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Marinero raso
Esteban, un joven veterano de guerra de diecinueve años que ha combatido con el ejército sandinista en la lucha frente a la contra, recibe una oferta laboral para embarcarse como marino. Viaja a Nueva York con otros catorce nicaragüenses y hondureños que formarán la tripulación, para poner a punto el Urus, un carguero con bandera panameña fondeado en el muelle de Brooklyn, con el que después deberán navegar hasta Costa Rica con un cargamento de fertilizantes.
Pero el barco es prácticamente una pieza de desguace, los sueldos prometidos por la fantasmagórica compañía naviera no llegan nunca, el capitán de origen griego los abandona a su suerte y los quince hombres quedan atrapados en una absurda prisión flotante llena de ratas y en la que nada funciona, sin apenas comida ni medicamentos, y sin poder bajar a tierra por miedo a ser deportados como ilegales. Sólo Esteban se atreve a aventurarse en los barrios hispanos de la gran ciudad, antes de volver con sus compañeros para emprender un viaje imposible.
Con este apasionante libro inspirado en un hecho real y que es, al mismo tiempo, una novela de aventuras, con marineros varados, una novela existencial, con hombres a la deriva, y una novela política, con inmigrantes cuyos sueños se convierten en pesadillas, Francisco Goldman confirma las extraordinarias expectativas levantadas con La larga noche de los pollos blancos y profundiza de nuevo en las contradictorias relaciones norte-sur, en el choque cultural y el desencuentro de Latinoamérica y los Estados Unidos.
Pero el barco es prácticamente una pieza de desguace, los sueldos prometidos por la fantasmagórica compañía naviera no llegan nunca, el capitán de origen griego los abandona a su suerte y los quince hombres quedan atrapados en una absurda prisión flotante llena de ratas y en la que nada funciona, sin apenas comida ni medicamentos, y sin poder bajar a tierra por miedo a ser deportados como ilegales. Sólo Esteban se atreve a aventurarse en los barrios hispanos de la gran ciudad, antes de volver con sus compañeros para emprender un viaje imposible.
Con este apasionante libro inspirado en un hecho real y que es, al mismo tiempo, una novela de aventuras, con marineros varados, una novela existencial, con hombres a la deriva, y una novela política, con inmigrantes cuyos sueños se convierten en pesadillas, Francisco Goldman confirma las extraordinarias expectativas levantadas con La larga noche de los pollos blancos y profundiza de nuevo en las contradictorias relaciones norte-sur, en el choque cultural y el desencuentro de Latinoamérica y los Estados Unidos.
447 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
22 people are currently reading
527 people want to read
About the author
Francisco Goldman
24 books197 followersFrancisco Goldman is an American novelist, journalist, and 'maestro', at Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), the journalism school for Latin-America created by Gabriel García Márquez. Goldman is also known as Francisco Goldman Molina, "Frank" and "Paco".
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Guatemalan mother and Jewish-American father. His first novel, The Long Night of White Chickens (1992), won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, and his second, The Ordinary Seaman (1997), was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and The Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was short-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He currently resides in Mexico City and Brooklyn, New York. He also teaches at Trinity College (Connecticut).
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Guatemalan mother and Jewish-American father. His first novel, The Long Night of White Chickens (1992), won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, and his second, The Ordinary Seaman (1997), was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and The Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was short-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He currently resides in Mexico City and Brooklyn, New York. He also teaches at Trinity College (Connecticut).
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
June 3, 2010
This book! I love this book. It's horribly depressing but horribly romantic and often times funny and there are some killer, I mean KILLER, lines ("Gladly offer my love as a kind of national park where her neuroses can run protected and free."). And the story itself is unlike anything I've ever read. And it's written by a Latin Jew, and I mean, come on, we all know those are the two best kinds of writers.
July 9, 2013
I first read Francisco Goldman’s work (The Long Night of White Chickens and The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?) while researching Guatemala for my novel, The Taste of Ashes. His writing is vivid and engaging – full of sensory detail that leaves the diesel fumes of Guatemala City catching in the back of your throat. His enthusiastic depictions of women are generous and brutally honest – especially in the way he depicts the mysterious combination of selfishness and passion that create fascinating relationships. Say Her Name depicts exactly this kind of relationship and plumbs the depth of his grief after his wife’s sudden death.
I came across The Ordinary Seaman in a lovely little used bookstore in Ingersoll Ontario near the beginning a cross-country trip (researching another novel). It tells a story that’s worth telling: a group of Central American men with virtually no experience are hired to man a derelict container ship rusting in a New York City harbour. Their subsequent abandonment by the terrifyingly incompetent owners and their lack of legal status in the US cuts them off from the world and they create their own village and call on their own resources to survive. The people who work the international container ships do indeed live a precarious existence (so we can get more cheap, plastic junk) and this book draws some attention to that.
The two main characters – Esteban, the young Nicaraguan who is fleeing the civil war after suffering the loss of his lover, and the aging Bernardo, a former ship waiter and one of two members of the crew with any experience at sea – are wonderfully rich characters struggling to be honorable in an impossible situation. Both are exuberant lovers of women, both care for the well-being of their micro-community and contribute as best they can.
While Goldman is a beautiful writer and tries to bring many points of view to the story, he sinks it under a surfeit of detail. He tells the story from many different points of view and after a while it feels like a series of New Yorker articles strung together – the assiduous and painstaking attention to micro-matter an obstacle. I could barely continue at times and must admit I skipped over bits – especially when listening to the voices of the indulgent and deluded ship owners. But I’m glad I persevered – because of Esteban, mostly. What a character! And Goldman’s cameo as the Ship Visitor and the depiction of his own tumultuous relationship with what I can only image was his beloved Aura Estrada is interesting to read, especially knowing how he lost her.
I came across The Ordinary Seaman in a lovely little used bookstore in Ingersoll Ontario near the beginning a cross-country trip (researching another novel). It tells a story that’s worth telling: a group of Central American men with virtually no experience are hired to man a derelict container ship rusting in a New York City harbour. Their subsequent abandonment by the terrifyingly incompetent owners and their lack of legal status in the US cuts them off from the world and they create their own village and call on their own resources to survive. The people who work the international container ships do indeed live a precarious existence (so we can get more cheap, plastic junk) and this book draws some attention to that.
The two main characters – Esteban, the young Nicaraguan who is fleeing the civil war after suffering the loss of his lover, and the aging Bernardo, a former ship waiter and one of two members of the crew with any experience at sea – are wonderfully rich characters struggling to be honorable in an impossible situation. Both are exuberant lovers of women, both care for the well-being of their micro-community and contribute as best they can.
While Goldman is a beautiful writer and tries to bring many points of view to the story, he sinks it under a surfeit of detail. He tells the story from many different points of view and after a while it feels like a series of New Yorker articles strung together – the assiduous and painstaking attention to micro-matter an obstacle. I could barely continue at times and must admit I skipped over bits – especially when listening to the voices of the indulgent and deluded ship owners. But I’m glad I persevered – because of Esteban, mostly. What a character! And Goldman’s cameo as the Ship Visitor and the depiction of his own tumultuous relationship with what I can only image was his beloved Aura Estrada is interesting to read, especially knowing how he lost her.
April 21, 2018
La propuesta inicial (que fue lo que me impulsó a tomar la novela de la estantería de la bilblioteca) resulta atractiva y lo más positivo que se puede decir del arte narrativo de Goldman es que por lo menos no insulta a los afectados, los marineros centroamericanos varados en una nave en ruinas en el puerto de Brooklyn. Pero tampoco le hace justicia: ni de lejos. La charlatanería del gárrulo Goldman crea el mismo efecto que esos oradores que antes de contarte una anécdota potencialmente atractiva te explica primero un sinfín de antecedentes innecesarios y hechos paralelos que no interesan a nadie hasta que al final, cuando por fin entran en el meollo del asunto, ya no interesa lo más mínimo y la charla ya resulta empachosa.
En ciertos foros autorizados y académicos me imagino que resaltarán un sinfín de cualidades estéticas y literarias de Goldman. No es mentira que, en ese sentido, se demuestra el conocimiento de no pocos recursos literarios, como ahora el manejo del tiempo narrativo. En el polo opuesto, está claro que la elipsis no es precisamente la especialidad de la casa. Pero todo eso queda relegado en un plano residual si se tiene en cuenta que, por encima de todo, leer cada una de sus páginas provoca no poco aburrimiento y ganas de finalizar y saltar a una lectura más jugosa. Alguien podría objetar que la narración es acerca de unos marineros inmovilizados en un puerto extranjero y que de ese modo se transfiere esa cualidad a la narración por tal de captar la atmósfera mental de la historia. No veo que eso justifique la falta de imaginación, la caracterización caricaturesca de los personajes, su humor bufo y el invencible empeño de detallar naderías. Goldman nos pone al tanto de un cortado de pelo, de barbacoas, amoríos sin sustancia y perfila al milímetro otras muchas escenas igual de banales para robarte el tiempo e inflar artificialmente una novela que podría haber sido una estupenda novuelle. Para colmo de males, la traducción es torpe a más no poder. Sospecho que la mezcla entre lenguaje (muy) literario y modismos coloquiales mexicanos y nicaragüenses no está bien lograda por parte de Goldman, pero Calzada logra que la mezcla chirríe hasta niveles irritantes.
El primer día que acogí en casa al Marinero raso me entusiasmé con Goldman, pero ya se me pasó.
May 17, 2025
(ελληνική κριτική μετά τους αστερίσκους)
The Ordinary Seaman by Francisco Goldman is a profoundly human and, at the same time, politically incisive novel focusing on the life of a 19-year-old Nicaraguan, a former guerrilla fighter, and fourteen other men from Latin America, all abandoned aboard a rusting vessel docked in the port of Brooklyn.
Goldman harnesses the power of literature to unveil the psychological erosion brought about by displacement and alienation, giving voice to characters rarely granted centre stage in contemporary American fiction. Should anyone be tempted to interject with “American Dirt”, I would kindly ask them to hold their tongue and take their seat — that novel, whiter than teeth in a Colgate advert, has no place here.
Goldman’s prose is rich and lyrical, punctuated by moments that quite literally take one’s breath away. The internal monologues of his characters, as well as their recollections of wars and hopes long since betrayed, are constructed with sensitivity and nuance. This book does not romanticise its protagonists — on the contrary, it presents them as deeply wounded yet profoundly human.
One of the most striking features of the work is the author’s ability to transform an almost static setting — a ship that goes nowhere — into a vivid microcosm brimming with tension, fear, hope, and futility. Stillness becomes a narrative force, as these sailor-refugees experience another, more subterranean war: that of surviving in the inhospitable sprawl of New York City, all the while awaiting — in vain — a cursed Japanese electrical panel, anticipated (not unlike Godot) to breathe life back into the ship.
Although the novel may appear to slow in pace at times due to its contemplative rhythm, this ultimately serves to heighten the claustrophobia that defines the characters’ existence. This is no easy read, but it is an experience of profound literary and emotional reward. A more conventionally paced narrative would only have diminished the prevailing sense of entrapment, stasis, and intensifying despair.
In sum, The Ordinary Seaman is a layered, moving, and politically astute work that warrants our attention. Goldman succeeds in turning a tale of forgotten men into an unforgettable literary journey — a story of a voyage that, quite literally, never took place.
* * * * *
Το The Ordinary Seaman του Francisco Goldman είναι ένα βαθιά ανθρώπινο και ταυτόχρονα πολιτικά αιχμηρό μυθιστόρημα που εστιάζει στη ζωή ενός 19χρονου Νικαραγουανού, πρώην αντάρτη, και άλλων 14 αντρών από τη Λατινική Αμερική, οι οποίοι βρίσκονται εγκαταλειμμένοι σε ένα σκουριασμένο πλοίο στο λιμάνι του Μπρούκλιν.
Ο Goldman χρησιμοποιεί τη δύναμη της λογοτεχνίας για να αποκαλύψει την ψυχολογική διάβρωση της προσφυγιάς και της αποξένωσης, δίνοντας φωνή σε χαρακτήρες που σπάνια πρωταγωνιστούν στη σύγχρονη αμερικανική πεζογραφία. Αν πεταχτεί κάποιος και πει “American Dirt” θα τον παρακαλέσω να το βουλώσει και να ξανακάτσει κάτω, το «πιο λευκό κι από δόντια σε διαφήμιση colgate» μυθιστόρημα της Cummins δεν έχει θέση εδώ.
Η γλώσσα του Goldman είναι πλούσια και λυρική, με στιγμές που κόβουν την ανάσα. Οι εσωτερικοί μονόλογοι των χαρακτήρων και οι αναδρομές τους σε πολέμους και ελπίδες, που έχουν πλέον διαψευστεί, δομούνται με ευαισθησία και λεπτότητα. Το βιβλίο δεν εξιδανικεύει τους ήρωες του – αντίθετα, τους παρουσιάζει ως βαθιά τραυματισμένους, αλλά και εξαιρετικά ανθρώπινους.
Ένα από τα πιο εντυπωσιακά στοιχεία του έργου είναι η ικανότητα του συγγραφέα να μετατρέπει ένα σχεδόν στατικό σκηνικό – ένα πλοίο που δεν πάει πουθενά – σε έναν ζωντανό μικρόκοσμο, γεμάτο ένταση, φόβο, ελπίδα και ματαιότητα. Η ακινησία μετατρέπεται σε αφηγηματική δύναμη, καθώς οι ναύτες-πρόσφυγες βιώνουν έναν άλλο, υπόγειο πόλεμο: αυτόν της επιβίωσης στην αφιλόξενη Νέα Υόρκη, ενώ ένας καταραμένος ιαπωνικός ηλεκτρικός πίνακας αναμενέται (περίπου σαν τον Γκοιντό) για να αναστήσει το πλοίο, εις μάτην.
Παρότι το μυθιστόρημα σε ορισμένα σημεία μοιάζει να επιβραδύνεται από τον στοχαστικό του ρυθμό, αυτό ενισχύει τελικά το αίσθημα εγκλωβισμού που χαρακτηρίζει τους χαρακτήρες. Δεν είναι εύκολη ανάγνωση, αλλά είναι μια βαθιά ανταποδοτική εμπειρία. Μια πιο «τρεγμένη» αφήγηση θα διέλυε την αίσθηση του περιορισμού, της καθήλωσης, της κλιμακούμενης εναργούς απόγνωσης.
Συνολικά, το The Ordinary Seaman είναι ένα πολυεπίπεδο, συγκινητικό και πολιτικά ανήσυχο έργο που αξίζει την προσοχή μας. Ο Goldman καταφέρνει να μετατρέψει μια ιστορία για ξεχασμένους ανθρώπους σε μια αξέχαστη λογοτεχνική εμπειρία και να γράψει για ένα ταξίδι με πλοίο που -πρακτικά- δεν έγινε ποτέ.
The Ordinary Seaman by Francisco Goldman is a profoundly human and, at the same time, politically incisive novel focusing on the life of a 19-year-old Nicaraguan, a former guerrilla fighter, and fourteen other men from Latin America, all abandoned aboard a rusting vessel docked in the port of Brooklyn.
Goldman harnesses the power of literature to unveil the psychological erosion brought about by displacement and alienation, giving voice to characters rarely granted centre stage in contemporary American fiction. Should anyone be tempted to interject with “American Dirt”, I would kindly ask them to hold their tongue and take their seat — that novel, whiter than teeth in a Colgate advert, has no place here.
Goldman’s prose is rich and lyrical, punctuated by moments that quite literally take one’s breath away. The internal monologues of his characters, as well as their recollections of wars and hopes long since betrayed, are constructed with sensitivity and nuance. This book does not romanticise its protagonists — on the contrary, it presents them as deeply wounded yet profoundly human.
One of the most striking features of the work is the author’s ability to transform an almost static setting — a ship that goes nowhere — into a vivid microcosm brimming with tension, fear, hope, and futility. Stillness becomes a narrative force, as these sailor-refugees experience another, more subterranean war: that of surviving in the inhospitable sprawl of New York City, all the while awaiting — in vain — a cursed Japanese electrical panel, anticipated (not unlike Godot) to breathe life back into the ship.
Although the novel may appear to slow in pace at times due to its contemplative rhythm, this ultimately serves to heighten the claustrophobia that defines the characters’ existence. This is no easy read, but it is an experience of profound literary and emotional reward. A more conventionally paced narrative would only have diminished the prevailing sense of entrapment, stasis, and intensifying despair.
In sum, The Ordinary Seaman is a layered, moving, and politically astute work that warrants our attention. Goldman succeeds in turning a tale of forgotten men into an unforgettable literary journey — a story of a voyage that, quite literally, never took place.
* * * * *
Το The Ordinary Seaman του Francisco Goldman είναι ένα βαθιά ανθρώπινο και ταυτόχρονα πολιτικά αιχμηρό μυθιστόρημα που εστιάζει στη ζωή ενός 19χρονου Νικαραγουανού, πρώην αντάρτη, και άλλων 14 αντρών από τη Λατινική Αμερική, οι οποίοι βρίσκονται εγκαταλειμμένοι σε ένα σκουριασμένο πλοίο στο λιμάνι του Μπρούκλιν.
Ο Goldman χρησιμοποιεί τη δύναμη της λογοτεχνίας για να αποκαλύψει την ψυχολογική διάβρωση της προσφυγιάς και της αποξένωσης, δίνοντας φωνή σε χαρακτήρες που σπάνια πρωταγωνιστούν στη σύγχρονη αμερικανική πεζογραφία. Αν πεταχτεί κάποιος και πει “American Dirt” θα τον παρακαλέσω να το βουλώσει και να ξανακάτσει κάτω, το «πιο λευκό κι από δόντια σε διαφήμιση colgate» μυθιστόρημα της Cummins δεν έχει θέση εδώ.
Η γλώσσα του Goldman είναι πλούσια και λυρική, με στιγμές που κόβουν την ανάσα. Οι εσωτερικοί μονόλογοι των χαρακτήρων και οι αναδρομές τους σε πολέμους και ελπίδες, που έχουν πλέον διαψευστεί, δομούνται με ευαισθησία και λεπτότητα. Το βιβλίο δεν εξιδανικεύει τους ήρωες του – αντίθετα, τους παρουσιάζει ως βαθιά τραυματισμένους, αλλά και εξαιρετικά ανθρώπινους.
Ένα από τα πιο εντυπωσιακά στοιχεία του έργου είναι η ικανότητα του συγγραφέα να μετατρέπει ένα σχεδόν στατικό σκηνικό – ένα πλοίο που δεν πάει πουθενά – σε έναν ζωντανό μικρόκοσμο, γεμάτο ένταση, φόβο, ελπίδα και ματαιότητα. Η ακινησία μετατρέπεται σε αφηγηματική δύναμη, καθώς οι ναύτες-πρόσφυγες βιώνουν έναν άλλο, υπόγειο πόλεμο: αυτόν της επιβίωσης στην αφιλόξενη Νέα Υόρκη, ενώ ένας καταραμένος ιαπωνικός ηλεκτρικός πίνακας αναμενέται (περίπου σαν τον Γκοιντό) για να αναστήσει το πλοίο, εις μάτην.
Παρότι το μυθιστόρημα σε ορισμένα σημεία μοιάζει να επιβραδύνεται από τον στοχαστικό του ρυθμό, αυτό ενισχύει τελικά το αίσθημα εγκλωβισμού που χαρακτηρίζει τους χαρακτήρες. Δεν είναι εύκολη ανάγνωση, αλλά είναι μια βαθιά ανταποδοτική εμπειρία. Μια πιο «τρεγμένη» αφήγηση θα διέλυε την αίσθηση του περιορισμού, της καθήλωσης, της κλιμακούμενης εναργούς απόγνωσης.
Συνολικά, το The Ordinary Seaman είναι ένα πολυεπίπεδο, συγκινητικό και πολιτικά ανήσυχο έργο που αξίζει την προσοχή μας. Ο Goldman καταφέρνει να μετατρέψει μια ιστορία για ξεχασμένους ανθρώπους σε μια αξέχαστη λογοτεχνική εμπειρία και να γράψει για ένα ταξίδι με πλοίο που -πρακτικά- δεν έγινε ποτέ.
November 17, 2017
Francisco Goldman is a brilliant writer. The story is about Esteban (a veteran of the Nicaraguan war) and fifteen other Central American men who are hired to be the repair team and crew of a ship docked in the Brooklyn Harbor. The ship is a wreck with no electricity or working plumbing, and after the men spend several months working to fix it up, the unscrupulous owners of the ship abandon them. The men eke out a bleak existence, alone with their memories and stories. Eventually, Esteban leaves the ship and embarks on a new life in New York City.
However, as with many great books, there is more going on here than just the plot. The way Goldman weaves together the crew's stories, their separate pasts, and their shared present, is beautiful. Goldman also touches on the nature of the (illegal) immigrant experience, the necessity of coming to terms with the past in order to enter the future, and the workings of human optimism and hope.
Around the middle of the book, there is a gorgeous passage in which Goldman travels through the dreams and thoughts of each man as they fall asleep at night, and each dream or memory is about a woman from the man's past. Goldman doesn't give the names of the men when he tells their thoughts, but by that time, I knew them all well enough that I could tell who each thought belonged to. The aching beauty of those few pages has really stuck with me.
However, as with many great books, there is more going on here than just the plot. The way Goldman weaves together the crew's stories, their separate pasts, and their shared present, is beautiful. Goldman also touches on the nature of the (illegal) immigrant experience, the necessity of coming to terms with the past in order to enter the future, and the workings of human optimism and hope.
Around the middle of the book, there is a gorgeous passage in which Goldman travels through the dreams and thoughts of each man as they fall asleep at night, and each dream or memory is about a woman from the man's past. Goldman doesn't give the names of the men when he tells their thoughts, but by that time, I knew them all well enough that I could tell who each thought belonged to. The aching beauty of those few pages has really stuck with me.
July 16, 2013
I never heard this story before. And it all fits together so well: men haunted by various things, living on a "ghost" ship with no legal standing in the U.S. And the captain and first mate haunted in their own ways, too. The Spanglish is interesting, funny even, and the voices feel real. The characters are layered and believable, and I was drawn into their stories and hopes and dreams and failures.
In some ways, it's a really depressing story of how difficult life can be, how mere survival is really ugly, and how people use other people for really very little and for no good reason. On the other hand, it's a profoundly optimistic story--even if the endeavor is a total loss, there's always scrap metal to make something new out of. Not everyone gets this chance, of course, but as long as you're still alive, you can start over, you can remake yourself, you can find a way to be happy.
In some ways, it's a really depressing story of how difficult life can be, how mere survival is really ugly, and how people use other people for really very little and for no good reason. On the other hand, it's a profoundly optimistic story--even if the endeavor is a total loss, there's always scrap metal to make something new out of. Not everyone gets this chance, of course, but as long as you're still alive, you can start over, you can remake yourself, you can find a way to be happy.
December 3, 2007
My sister Ines recommended this book, so I read it on a trip to Hawaii and while it was sort of hard to get into (and say aloud without giggling...I'm sorry, it's true), I would recommend it to anyone. I really enjoyed it as a story of immigration and how people's lives move forward; they fall in love, get sick, dream, regardless of their status, and impact the lives of others around them. It's a great story that will hook you and reel you in and when you finish the book, the book will not be finished with you because you'll just keep thinking about the characters, the city, circumstances, etc. Pick it up, people!
February 22, 2009
Melancholy and good.
April 30, 2009
In this book, Goldman seems a more refined craftsman than with The Night of the White Chickens, and the sensitivity of his storytelling is keen. Another novel that I love.
May 30, 2018
I have had this book on my shelf for years, because I loved Goldman's 1992 "The Long Night of White Chickens," which explored the Guatamalan civil war (in which the US was so implicated).
"The Ordinary Seaman," published in 1997, relates the story of a Nicaraguan crew stranded on a boat dry-docked in Brooklyn, supposedly being upgraded to return to the sea. The two main chracters, beautifully drawn, are a youth recovering from having served as a Sandinista in Nicaragua's civil war (in which the US was so implicated), who bunks with an older man who knows what it is to serve food to upper class passengers on a functional vessel.
And the author's mastery extends to all the crew members, however little print space they occupy.
This book requires effort, soon rewarded down to the very last page. Goldman is SO humane toward these men who, isolated by location, language and culture, would be hard to know otherwise. Even the back stories of their exploiters, the "Captain" and "First Mate," are told with compassion.
When, finally, the young Esteban, undocumented and in grief, takes on the challenge of Brooklyn itself, even my relief, as a reader, was palpable. Suddenly, ensconced in a contained immigrant community on land, in addition to learning the fates and of the old man and the others, which is to be expected, I witnessed a surprising love story.
For days after I finished this novel I was feeling and thinking in equal measure about the destinies of the two main characters. What can be better than that when it comes to fiction?
"The Ordinary Seaman," published in 1997, relates the story of a Nicaraguan crew stranded on a boat dry-docked in Brooklyn, supposedly being upgraded to return to the sea. The two main chracters, beautifully drawn, are a youth recovering from having served as a Sandinista in Nicaragua's civil war (in which the US was so implicated), who bunks with an older man who knows what it is to serve food to upper class passengers on a functional vessel.
And the author's mastery extends to all the crew members, however little print space they occupy.
This book requires effort, soon rewarded down to the very last page. Goldman is SO humane toward these men who, isolated by location, language and culture, would be hard to know otherwise. Even the back stories of their exploiters, the "Captain" and "First Mate," are told with compassion.
When, finally, the young Esteban, undocumented and in grief, takes on the challenge of Brooklyn itself, even my relief, as a reader, was palpable. Suddenly, ensconced in a contained immigrant community on land, in addition to learning the fates and of the old man and the others, which is to be expected, I witnessed a surprising love story.
For days after I finished this novel I was feeling and thinking in equal measure about the destinies of the two main characters. What can be better than that when it comes to fiction?
June 18, 2022
Vast, intricate novel of hope, despair, and love on a derelict ship on a pier in Brooklyn, the dozen or so Central Americans hired to repair it, the cat that sat when told to do just that, and so much more. “So if monkeys are the most like humans, how come you never see a monkey pissing against the trunk of a tree?” [190] The author can sure tell a tale!
January 23, 2024
This was a read for school so not necessarily right down my alley, however there was a lot of worthwhile themes throughout this book. The characterization of the cast was well done and there were a lot of creative themes throughout the novel. The mass migration theme was executed very well and the ending left a strong imprint in my mind.
March 3, 2019
3.8 rather than a solid four
March 6, 2023
4.5 stars
Read
January 24, 2024Hated this. Required reading, so no rating, but absolutely hated this.
November 22, 2012
I am a huge fan of Goldman and absolutely love his writing style. His non fiction book about the murder of a Guatemalan bishop/civil rights leader was immensely engaging and horrifying. He has a great way of storytelling, whether through journalism or novels. The Long Night Of The White Chickens, his debut book, is also a tour de force, and one of the finer novels I have read in recent years.
This one, however, has a few shortcomings that were absent from his others. First, the secondary characters, though present, and not nearly as memorable as they were in Chickens. Esteban is an amazing protagonist, I was throughly charmed by him by the end, as I was with Flor in Chickens, but there was no Roger or Luis in The Ordinary Seaman to share the weight of the plot. Given the style Goldman uses of jumping all over the place to tell a story through a series of time discontinuous memories, it is a bit hard to keep up with all the minor characters.
That said, the book is still powerful, and serves as a strong story ... based on a true story, it turns out ... in support of the rights of immigrants. The owners/captain of the illfortuned ship offer an interesting example of how business owners in the United States, perhaps inadvertently, take advantage of foreign labor, and how a crew of workers who thought they were doing honest work can accidently become undocumented migrants.
If you like Goldman, this is definitely worth a read. The level of Spanglish that appears in this one is the highest of any of his books, so if that is a turn off, be advised. Otherwise, prepare yourself for another book in the trademark Goldman style with an unforgetably endearing protagonist.
This one, however, has a few shortcomings that were absent from his others. First, the secondary characters, though present, and not nearly as memorable as they were in Chickens. Esteban is an amazing protagonist, I was throughly charmed by him by the end, as I was with Flor in Chickens, but there was no Roger or Luis in The Ordinary Seaman to share the weight of the plot. Given the style Goldman uses of jumping all over the place to tell a story through a series of time discontinuous memories, it is a bit hard to keep up with all the minor characters.
That said, the book is still powerful, and serves as a strong story ... based on a true story, it turns out ... in support of the rights of immigrants. The owners/captain of the illfortuned ship offer an interesting example of how business owners in the United States, perhaps inadvertently, take advantage of foreign labor, and how a crew of workers who thought they were doing honest work can accidently become undocumented migrants.
If you like Goldman, this is definitely worth a read. The level of Spanglish that appears in this one is the highest of any of his books, so if that is a turn off, be advised. Otherwise, prepare yourself for another book in the trademark Goldman style with an unforgetably endearing protagonist.
November 18, 2014
It is about the thoughtless exploitation of Central-American third world people by crummily amoral privileged Americans. It is about the stoic reaction of people who have never had anything in particular to a new situation in which they still have nothing–except propinquity to the possibilities of America, which only one of them attempts to explore. A crew is recruited to man a freighter docked in Brooklyn, supposedly to be sailed back to Central America. But first the crew has to work to get the decrepit ship in ship-shape. They are given minimal tools, minimal food and supplies, minimal support, told the owner is eager to get the ship under way, but problems have arisen, to work hard and get the ship going. We find out later the "Captain" is also the owner, a rich ne'er-do-well married to a doctor, who talked his envious friend into partnering with him to buy the ship to make quick money. But their interest fades, leaving the poor seamen stranded on a ghost ship.
A sort of convoluted story, with flashbacks and flash forwards, and the heart of the enterprise, the story of the Captain and his buddy, postponed until 2/3 the way through.But interesting and sympathetic characters, a vivid picture of the situation of Central American immigrants in the City, and a readable style.
I will remember the old waiter, and his ignoble death in Bellevue, and the hair salon where Gonzalo and Juanita take in Esteban, who finds the energy to go out into the new world, to find food to steal, and a job to make money, which he uses to support his shipmates, until it is clear that the ship is a pipe dream that they are caught in, and need to escape from.
A sort of convoluted story, with flashbacks and flash forwards, and the heart of the enterprise, the story of the Captain and his buddy, postponed until 2/3 the way through.But interesting and sympathetic characters, a vivid picture of the situation of Central American immigrants in the City, and a readable style.
I will remember the old waiter, and his ignoble death in Bellevue, and the hair salon where Gonzalo and Juanita take in Esteban, who finds the energy to go out into the new world, to find food to steal, and a job to make money, which he uses to support his shipmates, until it is clear that the ship is a pipe dream that they are caught in, and need to escape from.
June 6, 2011
I loved this book! Goldman writes in his own unique way. I can't think of anyone to compare to him. The story of a young man from Nicaragua, who signs up to be an ordinary seaman in New York, captured my imagination and my heart. Esteban had fought in the revolution during which he fell in love with a female soldier, later killed in battle. A big part of the wonder of the novel is Esteban's reminiscences of the war and his lost lover. You get an inside look at what it was like in Nicaragua then which feels very true. Goldman was a reporter there at that time.
When Esteban gets to New York, he slowly discovers that things are beyond screwed up on the ship he is supposed to be working on. Eventually he escapes into the city where he is dangerously without papers, but he meets a manicurist who is from his homeland and looks out for him. They fall in love and, you assume, live happily ever after. A bit improbable maybe but it all makes for a wonderful, gritty love story.
It is the characters, the seamen, the ship owners, the girl and her friends, along with their back stories, that make the novel so rich and entertaining. I had no idea Francisco Goldman, who is acclaimed but not prolific, was such a readable author.
When Esteban gets to New York, he slowly discovers that things are beyond screwed up on the ship he is supposed to be working on. Eventually he escapes into the city where he is dangerously without papers, but he meets a manicurist who is from his homeland and looks out for him. They fall in love and, you assume, live happily ever after. A bit improbable maybe but it all makes for a wonderful, gritty love story.
It is the characters, the seamen, the ship owners, the girl and her friends, along with their back stories, that make the novel so rich and entertaining. I had no idea Francisco Goldman, who is acclaimed but not prolific, was such a readable author.
August 14, 2015
High 3. The novel creates a community of abandoned seamen drawn from South America to the States, as a means of making their fortune, to work aboard a freighter. However, their hopes are dashed when they virtually become imprisoned aboard a rat-infested wreck as the ship becomes abandoned at a Brooklyn pier. Goldman imbibes his story with great intensity as the crew, under the empty promises from the ship-owners that circumstances will improve and payment will be received, strive to perform their duties in ever worsening conditions, without plumbing, heat or electricity. Thus the emaciated, sick and downtrodden crewmen remain victims of exploitation even on the literal shores of the American dream. Yet, amongst their number is the central protagonist, a 19 year-old veteran of the Sandinista guerrilla movement in his native Nicaragua, who selflessly roams the unknown streets in search of sustenance and finances for himself and the rest of the crew. In creating Esteban Gaitan, the author has embodied the resourcefulness and indomitable courage in the face of adversity of the South American spirit. Great read.
July 13, 2016
I did not enjoy this novel. I felt like it dwelt too long on the little aspects that didn't really mean much in the whole of the story.
The temporality of the story was confusing at times. It would jump back and forth between some past and the present and even the future at points. Yes, it added to the confusion of time that the crew would have been feeling on the boat, but it just didn't do anything for me.
It was pretty predictable, for me, as to what was going to happen during the novel. I felt very underwhelmed, especially when my teacher told me this was going to be such an amazing novel.
The pacing was either too slow or rushed through things that were important to the plot. There was no real in between for it.
Even the characters started getting on my nerves throughout the novel. The way that everyone treated Bernardo and the way they looked up to Elias and Mark felt too forced for me to really be able to enjoy the novel.
I don't give out low stars like this often, but I felt like this one was necessary. For me, personally, I did not enjoy this novel at all. I didn't feel any take-away from it which was really disappointing.
The temporality of the story was confusing at times. It would jump back and forth between some past and the present and even the future at points. Yes, it added to the confusion of time that the crew would have been feeling on the boat, but it just didn't do anything for me.
It was pretty predictable, for me, as to what was going to happen during the novel. I felt very underwhelmed, especially when my teacher told me this was going to be such an amazing novel.
The pacing was either too slow or rushed through things that were important to the plot. There was no real in between for it.
Even the characters started getting on my nerves throughout the novel. The way that everyone treated Bernardo and the way they looked up to Elias and Mark felt too forced for me to really be able to enjoy the novel.
I don't give out low stars like this often, but I felt like this one was necessary. For me, personally, I did not enjoy this novel at all. I didn't feel any take-away from it which was really disappointing.
February 18, 2014
3/52 in my 52-book challenge. Not a quick read, but a rich, satisfying one.
This book is the perfect example of why I still take classes even though I don't "need" to. When I have to read something for a class, I keep pushing through it. No SparkNotes for me. I never would've picked up The Ordinary Seaman if I didn't have to, but once I started reading it (for a graduate class on American Multiethnic Literature) I was drawn in.
I say this wasn't a quick read because a.) again, reading in an academic context is more demanding than simply reading for pleasure; and b.) the storytelling was so vivid and layered and interesting that I didn't want to miss a single word.
I want to read everything by Francisco Goldman now. This book is so good that Goldman's gone from "vaguely heard of him, that book about his wife" to My New Favorite Author.
This book is the perfect example of why I still take classes even though I don't "need" to. When I have to read something for a class, I keep pushing through it. No SparkNotes for me. I never would've picked up The Ordinary Seaman if I didn't have to, but once I started reading it (for a graduate class on American Multiethnic Literature) I was drawn in.
I say this wasn't a quick read because a.) again, reading in an academic context is more demanding than simply reading for pleasure; and b.) the storytelling was so vivid and layered and interesting that I didn't want to miss a single word.
I want to read everything by Francisco Goldman now. This book is so good that Goldman's gone from "vaguely heard of him, that book about his wife" to My New Favorite Author.
November 27, 2007
Sigh. I so loved this book. But it wasn't love at first read. It took me three times to get over the 100-something page hump (there's a lull) but once I pushed through I fell deeper into the story (which Goldman wrote based on a newspaper article - so the story is "based" on a real story!). It's pretty male-centric. I can probably count on one hand the number of times a woman comes into these pages so I'm surprised I liked it so much. It deals with a group of men from Central American and their journey to the U.S. It's honestly an immigrant rights book.
October 10, 2009
I finished this a while ago but it took me a long time to comment on, which is fitting since it took me a long time to read and I racked up enough library fines in the process to pay for the book at least twice over (thanks for bailing me out, Brock :) ). I really loved this book. It probably helps if you know a little Spanish, although it isn't necessary. The narrative was intimate and compelling in all the right places. While totally "believable" throughout, I was still surprised to get to the end and read the author's notes on the true story this was based upon.
August 10, 2011
I swear I didn't add this book because it's about a boat. Just saw it on the NPR books page, and I loved Goldman's memoir of losing his wife, so I think I'll check this out.
Update: this book was awesome. Ok, I didn't feel that way at first, and wound up skimming parts of it, not really caring about all of the characters and their backgrounds. But I kept reading, and then couldn't stop. It's dark, though. After all, it's a story of Central American immigrants lured to the U.S. to work on a boat and then abandoned on this boat in a shipyard in Brooklyn.
Update: this book was awesome. Ok, I didn't feel that way at first, and wound up skimming parts of it, not really caring about all of the characters and their backgrounds. But I kept reading, and then couldn't stop. It's dark, though. After all, it's a story of Central American immigrants lured to the U.S. to work on a boat and then abandoned on this boat in a shipyard in Brooklyn.
June 24, 2010
I wrote an extremely long research paper on this book, so I might hold some prejudice having had to deconstruct the hell out of it. It drags on, it's post colonial lit, it's depressing and sometimes graphic. Based on a true story and just utterly sickening to learn these types of things go on in the world in the present moment and you just never hear about it. Class warfare blows.
July 29, 2011
One of the best novels I've read in a long time. Great story. Great characters. Well researched. Lagged a little in the beginning, but once the situation got fleshed out it really picked up. A former Merchant Marine told me this book was the most accurate modern novel depicting what it was like to be commercial sailor.
August 7, 2015
Very fresh narrative and I was happy to read the author's explanation for the source material.
I admit, though, the middle section of the book (where we learn about the character Elias) dragged, I didn't savor this part of the story. I had already lost sympathy for El Capitan and basically skimmed through this portion of the book.
Otherwise, very good!
I admit, though, the middle section of the book (where we learn about the character Elias) dragged, I didn't savor this part of the story. I had already lost sympathy for El Capitan and basically skimmed through this portion of the book.
Otherwise, very good!
October 30, 2015
It's been nearly 15 years since I first read this, and I make a point to re-read at least parts of it every year or two. I doubt a month has gone by where I didn't think of Esteban, or Elias and Mark, or the Urus, at least once. A fantastic book full of memorable characters, each facing their own intense struggles with the world and themselves.
October 27, 2007
This book tells the story of people who live virtually invisible lives and--though this may sound corny--really stirred me to pay attention the sudden numbers of indigenous latin american immigrants that were increasingly appearing in New York in the 90s when I read it. I highly recommend it.
December 26, 2008
Lyrical, beautiful, captiviatingly sad -- couldn't finish, but I'm sure it's amazing.
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