Customer Reviews

Psalm at Journey's End

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Exploring the inner lives and conflicts of three main characters, each of whom is a member of the band during the Titanic's maiden voyage, Fosnes Hansen recreates the unstable and dismal world each man inhabits at the dawn of World War I. Jason Coward is bandmaster, Leo Lewenhaupt, known as Spot Hauptmann, is the pianist, and young David Bleierstein is a violinist. Together with two lesser developed characters, Alex from St. Petersburg, and Petronius from Rome, they raise the big questions of how we become who we are, how much freedom we have to make choices in our lives, and to what extent we can control our destinies.

Each of these characters is in some way a captain without a ship. As Fosnes Hansen brings them alive through the poignant and often harrowing tales of their youth, including the death of their dreams and the sorrows which have led them to the Titanic, we see them as ordinary people whose lives might have been completely different if just one or two circumstances had changed. Lonely and self-destructive, all have found love to be illusory and a stable and loving family life to be impossible. In the consummate irony, the Titanic may offer hope, for "A ship is a star...a star of dreams."

A writer of great intensity, Fosnes Hansen's portrayals of his characters are simultaneously gripping and sympathetic, his stories and anecdotes realistic and moving. Not given to flights of lyricism, the author creates his images through his selection of perfect details and by providing access to the vibrant inner lives of the characters. Revealing the Titanic as a microcosm of life in 1914, the author also offers many symbolic scenes--rat fights, the execution of beloved pets, puppet shows, for example--which broaden the reader's perspective on the characters and their times. Though the ending fizzles with the sinking of the ship, the novel is startling, not only in its own right, but because it so clearly foreshadows the author's later novel, Tales of Protection, a novel which is more fully developed thematically and which soars! Mary Whipple

I admit that the movie did spark my interest in the book; nonetheless, this book engaged me right from the beginning. We've all heard about the musicians on the Titanic (playing until the very end, etc.) and I liked how this author imagined what these notorious musician's lives were before they sailed, and worked this idea into the basis for a novel. And unpredictably, the author did not paint pictures of the musician's lives as being glorious and richly cultural; lives whose glory and culture were only further richened by the opportunity of playing music for the wealthy on the Titanic. Instead, he painted an unexpectedly dark portrait of their lives; chronicling individual tales of despair, lost hope and opportunities. He also describes the time period in such vivid detail, that the European "sets" which serve as the background for the story come across to the reader as dismal as the musician's lives itself. Sound depressing? You bet! But despite all this, a reader can easily relate to their disappointments and actually mourn for these characters at the end. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Curiously, I have started to read this book long before all the hype about Titanic, the movie, and I had stopped reading it in the middle. The movie made me start reading it again. As the reviews indicate, the start of the book is not that compelling, especially because the tales of the regent's life seem to contain nothing but misery, drama and sorrow. But the book really gains momentum when the lives of the other musicians start to be explored. Helped by brilliant and vivid descriptions of the characters aboard and the ship itself, the author gives us a vision of the tragedy from the viewpoint of other little tragedies, that had started long before the musicians drowned while playing at the ship's deck.

By now, everyone has seen the "Titanic" movie (3, 4, or 5 times!). This magical novel traces the life-journeys of each of the musicians on board the Ship of Dreams. It's more about life, love, mystery and fate than about the ship itself, but no matter. One of the best novels I've read in years! Highly recommended.

Erik Fosnes Hansen has written a magnificent book that just grabs hold of you and stays in the back of your head a long time after you've read it. He is incredibly good at describing the characters and really makes you feel for them. I simply loved this book, and recomend it to anyone (as long as you're not expecting a sentimental ship movie).

It is simply fantastic. Fosnes Hansen has a unique gift: We live these musicians lives, and make us feel like we have lost old friens when they die. I also loved his newest book (not yet translated, but you really should buy it if you liked this one!!!)

Erik Fosnes Hansen has written a magnificent book that just grabs hold of you and stays in the back of your head a long time after you've read it. He is incredibly good at describing the characters and really makes you feel for them. I simply loved this book, and recomend it to anyone (as long as you're not expecting a sentimental ship movie).

This was a pretty good book! I especially like the story of the young Russian man (it's been months since I read it...I forget his name). While not really a Titanic book it is an accurate account of the times and these men share their melancholy lives with us.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE TITANIC IS ON THE COVER OF THIS NOVEL. THIS BOOK HAS VIRTUALLY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TITANIC. YOU WILL READ ABOUT THE FICTIONAL MUSICIANS WHO BOARDED THE SHIP, BUT THE STORY ALL TAKES PLACE BEFORE THE SAILING, WITH THE TITANIC MAKING BRIEF APPEARANCES, WHICH IS UNFAIR TO THE READER. HAVING THE SHIP ON THE COVER IS FALSE ADVERTISING.

From the cover and the blurb on the back, this is supposed to be a historical novel. Technically, this is true: it's a story of Gildged-Age era musicians serving on an Atlantic steamship. The ship in question just happens to be the RMS Titanic. It could have just as easily been the Empress of Ireland, or a totally fictional liner, and there would've been little to no change in the story. The musicians are the author's own creations, used in place of the actual men who served on the ship. It struck me as in poor taste, like writing a historical novel about the first men on the moon and replacing Buzz Aldrin and crew with "more interesting" characters.

For a *much* better novel set on the Titanic, using the historical figures, try Max Collins' The Titanic Murders.