Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor [Hardcover]

Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 1989

'On February 22 we were told that we would be returning to Columbia.' In 1955, eight crew members of Caldas, a Colombian destroyer, were swept overboard. Velasco alone survived, drifting on a raft for ten days without food or water. Marquez retells the survivor's amazing tale of endurance, from his loneliness and thirst to his determination to survive. "The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor" was Marquez's first major, and controversial, work, published in a Colombian newspaper, "El Espectador", in 1955 and then in book form in 1970.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1955, eight crewmen were cast overboard from the Colombian destroyer Caldas, en route to its home port of Cartagena from Mobile, Ala. The sole survivor, Luis Alejandro Velasco, told his adventures to Garcia Marquez, then working as a reporter for the Bogota daily El Spectator, where Velasco's story of a seeming eternity of thirst, hunger and hallucinations first appeared. The Nobel Laureate's lean prose perfectly captures the straightforwardness of the sailor's voice as he recounts his 10-day drift at sea in a cork raft: the fading senses of direction, motion, time; his struggle against sharks, which appeared punctually each evening at 5:00; starvation that drove him to tryin vainto eat the soles of his shoes. "My heroism consisted of not letting myself die," states Velasco. This slim volume is a superb example of journalism by a professional of the art.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

On February 26, 1955, Luis Alejandro Velasco was washed off the deck of the Colombian destroyer Caldas along with seven of his crewmates. His companions drowned, but Velasco was left to drift "in the midst of the sea's dark murmur" for ten days and nights before he could reach shore. Afterwards, he was surprised to find himself a hero. This small literary jewel compares favorably with the very best of modern tales of the sea, e.g., Richard Hughes's In Hazard and Peter Matthiessen's Far Tortuga. In Garcia Marquez's later works, his raw ability as a storyteller is often obscured by his extraordinary strength as a fabulist, his mastery of irony, and the translucent quality of his descriptions. In this barebones narrative, his stature as a storyteller is immediately apparent. An exceptional book. David Keymer, Dean of Students, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (September 2, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517699389
• ISBN-13: 978-0517699386
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,762,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable story of survival, June 7, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor (Paperback)

"The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, has an interesting history (which is described in a short introduction by the author). In 1955, 8 crew members of a Colombian naval vessel were washed overboard. One of them, Luis Alejandro Velasco, survived 10 harrowing days on a drifting life raft before reaching land. The sailor collaborated with Garcia Marquez to produce a series of newspaper articles about the ordeal; those articles eventually became this book, which has been translated into a very readable English by Randolph Hogan.

The book is written as the sailor's own first-person narrative. This is truly an amazing tale of endurance under some horrible conditions. Velasco describes his experiences in graphic detail: the harsh weather elements, the disorienting hallucinations, the times of despair. Particularly interesting are his encounters with a variety of marine animals. But it's not all suffering; there are moments of poetic beauty.

I've never experienced anything as harrowing as this. But as a U.S. Navy veteran, I can say that Garcia Marquez skillfully captures the wonder that can only be encountered at sea, far from land. An excellent book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly Vivid, July 15, 2003

By 

Susan S. Platt (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor (Paperback)

This book is a marvel. The writing is so engaging in its simplicity and clarity. Vivid details abound in this account of Luis A. Velasco's ten days at sea in a little raft after he was swept overboard from his Colombian naval ship, en route from Mobile, Alabama to Cartagena, Colombia. He endured watching fellow crew members drown, followed by daily visits from sharks, intense sun that blistered his skin, near starvation and thirst, and fear. It's an amazing account of just what it is to survive, and not think or ponder about life, but just survive. And all with one oar bitten in half by a shark!

I've loved this author for a long time, and consider this early work of his a special treat. Stories of the sea can be so magnificent! I kept thinking of the Old Man and the Sea when reading this. Very highly recommended! You won't be able to put it down.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A true-adventure report of a sailor's ten days at sea., August 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor (Paperback)

This is an amazing little book. The factual, detached style adopted by Marquez makes the horrible suffering of the sailor seem even more real. Incredibly, the sailor manages to see the humor in his circumstance, and in the human condition, even after ten days at sea. Marquez communicates beautifully his sure grasp of human motivation.