The Rope Eater

by Ben Jones

When Brendan Kane accepts a stranger’s offer of work--two years on a ship departing the following morning--the nature of the journey isn't divulged. It matters not, though, for Kane is directionless himself, having just witnessed the Civil War's horrors only to return North with nothing but the clothes on his back and as many dead soldiers' letters as he could carry in his pockets.
Aboard the mysterious Narthex, Kane meets a ramshackle crew that includes an eccentric doctor and a three-handed Muslim full of horrifying lore. Kane learns only that they're sailing for the Artic in search of gold or maybe whales. But when it turns out the Narthex 's destination is a temperate paradise hidden amidst glaciers–a mythical place–Kane and his cohorts must struggle to survive not only the bleak Artic conditions, but the loosening grip on sanity of an egomaniacal captain and the data-obsessed doctor. With each second that passes, it seems increasingly unlikely any of them will get out alive.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Rebecca Trotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many many years ago. I still occasionally think about the crew and what all they did to survive.

[Pa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting, but decidedly dark, tale of Arctic exploration and survival (?) during the Civil War era. An AWOL confederate soldier (the narrator) elects to join the expedition (to escape the horrors of war?). The expedition is financed and accompanied by the enigmatic Mr. West, who has been convinced by Dr. Architeuthis that "a tropical paradise" (geothermally heated courtesy of plate tectonics, etc.) in the frozen north. He and the good doctor seek fortune as well as fame for such a discovery. The captain, Mr. Griffin, is competent, but rather unlucky. The ill-fated crew is a mixed bag.
The title is explained in a peripheral anecdote from one of the odder crew members. It relates to a developmentally induced sideshow freak and its (presumably metaphorical) connection to the main tale is a bit obscure.
Also, rather obscure, is the name Architeuthis. This is the genus name for the giant squid, but who other than a zoologist (and not many of those) would recognize this? No connection is made in the book.
As well as being a rather bleak tale, the book is highly introspective. Overall, it is rather like a chimera between Moby Dick and Heart of Darkness.
The book is well-written, but introspective fiction is not exactly my cup of tea. Because of this and nothing else, I would give it only 3 1/2 stars if such an option were available.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

A set of odd circumstances drew me to this book, as if fated. To me, the book married beautifully the unimaginable fortitude of the human spirit during Arctic exploration with the literary themes of man trying to escape the life that he was born into and a blind devotion to science and numbers that perverts him, his calculations and, his nature. [And this coming from a physicist]. I rather enjoyed this book.

[Coralie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ouais bof. Yet another tale of demise in a cold ocean. Oh we're sailing, oh it's getting cold, oh it's really cold, oops our ship is stuck in the ice, oh now it's splitting up. Hey let's try to walk, guess what? we're running out of food and we're losing our fingers and toes cause it's cold, oh better add a minor character and name the book after something that happened in his childhood, oh look we're all dead except for one. Fin.

[Beau Harris]

Pretty good.

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book I have ever read. Terrible story. It’s the only time I have ever come close to throwing up when reading a book - the part where the titular character is described is nauseating.

[Bry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was great. The beginning was just terrific

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too esoteric for me. What was the point of the book?

[Ann Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the first 100 pages. How does Ben Jones know so much about icebergs? I began to lose faith and focus when it came to the Life of Aziz. Gradually, instead of being a seafaring tale of an expedition to prove the Hollow Earth theory and discover a tropical paradise at the North Pole (somewhere in Greenland) the book began to seem like a patchwork of good and bad writing, some of it adjectival and immature. I felt the last few chapters had been forced out at some writing retreat where young writers work themselves into a creative frenzy -- and I was right. On the last page, Ben Jones thanks the Vermont Studio Center for their support and encouragement, so maybe I won't be going there... It's still quite a remarkable first novel -- I just wish the Arctic voyage had ended somewhere more interesting.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel I need to justify my 4 stars. This is easily one of the strangest books I've ever read. I was drawn to it because of it's historical arctic explorer setting, and much of the first 1/3rd of the book fulfilled this. the last 2/3rds however it became hard to suspend disbelief and it became firmly lodged in the realm of fiction. While the story change is difficult to get through the characters are dynamic and interesting, and I found the books end very engaging and became interested in the fate of all characters. This is easily not a book for everyone, but I think it might appeal to fans of Chuck Palahniuk and history

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe there was a good story in there but I could not bear the affected writing style. Although the narrator was supposed to be a (very?) young man, the voice and vocabulary was anachronistic, the metaphors and word choices were overwrought, and some of the scenes seemed derivative of Moby Dick. I'm fine with difficult, I'm fine with dark, I'm fine with poetic. But this book seemed like it was governed by an MFA-dicated ethic of what constitutes the beautiful and profound in literature. The truth? I didn't finish it.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This nightmarish tale of a seagoing adventure gone wrong has stuck with me ever since I read it over five years ago. Just after the Civil War, young Brendan Kane takes a two-year post aboard the mysterious Narthex, in search of a mythical paradise. The men in this adventure are brought to the edge of death and sanity, caused by hunger and a general loss of bearings. You’ll appreciate the sunshine and your next meal that much more after reading this novel.

[Marvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Arctic adventure story that never really grabbed me despite some vivid writing about scenes & psychological states. In the last half, the endless & repeated treks across the ice & huddling out storms in makeshift hovels as the characters' bodies deteriorate got repetitive & increasingly depressing, bounded only by the narrator's strong will to live.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is haunting and fascinating. I probably wouldn't have read it if I'd understood where it was going. It's much darker than what I normally read, but it was powerful and so unusual. I loved it.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping, vivid adventure story. The writing is soaring and compelling, though I've never read a grimmer tale. Some of the suffering described is so graphic that my stomach turned a few flips. Jones has a true gift for storytelling.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great characterization. Suspense over purpose of trip slowly builds. As the end nears, you can't put this book down. Very good use of language.

[KayG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artic Circle.

[Adair · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overrated.

[Ratforce]

Because you enjoy historical fiction, adventure and the horror of Dean Koontz’s novels, try The Rope Eater by Ben Jones.

[Gertie · Rating 3 out of 5]

tough

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pas mal si on aime le froid! Ca rafraichit quand meme si on habite a Miami.

[David Berzas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good most of the time. The ending was weird.