Ship Fever: Stories [Paperback]

Andrea Barrett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 1996

1996 National Book Award Winner for Fiction.

The elegant short fictions gathered hereabout the love of science and the science of love are often set against the backdrop of the nineteenth century. Interweaving historical and fictional characters, they encompass both past and present as they negotiate the complex territory of ambition, failure, achievement, and shattered dreams. In "Ship Fever," the title novella, a young Canadian doctor finds himself at the center of one of history's most tragic epidemics. In "The English Pupil," Linnaeus, in old age, watches as the world he organized within his head slowly drifts beyond his reach. And in "The Littoral Zone," two marine biologists wonder whether their life-altering affair finally was worth it. In the tradition of Alice Munro and William Trevor, these exquisitely rendered fictions encompass whole lives in a brief space. As they move between interior and exterior journeys, "science is transformed from hard and known fact into malleable, strange and thrilling fictional material" (Boston Globe).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1764, two Englishwomen set out to prove that swallows--contrary to the great Linnaeus's belief--do not hibernate underwater. But they must be patient and experiment in secret, such actions being inappropriate for the female of the species. In 1862, a hopeless naturalist heads off for yet another journey, though he can't seem to rid his conscience of the thousands of animals that have already died in his service. In 1971, a pregnant young woman, ill at ease with her socially superior husband and his stepchildren, hears of a Tierra del Fuegan taken hostage by the commander of the Beagle in 1835. This unwilling specimen was, we read, "captured, exiled, re-educated; then returned, abused by his family, finally re-accepted. Was he happy? Or was he saying that as a way to spite his captors? Darwin never knew."

Many of the characters who populate Andrea Barrett's National Book Award-winning collection, Ship Fever, feel similarly displaced in the world. They long to prove themselves in both science and love, but are often thwarted by gender, social position, or the prevailing order. In "The Behavior of the Hawkweeds," the wife of a genetics professor has learned that each narrative of discovery is matched by one, if not more, "in which science is not just unappreciated, but bent by loneliness and longing." Barrett's astonishing tales of ambition and isolation convey the meaning and feeling behind the patterns--scientific and emotional--but slip free of easy closure. The two women in "Rare Bird," like the swallows, depart England for more conducive climes, or so the brother of one believes. The reader is left to hope, and imagine. Much has been made of Andrea Barrett's interlacing of history, knowledge, and fact--and rightly so. But equal attention should be paid to the brilliant serenity and exactitude of her style. --Kerry Fried --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The quantifiable truths of science intersect with the less easily measured precincts of the heart in these eight seductively stylish tales. In the graphic title novella, a self-doubting, idealistic Canadian doctor's faith in science is sorely tested in 1847 when he takes a hospital post at a quarantine station flooded with diseased, dying Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine. The story, which deftly exposes English and Canadian prejudice against the Irish, turns on the doctor's emotions, oscillating between a quarantined Irish woman and a wealthy Canadian lady, his onetime childhood playmate. In "The English Pupil," Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who brought order to the natural world with his system of nomenclature, battles the disorder of his own aging mind as he suffers from paralysis and memory loss at age 70. In "The Behavior of the Hawkweeds," a precious letter drafted by Austrian monk Gregor Mendel, who discovered the laws of heredity, reverberates throughout the narrator's marriage to her husband, an upstate New York geneticist. Barrett (The Forms of Water) uses science as a prism to illuminate, in often unsettling ways, the effects of ambition, intuition and chance on private and professional lives.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393316009
• ISBN-13: 978-0393316001
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andrea Barrett was born in Boston, MA in 1954 and grew up on Cape Cod. She studied biology at Union College, in Schenectady, NY and started writing fiction in her twenties, after several brief stints in graduate school. She lived in Rochester, NY for many years and now lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, photographer Barry Goldstein. She's the author of six novels, most recently THE AIR WE BREATHE, and two collections of stories: SHIP FEVER, which received the 1996 National Book Award, and SERVANTS OF THE MAP, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pick this book up and you won't be able to put it down. January 3, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I was initially drawn to this book by its cover. Upon further examination, I found the various story names very intriguing and decided that this book was worth a try. I have not read anything as thought provoking and so well written in a very long time. Andrea Barrett has skillfully woven historical facts regarding famous scientists, such as Linnaeus, with modern day subjects and characters which brings the stories to life with a truly refreshing richness and sense of credibility. It is filled with lucid descriptions of both persons and places which adds to the joy of reading this compilation of stories. I highly recommend this book, I may not be Oprah, but I am an avid reader and this book is a true treasure. I cannot wait for the publication of her next work. If you have vowed to read more in this New Year, then pick up Andrea Barrett's Ship Fever. Everything else you read after Ship Fever will have a hard time surpassing its brilliance! The old adage of do not judge a book by its cover does not apply here...it is beautiful to behold with the eye and in the hand. It is a modern day masterpiece

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Collection March 28, 1998

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

This is one of the most intelligently written collections I have read in a long time. At first thought, I was concerned that the weaving of fictional characters with historical figures from the world of science would result in a contrived work that was more interested in serving its format than it was at achieving its literary goal. My concerns were misplaced. The author has created a series of tales that explore and provide insight into some of the most basic human emotions. She is especially adept at creating events that transcend their natural progression and serve as metaphors for at times exhilarating, and at times disturbing aspects of the human condition. Although I can understand those who might feel that this is a book that is difficult to put down, I would suggest that it is better digested in small servings. Each tale requires some reflection on the reader's part in order to best enjoy this wonderful collection.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Science-Fiction... October 30, 2000

By Dianne Foster HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

I first discovered Andrea Barrett when I read one of the short stories
in her collection SHIP FEVER, entitled "The Behaviour of the
Hawkweeds" in BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES. ...

In her other tales
in this collection, Barret explores experiences and perspecives associated
with science and medicine in the 19th century. One tale "Sorache"
describes the terrible consequences of a treatment for altitude sickness on
a pregnant tourist. In "Birds With No Feet" a young naturalist
realizes his love of nature and his scientific exploits are on a deadly
collision.

My second favorite story (after Hawkweeds) is the eponymous
tale "Ship Fever." I could relate to this tale because my great-
grandmother Anna Mary immigrated from Genderalden Bavaria in the 1850s to
Chicago, where the members of her family were struck down by Cholera. Of her
family--father, mother, four brothers and herself--only Anna Mary and
one brother survived. In "Ship Fever" Barrett recounts the
terrible effects of Cholera on the immigrant ships....

These are wonderful
and moving stories. Barrett enlightens us about life in the 19th Century,
where science promised so much while simultaneously introducing a new world
of pain and terror.