Customer Reviews

To the White Sea

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This novel operates on myriad levels, and there is enough here to make you think for years. Multiple readings will only raise more questions, and/or cause you to rethink the conclusions you've previously thought solid. Merely for the fact that this is a book that makes one think and ponder and consider, it is a great book.

The basic story is that of a WWII bomber crewman shot down over Tokyo immediately prior to the great firebomb raids of Spring 1945. He is utterly alone on a hostile foreign island, likely listed as missing, presumed dead, with the book's opening pages promising a superior adventure as our protagonist struggles to stay alive and eventually repatriate. But, as the story matures and we gradually learn more about Muldrow, we see that repatriation has been only a fleeting inspiration. Mudrow has been freed, and he pushes north toward a place that is much more imagined than real.

As he struggles north Muldrow changes from serviceman to fugitive, from survivor to predator, from endangered hero to questionable protagonist to a perplexing and difficult-to-like principal character. To my reading, Muldrow is an unpredictable, dangerous psychotic, with only the regimen and discipline of societal interaction and military service having kept him in check during brief periods of his life. When in his element, out in the wilderness relying only upon himself, he is a nation unto himself, free to make any choice which suits his needs and his whims. We see it in the flashbacks to Alaska, and we see it in his maniacal odyssey to Hokkaido and the White Sea, and to a mental and physical place which of course does not exist.

In the end where does Muldrow go? This is as debatable as the nature of his character, the origins of his actions and thoughts, and his motivations. Dickey takes us from a strong, pulsing adventure narrative in the opening pages to a lyrical, poetic, almost mythical climax as Muldrow finally dies/transforms/transcends. It is a fascinating transformation for the character, for the narrative, and for the experience of the reader. I wholeheartedly recommend this riveting, expertly written book.

I had the rare honor of a long telephone conversation with James Dickey 12 months before his untimely death. We talked about "To the White Sea" and the novel I was working on "Greif". James was busy writing the screen play for the novel, which I hope his daughter will finish. When I first read it I was sucked in, shocked, stomped and emotionaly drained. Here we have a novel written in the first person which is essentially some of Dickey's best poetry. At the same time Dickey places the reader squarely into the mind of a serial killer (Muldrow) who has the entire Japanese Home Army tracking him down. They are faced with "Muldrow's" ultimate camouflage! Himself! A wild human being hunting other human beings with absolutely no conscience or feeling for his victims. The reader will, at first, cheer on Muldrow! But as Dickey begins to work on your mind, you feel a chill up your back as he takes you on a wild ride that seems to have no end. I discribed my experiences in Alaska exploring the Brooks Range to Dickey, who merely chuckled. I had the impression this consummate Southern Gentleman had an unreal grasp of those desolate wind swept and COLD plains. COLD IS THE WORD THAT BEST DESCRIBES 'TO THE WHITE SEA'.

I read this due to the fact that I heard that the Coen Brothers were making it into a movie -- although I've read that this is no longer the case. In any event, this was my first Dickey novel and I have to say that all in all, I was very satisfied with the effort. The prose is interesting, lush and vivid in some parts and caustic in others. Some of the other reviewers seemed to be appalled at the plot and the surgical sterility that Dickey used to describe the deaths inflicted by the main character, but I found those exact things to be quite within the realm of believability, especially when the whole idea of the book is to survive like an animal behind enemy lines.

I liked the book enough to want to go back and read more of Dickey's other works...

An unforgettable, hypnotic meditation on survival and finding peace among chaos. Dickey paints a complicated, ambiguous lead character whose brutal and selfish actions are contrasted by his beautiful laments about nature, manhood and glaciers. Apparrently, there are several screen treatments of this novel in the works, including a dialouge-free adaption by the Coen brothers.

A page-turner all the way. I had to force myself to put it down at times. It's a masterful piece of story-telling, for sure, but much more: a complex portrait of a serial killer which is also remarkable lyric poetry. It's this juxtaposition which is so disturbing: a cold-blooded killer with the mind of a poet. Dickey's ability to "paint with words" is incredible. I don't know what else I can add to what other reviewers have already said. I was disappointed to discover (as I should have expected) that this novel is probably going to be made into a movie. No, no no! I don't care who does it or how good it supposedly is; it can't achieve what the novel did, which is told in the first person. Why, oh why, can't Hollywood leave this one alone? In any case, read the book by all means. I haven't read anything that caught my attention like this one did in a long time.

I'd added this book to my Wishlist years ago, based on a list of great war novels I saw in a magazine. Based on the book's appearance on that list, I was greatly surprised by the content of this book; it was less a war novel than it was a story of a man in a crisis.

As has already been said, it is a novel of an aviator shot down during a WWII bombing raid over Tokyo, and his story of survival. The novel has a single narrative and a single voice (the protagonist's), and no chapters. One story-line, one voice, and one long chapter has the potential for tedium, yet I found the novel to be gripping and excellent.

Dickey's character doesn't really tell you what is happening to him, but relies on an indirectness to tell the tale. You don't so much get the action, rather you get the effect. You don't read the words of this novel; you just sort of take in the pages.

As the story unfolds, the character's traits, flaws, and past transgressions seep out. It is a novel way to get to know a character. While this book moved slowly at time, and wasn't the war novel I thought it was, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it. I read Deliverance long ago, and am glad I finally read this novel.

Narrated entirely in the first person, the reader of the audio version is superb. He IS the "hero." He delivers Dickey's poetry in a voice that is both mesmerizing and believable. You listen to this man's words and you will never, never forget him, his story or the sound of "his" voice. I listened to this book while on an exercise bike and was totally absorbed for the entire 9 hours (obviously in 1-hour segments!) It helps is you are old enought to remember World War II, but not essential.

I've been listening to the book on tape after having read it several years ago. It is brilliant either way. I'll keep this review short. Dickey's use of language is phenomenal. The recurring themes of camoflage and eyes are chilling. This book does an exceptional job of capturing a man's descent into paranoid schizophrenia, all in the first person perspective. He is not a serial killing in the way that term is usually applied. The main character begins the book as a tightly wound, somewhat paranoid character, but as the plot unfolds and he has no structure or familiar reality to ground him, he begins to decompensate. The book is harsh and disturbing ... and utterly brilliant and compelling.

If you are a fan of the more popular war writer, Tim O'Brien, I think you will particularly enjoy this book. Like a lot of O'Brien's work, Dickey's story is a mixture of flashbacks amidst a harsh war reality that is hard to cope with. Unlike, Dickey's Deliverance (another fantastic book), this book doesn't have a lot of interesting side characters--the main character is on a solo trip behind enemy lines, killing without remorse and sinking deeper and deeper into his thoughts and memories of the wilds of Alaska. Where this book does share with "Deliverance" is a great understanding of nature and how man 'reverts' back to instincts shared with other predators and prey in the animal world when placed in a survival situation. I really enjoyed this book--the language is beautiful and even if it is often hard to be sympathetic to the main character because of his violence, we can understand his state of mind.

This is the story of a serial killer, who just happens to be a WWII airman shot down over Japan in the closing days of the war. Dickey excels at painting our "hero's" surroundings and does a nice job of profiling a man you don't want living in your neighborhood. A pretty good read for "Deliverance" fans....may seem bizarre to others. This was my reading material on a flight from Australia to the U.S. and it got me from Point A to Point B