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Hostage( Kidnapped on the High Seas)[HOSTAGE][Paperback]
Hostage( Kidnapped on the High Seas) <> Paperback <> LindaDavies <> ViglianoBooks
- GenresMemoir
Paperback
First published August 10, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 30, 2017
Having met this author in a stroke of modern serendipity on Monday, I have now read this book and feel I have known and followed Linda all my reading life.
This is a non-fiction book, it is the story from the own author's past, where truth is stranger than fiction. In Hostage, Linda Davies recalls some ten years after the actual events, the terrible details of her capture, with her husband and the Skipper, aboard their yacht, off the coast of Dubai.
It isn't an all guns blazing look at me and I managed my captivity. Neither is it a rant at the evil and horrors of the regime that is Iran. Above all it is not just the written account as a means of catharsis to put to bed aspects of her past that have haunted her last decade.
What it is is a serious and sensitve retelling of her past; setting sail in their new boat to carry out 'sea trials' a familiarisation of a new aspect of their life in Dubai. how one's life can change within seconds cannot be stressed more clearly than the events that overwhelmed this couple and their captain. In 'straying' into a disputed area the Iranians, the naval base responds immediately to their encroachment by sending armed gun boats to surround them, with the belief they were spies.
That their captivity was to last for just two weeks may seem a brief inconvenience but when told again in that moment Lida shares her actual feelings and her complete disempowerment. The concept of losing one's freedom is one thing what this recounting of these terrifying events takes us is to understand what happens to your thought processes and how you can survive or go under.
I loved her honesty, her strength and the balance between themselves as a couple. Above everything
it shows the warmth and self determination of this independent person, a wife and mother but a genuine person who was able to reach out to her guards and interrogators.
Her openness and person insights are lessons we can share, and hope to mine from witin our own beings. Her humanity and recognition of common traits in all are not just the tools of a survivor but the appraoch of a well balanced individual. Her appreciation of others and the those who endure far worse than she can imagin makes her a special person.
I smiled at the different "selfs" she had to control in moments of stress and dashed hope for release. That she was able to manipulate these traits and silence her more outspoken persona did help them but made me appreciate this woman.
Therefore I am so pleased to have spent some time with this author at a book signing; the person behind that writer is more than the one I met in that Southwold bookshop. I am glad to have shared a brief conversation and I value the opportunity it has given me to find a new author.
Having begun with this true account before reading her fiction I feel I can appreciate that her recent works are books we might never have known. Having endured a life threatening trauma Linda makes no great demands on us to understand her new found faith or successful mantras for wholeness and wellbeing. However, to have maintained her love of writing and had the opportunity to research and publish new books only a fool would pass up the chance to read an author with something to say. That voice will now resonant through all her works and I look forward to beginning that journey.
This is a non-fiction book, it is the story from the own author's past, where truth is stranger than fiction. In Hostage, Linda Davies recalls some ten years after the actual events, the terrible details of her capture, with her husband and the Skipper, aboard their yacht, off the coast of Dubai.
It isn't an all guns blazing look at me and I managed my captivity. Neither is it a rant at the evil and horrors of the regime that is Iran. Above all it is not just the written account as a means of catharsis to put to bed aspects of her past that have haunted her last decade.
What it is is a serious and sensitve retelling of her past; setting sail in their new boat to carry out 'sea trials' a familiarisation of a new aspect of their life in Dubai. how one's life can change within seconds cannot be stressed more clearly than the events that overwhelmed this couple and their captain. In 'straying' into a disputed area the Iranians, the naval base responds immediately to their encroachment by sending armed gun boats to surround them, with the belief they were spies.
That their captivity was to last for just two weeks may seem a brief inconvenience but when told again in that moment Lida shares her actual feelings and her complete disempowerment. The concept of losing one's freedom is one thing what this recounting of these terrifying events takes us is to understand what happens to your thought processes and how you can survive or go under.
I loved her honesty, her strength and the balance between themselves as a couple. Above everything
it shows the warmth and self determination of this independent person, a wife and mother but a genuine person who was able to reach out to her guards and interrogators.
Her openness and person insights are lessons we can share, and hope to mine from witin our own beings. Her humanity and recognition of common traits in all are not just the tools of a survivor but the appraoch of a well balanced individual. Her appreciation of others and the those who endure far worse than she can imagin makes her a special person.
I smiled at the different "selfs" she had to control in moments of stress and dashed hope for release. That she was able to manipulate these traits and silence her more outspoken persona did help them but made me appreciate this woman.
Therefore I am so pleased to have spent some time with this author at a book signing; the person behind that writer is more than the one I met in that Southwold bookshop. I am glad to have shared a brief conversation and I value the opportunity it has given me to find a new author.
Having begun with this true account before reading her fiction I feel I can appreciate that her recent works are books we might never have known. Having endured a life threatening trauma Linda makes no great demands on us to understand her new found faith or successful mantras for wholeness and wellbeing. However, to have maintained her love of writing and had the opportunity to research and publish new books only a fool would pass up the chance to read an author with something to say. That voice will now resonant through all her works and I look forward to beginning that journey.
September 2, 2014
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. No other consideration was offered, expected or received.
I received an email one day from Sage asking me if I liked memoirs and, after looking at the two she suggested to me, I gladly said yes to both. They could not be any more different (the other one was a sort-of romance that was insanely hilarious), but both very powerful.
This story is frightening and sad at the same time. I can't even imagine how she handled going through the things she talks about in this book - and, to be honest, I don't know if I could have survived such an ordeal. Kidnapped by militants armed to the teeth, unaware of what they were going to do to you next, unable to speak to your children or tell anyone where you were - scary!!
The pain and fear that she felt during her captivity shines through her words in this book, but at the same time, she keeps a sort of dark humor throughout it all (I especially love the voice in her head that is rather giddy when it comes to things i.e. when she gets forced onto an old rickety plane, it reminds her that she has never actually been on a private plane before ... or a military one for that matter ... so totally how my brain works when I panic).
The only issue I had with this book is how it is written - and this may be just a personal issue. It's a memoir, so of course it's going to be written in first person, but I felt like parts of it did not flow (while others just kept me going), were choppy (if that makes sense), especially when several sentences in a row begin with the word "I." But I did begin it and have a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know what happened next.
If you like memoirs and personal adventures, you should check this book out. The insight she gives on the culture is really interesting.
I received an email one day from Sage asking me if I liked memoirs and, after looking at the two she suggested to me, I gladly said yes to both. They could not be any more different (the other one was a sort-of romance that was insanely hilarious), but both very powerful.
This story is frightening and sad at the same time. I can't even imagine how she handled going through the things she talks about in this book - and, to be honest, I don't know if I could have survived such an ordeal. Kidnapped by militants armed to the teeth, unaware of what they were going to do to you next, unable to speak to your children or tell anyone where you were - scary!!
The pain and fear that she felt during her captivity shines through her words in this book, but at the same time, she keeps a sort of dark humor throughout it all (I especially love the voice in her head that is rather giddy when it comes to things i.e. when she gets forced onto an old rickety plane, it reminds her that she has never actually been on a private plane before ... or a military one for that matter ... so totally how my brain works when I panic).
The only issue I had with this book is how it is written - and this may be just a personal issue. It's a memoir, so of course it's going to be written in first person, but I felt like parts of it did not flow (while others just kept me going), were choppy (if that makes sense), especially when several sentences in a row begin with the word "I." But I did begin it and have a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know what happened next.
If you like memoirs and personal adventures, you should check this book out. The insight she gives on the culture is really interesting.
August 17, 2014
The Good. Linda's writing is appealing. She explains in a modest `page-turning' quality what I read in From Beirut to Jerusalem, in less than 200-pages. She doesn't fiddle or flourish around telling exactly what happened. This allowed a little more clarity in understanding the political schisms she encountered, and how something like this could easily happen. I appreciated that. Very well done.
The Mmeh Okay. There were those moments when I wanted to read the Skipper's, and Rupert's (Linda's husband) versions, except for...
The Best Part! I ended up identifying with Rupert who had to put away 'The Time Traveler's Wife'--the book he tried to read during captivity, to better cope with the unfolding events. I as well liked the psychological approach to narrating this account, and was satisfied with the Marlborough College article inserted where it was. I also was grateful for that 'tacked on' chuckle where Linda answered Jack as to how she picked up chain smoking. Very Well Done!
The Mmeh Okay. There were those moments when I wanted to read the Skipper's, and Rupert's (Linda's husband) versions, except for...
The Best Part! I ended up identifying with Rupert who had to put away 'The Time Traveler's Wife'--the book he tried to read during captivity, to better cope with the unfolding events. I as well liked the psychological approach to narrating this account, and was satisfied with the Marlborough College article inserted where it was. I also was grateful for that 'tacked on' chuckle where Linda answered Jack as to how she picked up chain smoking. Very Well Done!
August 22, 2014
Wow, what a story! Linda Davies writes about the hostage situation she found herself in along with her husband, Rupert, and boat captain, Brad. While taking their boat, Sinbad, on a brief maiden voyage, they cross into dangerous waters and are taken hostage by Iranian militants.
The story started off a bit calmer than I expected, but swiftly grew intense as Linda, Rupert, and Brad began to endure repeated interrogations. I can only imagine how exhausting it was to go through the same questions and answer over and over without any changes being made to their unfortunate incident.
Linda Davies shares the very dark moments of their two-week situation, the interesting relationship they began to build with their captors, and the oppression they endured. I read Hostage in one sitting and experienced a roller coaster ride of emotions. I highly recommend this memoir.
The story started off a bit calmer than I expected, but swiftly grew intense as Linda, Rupert, and Brad began to endure repeated interrogations. I can only imagine how exhausting it was to go through the same questions and answer over and over without any changes being made to their unfortunate incident.
Linda Davies shares the very dark moments of their two-week situation, the interesting relationship they began to build with their captors, and the oppression they endured. I read Hostage in one sitting and experienced a roller coaster ride of emotions. I highly recommend this memoir.
April 22, 2016
This is a gripping true story that I had to finish in one sitting. Hostage is easily the best book I've read in 2016. It is a terrible shame that Ms. Davies, her husband, and their boat captain had to go through such an ordeal, but the author has turned their experiences into an illuminating read, that is equal parts thriller, testimony to a married couple's inner strength and resourcefulness under adversity, and a glimpse into life in Iran and the inner-workings of competing factions within the country. Ms. Davies inner monologues are highly perceptive, and she paints pictures of her different captors that are well-drawn and human even in the most terrifying moments. Hostage is the first of Ms. Davies' books that I've read, but I'm already a fan. For anyone who enjoyed Argo this is the perfect companion piece (and far more historically accurate, while every bit as dramatic.)
August 27, 2014
Linda and her husband Rupert survive a harrowing experience of being kidnapped by Iranian military forces. Linda reminds us that despite suffering horrible tragedies that we can and must move on with our lives and learn from our experiences. This memoir is an inspiring and uplifting read. Read my full review here: http://thebookbindersdaughter.com/201...
January 18, 2015
shocking, gripping, surreal and yet terrifyingly real
Who thinks they are going to be taken hostage while out sailing for an afternoon, and enjoying some sun, wind and ocean? No one....and yet it happened. Great book by an incredibly strong woman, who survived an ordeal that is hard to imagine. But her writing makes it real enough for me.
Who thinks they are going to be taken hostage while out sailing for an afternoon, and enjoying some sun, wind and ocean? No one....and yet it happened. Great book by an incredibly strong woman, who survived an ordeal that is hard to imagine. But her writing makes it real enough for me.
December 5, 2014
Disclaimer: This ARC was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.
Rating: 3.5
This novel was a very dark and realistic take on being held hostage by a hostile foreign country.
Luckily the couple and their captain of their ship were privileged rich people who had connections to help them out of the hostile situation. I would hate to see what would happen if the captured hostages were regular people. Not to make light of their situation, it was horrible what happened to them and I am glad they are okay.
I'm glad that there was no prejudice against Muslims and Iranians in general as far as I was aware of.
Rating: 3.5
This novel was a very dark and realistic take on being held hostage by a hostile foreign country.
Luckily the couple and their captain of their ship were privileged rich people who had connections to help them out of the hostile situation. I would hate to see what would happen if the captured hostages were regular people. Not to make light of their situation, it was horrible what happened to them and I am glad they are okay.
I'm glad that there was no prejudice against Muslims and Iranians in general as far as I was aware of.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews