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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Talk about dramatic exits. British writer Vigor and his family didn't leave South Africa for America just by buying plane tickets, but by boarding a 31-foot sloop and sailing across the Atlantic. This is the account of that improbable journey, and it's a compelling read, if rather belated. It was 1987, the old regime was crumbling, violence was rampant, and Vigor figured his family had lived through enough. It's that background of a dysfunctional nation, and the people trapped within it, that gives the book its unique texture. Separate currents—racial politics, personal reminiscences and mano-a-mano combat with the sea—come together to feed Vigor's narrative. As a longtime newspaper columnist, the author possesses an easy feel for language that hasn't deserted him. But the timing is somewhat odd, a fresh tale of a trip made 17 years ago. In the epilogue, Vigor attributes this to 9/11 and its aftermath; he had fled a regime which took away so many people's rights, and now he sees those same rights threatened again in his new country. An admirable statement perhaps, but it feels tacked on, after the rolling consistency of previous chapters. Still, the work's simple honesty is beguiling. Vigor seems to have absorbed the rhythms of the sea in his pacing: mostly gentle, occasionally bracing and leaving readers exhilarated for the experience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
See all Editorial Reviews
Talk about dramatic exits. British writer Vigor and his family didn't leave South Africa for America just by buying plane tickets, but by boarding a 31-foot sloop and sailing across the Atlantic. This is the account of that improbable journey, and it's a compelling read, if rather belated. It was 1987, the old regime was crumbling, violence was rampant, and Vigor figured his family had lived through enough. It's that background of a dysfunctional nation, and the people trapped within it, that gives the book its unique texture. Separate currents—racial politics, personal reminiscences and mano-a-mano combat with the sea—come together to feed Vigor's narrative. As a longtime newspaper columnist, the author possesses an easy feel for language that hasn't deserted him. But the timing is somewhat odd, a fresh tale of a trip made 17 years ago. In the epilogue, Vigor attributes this to 9/11 and its aftermath; he had fled a regime which took away so many people's rights, and now he sees those same rights threatened again in his new country. An admirable statement perhaps, but it feels tacked on, after the rolling consistency of previous chapters. Still, the work's simple honesty is beguiling. Vigor seems to have absorbed the rhythms of the sea in his pacing: mostly gentle, occasionally bracing and leaving readers exhilarated for the experience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Small Boat to Freedom is a heartfelt chronicle of escape and rebirth and will appeal to anyone who has ever been inspired to chuck it all and slip away on high-seas yachting adventure."-- Ocean Navigator
"The book contains brief, lucid descriptions of South Africa's turbulent history...Vigor is also refreshingly candid about what drove him to leave the country."-- Latitudes and Attitudes magazine
"Full of detail and life...an unusual and affecting tale."--Statesman-Journal
"His tales of adventure, quietly and well told, goes deeper than the typical coconut-run cruising stories that so proliferate."--Cruising World magazine
"Full of detail and life...an unusual and affecting tale."--Statesman-Journal
"His tales of adventure, quietly and well told, goes deeper than the typical coconut-run cruising stories that so proliferate."--Cruising World magazine
"intriguing" and said "His style in this book varies from that of an editorial writer articulating political views to one of a nomad going out on his own, gripped by the sadness that comes from fear."-- Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News
See all Editorial Reviews
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