Close Quarters

by William Golding

Book Overview

To the Ends of the Earth, William Golding's great sea trilogy, presents the extraordinary story of a warship's troubled journey to Australia in the early 1800s. Close Quarters marks the sequel to the Man Booker Prize-winning Rites of Passage

Told through the pages of Edmund Talbot's journal--with equal measure of wit and disdain--it records the mounting tensions and growing misfortunes aboard the ancient ship.

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374526362
• ISBN13: 9780374526368
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 281 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Order confusion

I returned this book as I found out later it was included in "To the Ends of the Earth".

Riveting tale at sea

This is the second book in Golding's "To the Ends of the Earth" trilogy. I first got hooked on these books after watching the made-for-TV adaptation on PBS (Masterpiece Theatre). I thought it looked like it would be an interesting read, and it has been! Although the sailing details are interesting, for me the best part of the book is reading about the clashes of the levels of society back then. The narrator of the series is Edmund Talbot, who is "high society" with connections. In fact, he's partly jokingly referred to as "Lord Talbot" because of his airs. He is at times pompous, self-centered and not very likeable--which makes this book even more fun to read since everything is from his point of view. An exciting book, and I highly recommend it!