Customer Reviews

Sole Survivor

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

 

 

I read this book when I was eleven years old. Now, at twenty, I still remember it as a fascinating account of day to day life lost at sea. The accounts of sores and the raging thirst that the man experienced were mesmerizing as well as repugnant. This book made the utter lonliness of being lost at sea almost real.I especially enjoyed the strict attention to detail and descriptions of how the main character dealt with obtaining water and fish.

Must have been a very good book, read it almost straight thru, stopping only for lunch. The author has spun a marvelous tale out of minimal information, many years after it happened. Could Poon Lim ever eat fish again? A diagram of the raft and a better description might have helped the reader, at the start. It wasn't that complex, but somehow the author made it overly complex, with wells, ledges, and so forth. Otherwise a fine book.

I've read several tales of survival at sea. But this story is different - The lone survivor of a torpedoed ship in WWII had a Chinese background and outlook on life. In the begining of the story he knows nothing about survival. Page after page, the reader sees how this man learns lessons, one painful step at a time, on how to hook fish, catch rain water, and battle despair. The author includes a chapter on what happened to the Sole Survivor in the years following his amazing ordeal. I enjoyed the story immensely!

A lost at sea story that brings home the effects of not only sea water, but body sweat as well.
The reader interest results from his moving from one peril to the next.

Fascinating true account of one man's survival against the odds. I read this many times as a middle schooler. I still think back on it 20 years later.

Great story and well written. Gives good insight into Asian culture of the time. Don't miss this one.

An interesting account of a guy lost at sea. Pretty amazing story, but could have been told better. TRUE STORY though.