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Making Shore
Torpedoed by a German U-boat, adrift on the open ocean, gravely weakened and slowly dying of thirst - the odds of making shore are lengthening with each gruelling hour. Deliverance from the decaying lifeboat will take something far more remarkable than sheer endurance. And after survival at sea, yet more anguish lies in wait. Based on a true incident in 1942. Dignified yet compelling - packs an enormous emotional wallopA"--Mark Thornton, Costa Award judge 2010. A novel of raw intensity and startling emotional powerA"--Lancashire Evening Post. "A remarkable imaginative achievement"--Edward Stourton. "Destined to become a true maritime classic "--Angus Konstam. "A brilliantly conceived story of endurance and romance"--Lord Butler. "A powerful and remarkable novel"--Army Children Archive. "Elevated to the realms of the truly memorable"--Simon Appleby, Bookgeeks. Enhanced edition features exclusive video and audio interviews with author and the 87-year-old survivor of the original wartime incident.
- GenresFiction
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 25, 2018
A novel based on a true story of merchant seamen torpedoed by a U boat south west of the Canaries and their story of survival - pretty harrowing stuff but well written end engaging throughout
April 13, 2013
Bought this because of a Kindle Daily Deal, I suspect. Normally, I'd steer very clear of anything with a cover like this: World War 2 pathos is really not my thing.
However, tales of shipwreck and survivors in a lifeboat - well, they very much are something I have been known to enjoy. In the Heart of the Sea and The Survivors of the Chancellor have both had a very strong resonance in me, so I was intrigued about this book.
Making Shore is a novel inspired (very loosely) by true events. An aging British transport ship was sunk by a German submarine. A bunch of survivors drifted in a lifeboat, and struggled against adversity to make it back to shore. While the novel uses the real name of one survivor, it is largely fictionalised. (It started out as a work of autobiography, but was then handed to a ghost writer / novelist to turn into something more interesting).
The book starts out with a very engaging scene; an encounter between a survivor and the loved one of his best friend, who had not survived. Then, after this scene, we get the tale of the events that befell the sailors. In a way, this reduces some of the tension: you know from the start that our narrator survives and his friend does not. The other sailors all have names, but their characters are not always terribly distinct: it took me most of the book to tell some of them apart (the racist, the stubborn nay-sayer, the reasoned true leader, etc).
A book about people stuck for weeks in a small group, lacking resources and drifting on an indifferent ocean, is always going to be a slow burner. And that part of the book works well: it builds up tension in a slow simmer, builds up hardship and conflict carefully. You know that they will reach land in the end. What may surprise you as a reader - and what took me aback - is that they reach it halfway into the book. From then on, it just drags and drags on, through a list of events that, no longer driven by isolation, hardship and insanity, are just not very interesting. The second half of the book is, simply, boring. Towards the end, I skipped half of the paragraphs, struggling with endless descriptions and, at the very end, somewhat bumbling long-winded navel-gazing.
Even the seaborn yarn is not flawless: the amount of water these survivors supposedly lived on is not credible. Two table spoons a day? I am pretty sure that is not even remotely authentic, and so my suspension of disbelief failed - which took me outside being engrossed in the tale.
Making Shore is largely well-written (except the final chapters), but could have ended at the half-way point and been a better book. It's not terrible, but if you want historic and accurate, yet very engrossing yarns, In The Heart of the Sea remains the gold standard.
However, tales of shipwreck and survivors in a lifeboat - well, they very much are something I have been known to enjoy. In the Heart of the Sea and The Survivors of the Chancellor have both had a very strong resonance in me, so I was intrigued about this book.
Making Shore is a novel inspired (very loosely) by true events. An aging British transport ship was sunk by a German submarine. A bunch of survivors drifted in a lifeboat, and struggled against adversity to make it back to shore. While the novel uses the real name of one survivor, it is largely fictionalised. (It started out as a work of autobiography, but was then handed to a ghost writer / novelist to turn into something more interesting).
The book starts out with a very engaging scene; an encounter between a survivor and the loved one of his best friend, who had not survived. Then, after this scene, we get the tale of the events that befell the sailors. In a way, this reduces some of the tension: you know from the start that our narrator survives and his friend does not. The other sailors all have names, but their characters are not always terribly distinct: it took me most of the book to tell some of them apart (the racist, the stubborn nay-sayer, the reasoned true leader, etc).
A book about people stuck for weeks in a small group, lacking resources and drifting on an indifferent ocean, is always going to be a slow burner. And that part of the book works well: it builds up tension in a slow simmer, builds up hardship and conflict carefully. You know that they will reach land in the end. What may surprise you as a reader - and what took me aback - is that they reach it halfway into the book. From then on, it just drags and drags on, through a list of events that, no longer driven by isolation, hardship and insanity, are just not very interesting. The second half of the book is, simply, boring. Towards the end, I skipped half of the paragraphs, struggling with endless descriptions and, at the very end, somewhat bumbling long-winded navel-gazing.
Even the seaborn yarn is not flawless: the amount of water these survivors supposedly lived on is not credible. Two table spoons a day? I am pretty sure that is not even remotely authentic, and so my suspension of disbelief failed - which took me outside being engrossed in the tale.
Making Shore is largely well-written (except the final chapters), but could have ended at the half-way point and been a better book. It's not terrible, but if you want historic and accurate, yet very engrossing yarns, In The Heart of the Sea remains the gold standard.
June 29, 2014
Excellent 'war' story based on the real experience of a merchant seaman.
The horrible realities of ship wreck (thirst, sun burn, hunger, boredom, one's ship mates.....)
It reminded me of Monsarrat's 'The Cruel Sea' for the way it revealed the shocking, casually dreadful things that really happen in war - and not just to the combatants. Also akin to 'The Railway Man' for the analysis of the mental impact and how the characters (and the women in their lives) deal with it.
Some heroics but mostly not and of course plenty of what we now call PTSD.
Highly recommended
The horrible realities of ship wreck (thirst, sun burn, hunger, boredom, one's ship mates.....)
It reminded me of Monsarrat's 'The Cruel Sea' for the way it revealed the shocking, casually dreadful things that really happen in war - and not just to the combatants. Also akin to 'The Railway Man' for the analysis of the mental impact and how the characters (and the women in their lives) deal with it.
Some heroics but mostly not and of course plenty of what we now call PTSD.
Highly recommended
June 24, 2015
Bought this book when it was first released for my husband as we knew Brian (& Edith).
I had heard Brian's story first-hand and so didn't 'need' to read this book.
However, after Brian sadly passed away, I promised Edith I would & now I have, though I would say that Brian read it to me . . . in his beautiful urbane tones.
I am glad that I have read his story & that his memory will live on - he was the most perfect of gentlemen.
God bless you Brian xxx
I had heard Brian's story first-hand and so didn't 'need' to read this book.
However, after Brian sadly passed away, I promised Edith I would & now I have, though I would say that Brian read it to me . . . in his beautiful urbane tones.
I am glad that I have read his story & that his memory will live on - he was the most perfect of gentlemen.
God bless you Brian xxx
May 6, 2013
Making Shore is based on actual events that occured in WWII, although it is clearly stated that it is a work of fiction. A Merchant Navy vessel is torpedoed and this is the story of what happened to some of the survivors of the sinking. It's a fascinating tale and definitely worth reading if the subject appeals. It does drag a little in places, which is why it failed to get 4 stars.
April 2, 2012
Fictionalised account of one man's war experiences in the merchant navy, dealing with the meaning of friendship and loyalty. Harrowing but in the end a very good read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews