'll leave the reader to it.

My major qualm with this book is that many of the stories seem to be included simply to get the names of the famous authors into the anthology, rather than for any intrinsic worth of the stories themselves.

Sea stories are just not Henry James's suit, as is amply demonstrated here.

The F. Scott Fitzgerald story was so bad that I well-nigh became seasick muddling through it.---Only for hardcore Fitzgerald devotees who don't mind hearing about Scott and Zelda under thinly disguised alterations---again!

On the other hand, Faulkner's "Turnabout" is one of the best stories included here!---You never know with such a literary giant.

The selection from Lowry's oeuvre was disappointing. Tanner really should have chosen an excerpt from his early novel, Ultramarine, rather than one of his later stories, "The Bravest Boat, which is, well, "wishy-washy."

So, Bon Voyage readers into what is all-in-all quite an enjoyable book.

Only 4 stars---if only because of the inclusion of that vapid Fitzgerald story.

A master book of sea stories, British version. If you like sea stories get an American group as well "American Sea Writing", Library of America. Lot's of truth from the Olde Salts.