Customer Reviews

Time Zones, Containers and Three Square Meals a Day

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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I ran across this title in a discussion group on tagging. The title of the book intrigued me and the cover resonated a sense of tranquility.

I read the free sample then I bought the book and it's one that I will enjoy a rereading again and again.

I immediately started to bond with the main female character. I felt like I was on that journey with her. After my first day of reading, I was so involved with the story and characters I didn't want it to end. It was like one of those great movies you watch and you wish the story kept going on. Her descriptions were brief and that's all they needed to be because the imagery from her words brought a movie to life in my brain.

My cruising fantasy upon a container ship has been quenched from reading this book.

The author's voice flowed at a leisurely pace and you really felt like you were on this traveling journey. Even the smallest details she painted a mural and you could see this clearly in your mind. From finding a puzzle was no box or reference picture from which to work with, to the constant time changes a body must endure, to the oddball characters from crew and guests, this was a happy place to be. I really want to be on this journey with them.

I looked forward to finding a half-hour here and an hour there to sit down and escape on this journey. It's the kind of book that you think about when you're not reading it. You imagine what these characters might be doing right this moment upon the container ship and it makes you want to rush back to the book and start reading some more. I love novels that let me totally escape reality and grow a bond with the characters.

The authors knowledge about these container journeys is quite vast. I'm sure from the authentic voice in her writing everything rings true. From the ports of calls, to the lazy days with no land insight, to the celebration with barbecue, I found it all intriguing just as I had hoped from the title and the cover.

I read a lot and my taste in author's runs every genre

I can't wait to read her next novel, 'More stories of time zones and containers.'

Read this book if you have ever fancied roaming the seven oceans as a passenger on a container ship. Maria Staal takes you with her on her journey from Italy, through the Suez Canal to the Middle East, to Singapore and South Korea, then back again to the Mediterranean and all the way across the Atlantic. But the highlight of the book is not so much the colorful ports of call as the crew of the container ship with whom she shares this adventure. Consisting of five or six German officers and twenty-odd Philippine crewmen, the story of how Maria creates her own niche and routine in their midst, and how they learn to accept and embrace her as part of their world makes fascinating reading.

There is the cook, Rodel, who has quite a challenge suiting the culinary preferences of these thirty people from various countries. Every Saturday he reaches out to the German officers and serves Eintopf, a kind of stew, the only dish Maria can't stand -- but by the end of the journey she has grown to like it. There is the Captain, who has a surprisingly soft heart and finds himself paralyzed by indecision when one of his fellow officers experiences a personal crisis that puts everyone on the ship in danger.

Travel books always involve a quest, and Maria's quest in this story is to compile a kind of guide-book for the passengers who ride this container ship to help them find their way in all the different ports of call. The shipping company has offered her free passage if she will put together this book.

Along the way we learn how containers are loaded on and off the ship, and how dangerous the job can be. Another thing that was new to me was the concept of "ship lag," the idea that travelling across time zones and resetting your clocks day after day disturbs your sleep patterns. Having never taken a ship myself but having flown across the ocean many times, I had always thought travelling by ship would be a nifty way to avoid jet lag altogether. Wrong!

While reading this book I kept hoping there would be some action, a real crisis, maybe an encounter with modern-day pirates or something. But the level of excitement never rises above the excitement of another thousand miles covered, or the sighting of dolphins, or returning to the ship just in time before it was due to weigh anchor. Maria moves from one day to the next and from one ordinary shipboard event to the next, over a period of three months. She develops a friendship with nearly every member of the crew, and with the other passengers, and we see these friendships develop as they eat and talk and work together. We are conditioned to expect suspense and action in books and movies and television, so when a book comes along that is completely lacking in it, it stands out. I realized the lack of suspense and action was completely intentional and it ultimately became a great part of the attraction of the book.

This was a very special book, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel.

Before reading this book I never think about traveling on a ship container. Thus, why do you need a guide-book?

We usually evaluate a good book by the force of revealing aspects of the reality hidden beforehand to us. Maria Staal's Time Zones, Containers ans Three Square Meals a Day is one of those books creating a "wow" effect when after reading the last word something changed in our way of thinking and understanding the world. As I advanced the very pleasant lecture of the book I was discovering how many unexpected things could happen while traveling in this not so usual way: observing and interacting with the members of the crew and talking about their personal stories, sociological and anthropological insights about the life around the ports, customs habits. Overall, a diversity of life we can't discover otherwise. Add to this the style and you have the good cocktail of a successful reading evening.

During the three months spent on board, Maria Staal toured in and around Italy, Spain, Suez Canal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, China or US. Every stop is marked by a little special adventure, giving a certain dynamism to the story. The first person account is giving a lot of authenticity we are tempted to forget sometimes given the literary gifts of the author. Maybe I would have been very curious to find more details and info about the culinary experiences, but this apparent omission is completed by rich descriptions of the places visited and fine human observations. The dialogues are entertaining and the descriptions and various psychological observations are contributing significantly in driving the reader to the ambiance of the story.

If interested in writing (and about to finish your travel memoir), you can find in Maria's book good advices about how to do a good writing management while on the road without missing the plasure of the travel: by organizing your time, using the period in between stops or the bad weather for finishing your work, doing a careful documentation and gathering all the possible leaflets and tourist information, but also by getting a glimpse into the local reality through the English speaking media and various interaction with the real local people.

I don't know if I will do very soon a trip on a container ship - seasick sounds terrifying enough for me for continuing to rely upon train and airplane for my basic travels; and ship lag, a funny term I found in Maria's book for the first time - but for sure I would like to read more books by Maria and more travel books in general.

Time Zones, Containers and Three Square Meals a Day by Maria Staal is an excellent adventure. The author shares with us an insider's view of her journey on a container ship. Before reading this book, I had no idea that passengers could even travel on a container ship. Maria writes in a style that makes you feel that you are right there on the voyage with her. Her descriptions on everything from the actual ship to the different ports that she visits are very picturesque.

Maria Staal also details her impressions of and interactions with the captain, crew members and other passengers on the ship. I also really appreciated that the author shares how she came about being able to take this journey. You will marvel at the way she created an opportunity and made the most of it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone whose ever wanted to travel the high seas and wondered what it would be like. If you haven't been bitten by the travel bug before, you will be after this enjoyable read. Staal demonstrates her resourcefulness as she encounters everything from rumors of pirate attacks, crew member gone mad and what happens when she's in a race to get back to the ship before it leaves port. You will thoroughly enjoy the exploits that this talented writer communicates in a clear, concise, yet witty style.

An unusual travelogue which focuses more on the time aboard ship than the places visited. Readers will enjoy the hilarious anecdotes about the crew members and life on board, and get a real feel for the life of a working cargo freighter, something which I imagine isn't readily documented elsewhere by an independent witness. The author uses a very honest style, not exaggerating events to provide more drama, giving a diarized feel to the work which will appeal to readers who enjoy a more journalistic approach to auto-biographical works. A fascinating read, and a must for all hardcore travellers.

This is a fascinating and detailed look at travel aboard a working cargo freighter. The characters are witty, outlandish and fun at times, and the writer makes it easy to imagine being right there day after day. This book lets you smell the coastal air and feel the ship rock beneath your feet. I don't think I've ever read a story quite like it, and I'm sure many readers will relate to and enjoy this very unique style and perspective. You can slip on board the next commercial freighter or simply buy this book!

As someone who is gearing up for his first freighter cruise next year I found Maria Staal's book a very quick, enjoyable read about the experience of freighter travel.

Told in a vignette-style, Ms. Staal's writing can be a little dry and matter-of-fact at times, but the experiences she writes of dealing with seasickness, ship hierarchies, mentally unstable crew members, and whiling away the long ours at sea are very informative and inspiring for anyone wanting to take one of these unique journeys.

Recommended.