Literary In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

[sun surfer]

This is the MR Literary Club selection for March 2016. Whether you've already read it or would like to, feel free to start or join in the conversation at any time, and guests are always welcome!


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So, what are your thoughts on it?

[Bookpossum]

I am 75 pages in and have just reached the chapter where the ship is attacked by the whale. I have the feeling that Philbrick had so much information on whaling and life in Nantucket that he had to cram it all in, rather than having, say, one chapter to set the scene and then addressing the main topic. However, what was becoming a bit tedious for me could well be absolutely fascinating for others.

My initial impression is that I would not describe Philbrick's style as literary, but more like journalism. As we discussed a while ago when reading the book on the Dowager Empress, it is often hard to pick how a non-fiction book will turn out until we actually try it. But again, that is only my feeling part way into the book.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I've read around 60 pages. I understand what you are saying. The beginning packed a lot of info. Overall I've been captivated by the subject and the way Philbrick describes the information makes it easier to understand the technical whale jargon. I can picture being there on the boat with the whale men. I think maybe I would like Moby Dick if I read it now because I'd understand it better! It's on my list of books to re-read that I under-appreciated in school.

I'm interested to see if it gets more literary when it shifts to the big event and Philbrick explores the causes for it and the stories of survival. I wonder how in-depth he will cover the themes that he mentioned in the preface.

Even after I’d read these accounts of the disaster, I wanted to know more. I wondered why the whale had acted as it did, how starvation and dehydration had affected the men’s judgment; what had happened out there? I immersed myself in the documented experiences of other whalemen from the era; I read about cannibalism, survival at sea, the psychology and physiology of starvation, navigation, oceanography, the behavior of sperm whales, the construction of ships—anything that might help me better understand what these men experienced on the wide and unforgiving Pacific Ocean.

[Bookpossum]

I have finished reading the book now and found it interesting and the story is indeed tragic. For me though it didn't really lift up to being what I would call a work of literature.

I'll be interested to hear how you and others go with it, Bookworm_Girl.

[BookJunkieLI]

I'm interested in reading this book because Moby Dick was a favorite book in high school but I need to know if it contains a particular deal-breaker for me.

Spoiler:

Do the survivors end up resorting to cannibalism? It's one of the few things that I absolutely cannot handle. A yes/no answer or a PM from someone who's read it would be great.

Thanks.

[Bookworm_Girl]

BookJunkieLI, the answer to your question is:

Spoiler:

Yes, they survivors did resort to cannibalism. However, since I have not read that far yet, I'm not sure how sensitively the topic is discussed.

[BookJunkieLI]

Thanks. Sadly it's a total no-go for me, other than abstract happened to someone else mention

[AnotherCat]

I read In the Heart of the Sea back when it was first published 15 odd years ago and, unusually for me, it sticks quite well in my mind. I found it interesting and well worth the read (but I have an interest in the sea), however for me the interest was better than its readability, if that makes sense: I think that perhaps echoes similar to what a couple of others have said.

A book along sailing ship whaling lines that I enjoyed (read a number of times) much more than In the Heart of the Sea and Moby Dick was Frank Bullen's The Cruise of the Cachelot, written at the end of the 19th Century and is a non-fictional travel narration of his time at sea as a whaler. I am familiar with the geography and history of one of the regions he cruised in and he relates quite accurately about that, so I suspect that the book is not much embellished with exaggerations as some narratives are.

It is available free in all the usual locations

[Bookpossum]

Thanks for the recommendation, AnotherCat.

Yes, I understand what you mean about the topic being of more importance than the style. My problem with the book was that though the topic was certainly interesting, I wouldn't rank the book as literary, which of course is what we are hoping for in this Club.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I haven't formed my own opinion yet since I haven't finished. Just throwing this question out there which is certainly not meant to be argumentative so please don't misinterpret. It's simply for thought in what defines criteria to classify a book as literary nonfiction.

This book received a respected US literary award selected by a writer's panel whose mission is "to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America." The Goodreads description defines it as a "literary companion" that "will endure as a vital work of American history. "

What aspects of the book do we think compelled people to make these statements?

[Bookpossum]

Well, it is of course just my reaction to the book and everyone else may well disagree with me. Perhaps I was expecting too much of the book because of the praise it had received, but I just found the author's style rather pedestrian, and I felt that he crammed in every bit of information he could.

To answer your question, perhaps it was the tragedy of the event, and the epic nature of the journey in the open boats that in part led to the praise. It would be dishonest of me to say
I thought it was a work of great literary merit just because other people say it is, but as I say, I could well be wrong.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

...It's simply for thought in what defines criteria to classify a book as literary nonfiction...

I think the trouble comes from the various subtleties of meaning that the words literature and literary have. In the historic but still current general sense, literature refers to the whole body of written work and literary as belonging to the whole body of written work. This body may be that of a nation, of a subject, or of the universe, for example. While I remember that the book received a literary award I have not checked what it was nor the tests applied in awarding it, but I assume that it was under the above general meaning that was applied.

So, for example, a scientific paper is a literary work as is a work setting out history (as in the case of Heart of the Sea); their literary "worth" is most importantly measured by their contribution to knowledge.

But in quite recent times the usage of the words literary and literature has also become to be used in a narrow sense to describe works that have special characteristics in their form and prose. So this leads to literature such as Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake being classed in this sense as literary. I mention those two books from the same author because the first is quite readable while the second is an extremely complicated read; so to be literary in this sense a book does not even have to be easily read or understood.

I think for non fiction there are many works that are also able to be classed as literary in this narrow sense; Stevenson's Travels With a Donkey in the Cevannes comes to mind, for example. Whether Heart of the Sea does, in this sense, is perhaps a matter of opinion, but from what I recall of it I would personally have not classed it as so. But in terms of the wider general usage of literature and literary I think my opinion is that I would class it as being an important literary work, especially in the USA's body of non fiction works.

And in my view the opinion is likely to be dependant on ones background. For example Heart of the Sea is probably more likely to be classed as a literary work (in the narrow sense) by an American (and so the award??) and perhaps other Westerners, than by another from a non Western society removed from the history of the Western countries, sail whaling ships, etc. I am from a Western country but not the USA. I also have attachments and interests in the sea. That probably makes me more likely to regard Heart of the Sea as being an important literary work in the general sense than many others in the whole world might, but perhaps I can give myself some self credit by even so recognising that it may not be an important work from the narrower sense as to the quality of its prose.

I hope that doesn't come across as too teachy sounding, and so to perhaps soften that a bit, for myself I am not pedantic about the use of the terms at all and have an open mind. For example, in my Calibre libraries I have a tag for "Fiction-Literature" and I use that in the narrow sense described above (applying my own selfish judgement to the work ). But when it comes to non fiction I have no such equivalent "Non Fiction-literature" tag so, for example, Travels With a Donkey (which I, for myself, regard as an important literary in the narrow prose quality sense work) is just tagged "Non Fiction-Travel".

NB: the are other usages of literature and literary, not relevant to the above.

Wow, that was a bit of a filibuster perhaps I should have a beer .

[Bookworm_Girl]

I don't disagree so far. My initial impression too is that the prose is where it has fallen short on any criteria, but I'm withholding my final opinion until I've read more because I'm only around 25%.

[Bookpossum]

Yes, I agree that there is a "national literature" if I can call it that. As an example, a couple of years ago we read The Secret River by Kate Grenville. I rated it very highly because of the importance of the story to the Australian psyche.

In the same way, I would see the tragic story of the Essex as being particularly important to the US for many reasons, not least the endurance of those who survived, and of course those who did not, including one who made the supreme sacrifice to try to save his fellows.

[fantasyfan]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

I don't disagree so far. My initial impression too is that the prose is where it has fallen short on any criteria, but I'm withholding my final opinion until I've read more because I'm only around 25%.

I haven't finished the book but so far I would agree with Bookworm Girl. It is a very interesting story competently but not memorably told. The style is adequate but not excellent and the excellent is the mortal enemy of the merely adequate.