The Voyage of the Narwhal

by Andrea Barrett

Book Overview

A major novel by the author of "Ship Fever", winner of the 1996 National Book Award for fiction. Part adventure, part love story, this unforgettable novel captures a crucial moment in the history of exploration. Combining fact and fiction, the story focuses on Erasmus Darwin Wells, a 19th-century scholar/naturalist and his expedition to search for an open polar sea. NPR feature.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039304632X
• ISBN13: 9780393046328
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 399 Pages
• Weight: 1.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.7" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

A wonderful Voyage

Barrett is a fantastic writer who doesn't get nearly enough of the reading public's attention, possibly because she is often classified as a great "science" writer (as opposed to simply a great writer, period), perhaps scaring away people who think science writing is going to be dull and unrelated to their lives. (Perhaps, too, people are still unused to reading "science" and "adventure" stories written by a woman?) In any case, "Voyage" was a wonderful book -- I can only echo previous reviewers' accolades of it. That said, I did feel that the story faltered a bit as it neared the ending. Initially I think Barrett did a fine job of showing the complexities of these characters, but after a certain point I felt the story became a bit "cartoonish" in separating out who was evil (those who exploited others in order to grab all the fame they could get, or, like Lavinia, were simply too self-absorbed to see anyone else's point of view) and who was good (those who wanted to rescue Tom, who modestly didn't want to be in the spotlight but only wanted to explore knowledge for knowledge's sake). This was disappointing because the main theme that had been emerging was that facts often get muddled with fiction; it's impossible, in the end, to clarify what really happened against what was written about what happened. As such, it seemed that Barrett would have been better served by making every character a little more evenly both faulty and sympathetic, to evoke that ambiguity.All the same, though, I very much enjoyed reading "Voyage" and definitely look forward to seeing more of Barrett's works.

Quite a journey...

This is the only one of Andrea Barrett's books that I've read, but upon finishing it, I'm itching to read more. "The Voyage of the Narwhal" totally enthralled me. It gives an in-depth look at what Arctic exploration was like in the 1850s. Ms. Barrett has clearly done her research; I admit that I'm no historian, but as far as I could tell, all of the background information was accurate (the main characters, of course, being fictional). Tales of the exploration of new and strange landscapes, if done well, will suck you in and make it extremely difficult for you to put the book down. This book fills that description admirably.However, it's so much more than an adventure novel. In addition to its pure historical accuracy, the book also dwells on the general attitudes of that time period towards science. The main character, Erasmus Darwin Wells, is the naturalist on board the Narwhal, back during the time when every ship had a naturalist to collect and preserve whatever flora and fauna they encountered. The book takes place not long after Charles Darwin's stint as a naturalist on board the Beagle, during which time he formulated his ideas on evolution and natural selection. It is clear from the discussions that Erasmus has with his colleagues that Darwin's ideas have not been totally accepted, and reading about these varying viewpoints, unsure about the truth of Darwin's theory, fascinated me. The attitudes of the day towards other races of humans were split into factions; some believed that each race is its own separate species (hence the practice of slavery and prejudice was easily justified, as the "lower" races weren't as "highly evolved" as the white race), others believed in the equality of all humankind. These attitudes are revealed in the various crew members when the Narwhal encounters several tribes of Esquimaux on her journey.All of these factors make for a fantastic book - and I haven't yet said anything about the characters. They are all very real and complex, and the different layers of their personalities are revealed as the Narwhal moves farther into uncharted territory and the niceties of civilization are slowly stripped away. Furthermore, there is just as much development of the women left behind on the mainland, waiting for their men to return to them. Their stories show the frustration and powerlessness that were felt by women in the days when they had little or no control over their lives, and were denied any sort of public recognition for their work.If all of Barrett's books are as good as this one, I'm in for a treat, because I'm planning on buying some of them as soon as possible!

A thoughtful, elegant page-turner

A fictional ship, The Narwhal, heads up to Greenland and the Canadian Artic to search for the remains of John Franklin and his crew. It is the mid-1800's. The civil war has not yet begun, and no one knows whether there is an open artic ocean. The story is narrated by Mr. Wells, the ship's naturalist and the commander's future brother-in-law. He is a flawed 19th century gentleman who struggles to reclaim his life and to understand what he has experienced.This book is a page-turner in the best sense of the word. I stayed up late three nights in a row because I wanted to know what happened. More than that, I felt my own life slip away as I joined the crew of the Narwhal, so convincing was Barrett's portrayal. Isn't that why we read fiction? Perhaps one more reason: to see our world differently when we close the covers. This book satisfies that demand as well.It is nourishing, thought-provoking and beautifully written. One of the best modern American novels in recent years.

Moving and terrifying

This is one of the most beautiful books I ever read in my life. It evokes not only the look and feel of the 19th century, and of the Antarctic, but the moral and intellectual climate as well. I couldn't put it down, and when I was done, I felt like a slightly different person, one who knew what it meant to live in that time, and to make those choices. This is a stupendous book: gripping, brilliant, strange, wonderful.