What do you think?
Rate this book
The Poseidon Adventure
The high-octane thriller that inspired the Academy Award–winning On a sinking cruise ship, passengers fight rising water—and each other—to survive. On its maiden voyage, luxury ocean liner SS Poseidon is capsized by a massive undersea earthquake. A handful of survivors must fight for their lives—struggling to make it from the upper deck of the ship to the hull, the only part above water, before the ship sinks. Faced with rising water and the violence of desperate passengers and crewmembers, the group must do everything it can to survive—before time runs out. Adapted into an award-winning film by Irwin Allen, The Poseidon Adventure is a thrilling tale with timeless suspense and excitement.
351 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1969
156 people are currently reading
2838 people want to read
About the author
Paul Gallico
184 books317 followersPaul William Gallico was born in New York City, on 26th July, 1897. His father was an Italian, and his mother came from Austria; they emigrated to New York in 1895.
He went to school in the public schools of New York, and in 1916 went to Columbia University. He graduated in 1921 with a Bachelor of Science degree, having lost a year and a half due to World War I. He then worked for the National Board of Motion Picture Review, and after six months took a job as the motion picture critic for the New York Daily News. He was removed from this job as his "reviews were too Smart Alecky" (according to Confessions of a Story Teller), and took refuge in the sports department.
During his stint there, he was sent to cover the training camp of Jack Dempsey, and decided to ask Dempsey if he could spar with him, to get an idea of what it was like to be hit by the world heavyweight champion. The results were spectacular; Gallico was knocked out within two minutes. But he had his story, and from there his sports-writing career never looked back.
He became Sports Editor of the Daily News in 1923, and was given a daily sports column. He also invented and organised the Golden Gloves amateur boxing competition. During this part of his life, he was one of the most well-known sporting writers in America, and a minor celebrity. But he had always wanted to be a fiction writer, and was writing short stories and sports articles for magazines like Vanity Fair and the Saturday Evening Post. In 1936, he sold a short story to the movies for $5000, which gave him a stake. So he retired from sports writing, and went to live in Europe, to devote himself to writing. His first major book was Farewell to Sport, which as the title indicates, was his farewell to sports writing.
Though his name was well-known in the United States, he was an unknown in the rest of the world. In 1941, the Snow Goose changed all that, and he became, if not a best-selling author by today's standards, a writer who was always in demand. Apart from a short spell as a war correspondent between 1943 and 1946, he was a full-time freelance writer for the rest of his life. He has lived all over the place, including England, Mexico, Lichtenstein and Monaco, and he lived in Antibes for the last years of his life.
He was a first-class fencer, and a keen deep-sea fisherman. He was married four times, and had several children.
He died in Antibes on 15th July, 1976, just short of his 79th birthday.
He went to school in the public schools of New York, and in 1916 went to Columbia University. He graduated in 1921 with a Bachelor of Science degree, having lost a year and a half due to World War I. He then worked for the National Board of Motion Picture Review, and after six months took a job as the motion picture critic for the New York Daily News. He was removed from this job as his "reviews were too Smart Alecky" (according to Confessions of a Story Teller), and took refuge in the sports department.
During his stint there, he was sent to cover the training camp of Jack Dempsey, and decided to ask Dempsey if he could spar with him, to get an idea of what it was like to be hit by the world heavyweight champion. The results were spectacular; Gallico was knocked out within two minutes. But he had his story, and from there his sports-writing career never looked back.
He became Sports Editor of the Daily News in 1923, and was given a daily sports column. He also invented and organised the Golden Gloves amateur boxing competition. During this part of his life, he was one of the most well-known sporting writers in America, and a minor celebrity. But he had always wanted to be a fiction writer, and was writing short stories and sports articles for magazines like Vanity Fair and the Saturday Evening Post. In 1936, he sold a short story to the movies for $5000, which gave him a stake. So he retired from sports writing, and went to live in Europe, to devote himself to writing. His first major book was Farewell to Sport, which as the title indicates, was his farewell to sports writing.
Though his name was well-known in the United States, he was an unknown in the rest of the world. In 1941, the Snow Goose changed all that, and he became, if not a best-selling author by today's standards, a writer who was always in demand. Apart from a short spell as a war correspondent between 1943 and 1946, he was a full-time freelance writer for the rest of his life. He has lived all over the place, including England, Mexico, Lichtenstein and Monaco, and he lived in Antibes for the last years of his life.
He was a first-class fencer, and a keen deep-sea fisherman. He was married four times, and had several children.
He died in Antibes on 15th July, 1976, just short of his 79th birthday.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
March 13, 2020
“In the chaos of the dining saloon they had not even been aware of the nature of what remained of the grand staircase, emerging at its widest point from the pool of oily water, its golden handrails and carpeted steps curving upwards to the ceiling where it looked so utterly different that none of them any longer recognized it for what it was. It had become simply a part of that nightmare in which chairs and tables hung from the roof and lights were thrown up from the glass floor...The steps now hung upside-down from the ceiling and the complete uselessness of their former functional capacity was almost as appalling a shock to their minds as the catastrophe itself...The handrails of polished mahogany and the brassbound vinyl-covered steps, instead of providing an easy rise to which they were accustomed, jutted out in an overhang above their heads. The ceiling of the companion-way which had paralleled the angle of descent now presented the only means of ascent, a slippery and precipitous slope of painted steel with lighting panels inset and flush, an unmanageable surface offering no grip or handhold of any kind...”
- Paul Gallico, The Poseidon Adventure
Do you want my absolute, undivided attention?
Tell me the story of a sinking ship.
From the time I was five, and Robert Ballard found the still-dignified remains of the RMS Titanic on the Atlantic seabed, I have been obsessed with shipwrecks and sea stories. Whether its fiction or non, if there is a big wave, a breached hull, a race to the lifeboats as the water rises belowdecks, I am there. In my humble opinion, there is little to compare to the drama played out on the stage of a distressed vessel’s desperately tilting decks.
While there are many tales to quicken the blood, even in a crowded field, Paul Gallico’s novel makes a lasting impression.
The Poseidon Adventure features one of the highest of high concepts: an ocean liner capsizes, and a small band of survivors must make it topside by climbing through an upside down ship before it sinks. It is the perfect combination of character study and thriller, a “platoon story” mixed with a tick-tock countdown to eternity.
The characters we follow are an odd collection, as is to be expected. There is haberdasher, a rake, a mid-American family and a couple of drunks. Some of the survivors seem to have emerged from the department of ethnic stereotypes, such as the old, bickering Jewish couple. There is also a racist, homophobic NYC detective straight from central casting. Nonetheless, Gallico works hard to make all these people multidimensional, so that even the seeming-clichés round into form by the novel’s end.
Taking control of this motley crew is the Reverend Dr. Frank “Buzz” Scott, a former All-American football-player-turned-preacher, a believer in a muscular, near-secular Christianity, where God is the Coach urging us on. Following Scott’s lead, these survivors painstakingly make their way down – which is actually up – through the twisted, mangled, and darkened ship.
I have always been extremely fond of the intersection of pulp and literary pretentiousness. That’s about where The Poseidon Adventure exists. Fundamentally, this is a beach read, with such a cool premise that it’s hard to screw it up.
Yet, Gallico approaches this material with utter seriousness. He writes with Dostoevsky-like aspirations to psychological depth, and utilizes a floating third-person perspective that jumps from character-to-character, often on the same page (this can be confusing, as many of the characters have similar names).
Each of the featured survivors has their own back-story, some more effective than others. It is a testament to Gallico’s solemn intent that I didn't fully like any of the characters – even the archetypes are given human dimensions, and no one emerges as a pure, cinematic hero.
The chief protagonist – unsurprisingly – is Dr. Scott. Interestingly, Gallico never takes you inside his thought process, so that we only see Scott through the eyes of others. These projections serve to give Scott an almost mythical quality, and he is certainly unforgettable, exhorting and cajoling the others:
I don’t know about you, but after reading that, I feel just about ready to navigate an overturned ship myself.
The Poseidon Adventure was turned into a classic Irwin Allen-produced disaster movie in 1972, with a youngish Gene Hackman starring as Dr. Scott. While I love the film, it concentrates on the Rube Goldberg-like obstacle course of the flipped SS Poseidon, with one barrier to be surmounted after another. While there are some surprises, the arc is pretty standard.
The novel is much more interested in the characters. Sure, there are challenges: busted staircases; a swim through the engine room; a climb among the scaffolds. But the main trials are psychological. The greatest test each must face is their own limitations. The result is a book that goes to some dark, dark places.
That’s not to disparage the “adventure” portion of The Poseidon Adventure. Gallico does an excellent job describing this inverted world, paying keen attention to spatial characteristics. It’s hard enough for a writer to describe an ocean liner; it’s that much harder to describe it upside down and tangled up.
But the entertainment factor of the novel is a degree lower than the film. There are no rules, no sense of fairness or justness. Gallico creates a cold and unsympathetic and capricious universe. Characters are killed off with stunning brevity (and at times, with a macabre and lurid detail). A child is lost. There is a graphic rape. The death count rises the higher the group gets. Even after survival, the wounds keep opening. These are people who have lost loved ones; these are people who will never be better than they were in that ship, and you can sense that the rest of their lives will be anticlimax.
Then comes the ending. It’s so bleak it left me a bit stung. Only after a bit did I realize that the ruthlessness of the last few pages, a ruthlessness that borders on cynicism, perfectly fits that existential ship-of-horrors through which we journeyed.
At this point, it is unlikely that The Poseidon Adventure will ever be recognized as great literature. But it sure is memorable.
- Paul Gallico, The Poseidon Adventure
Do you want my absolute, undivided attention?
Tell me the story of a sinking ship.
From the time I was five, and Robert Ballard found the still-dignified remains of the RMS Titanic on the Atlantic seabed, I have been obsessed with shipwrecks and sea stories. Whether its fiction or non, if there is a big wave, a breached hull, a race to the lifeboats as the water rises belowdecks, I am there. In my humble opinion, there is little to compare to the drama played out on the stage of a distressed vessel’s desperately tilting decks.
While there are many tales to quicken the blood, even in a crowded field, Paul Gallico’s novel makes a lasting impression.
The Poseidon Adventure features one of the highest of high concepts: an ocean liner capsizes, and a small band of survivors must make it topside by climbing through an upside down ship before it sinks. It is the perfect combination of character study and thriller, a “platoon story” mixed with a tick-tock countdown to eternity.
The characters we follow are an odd collection, as is to be expected. There is haberdasher, a rake, a mid-American family and a couple of drunks. Some of the survivors seem to have emerged from the department of ethnic stereotypes, such as the old, bickering Jewish couple. There is also a racist, homophobic NYC detective straight from central casting. Nonetheless, Gallico works hard to make all these people multidimensional, so that even the seeming-clichés round into form by the novel’s end.
Taking control of this motley crew is the Reverend Dr. Frank “Buzz” Scott, a former All-American football-player-turned-preacher, a believer in a muscular, near-secular Christianity, where God is the Coach urging us on. Following Scott’s lead, these survivors painstakingly make their way down – which is actually up – through the twisted, mangled, and darkened ship.
I have always been extremely fond of the intersection of pulp and literary pretentiousness. That’s about where The Poseidon Adventure exists. Fundamentally, this is a beach read, with such a cool premise that it’s hard to screw it up.
Yet, Gallico approaches this material with utter seriousness. He writes with Dostoevsky-like aspirations to psychological depth, and utilizes a floating third-person perspective that jumps from character-to-character, often on the same page (this can be confusing, as many of the characters have similar names).
Each of the featured survivors has their own back-story, some more effective than others. It is a testament to Gallico’s solemn intent that I didn't fully like any of the characters – even the archetypes are given human dimensions, and no one emerges as a pure, cinematic hero.
The chief protagonist – unsurprisingly – is Dr. Scott. Interestingly, Gallico never takes you inside his thought process, so that we only see Scott through the eyes of others. These projections serve to give Scott an almost mythical quality, and he is certainly unforgettable, exhorting and cajoling the others:
God wants winners! God loves triers. He did not create you in His image to run second. He has no use for quitters, whiners or beggars. Every trial you’re called upon to endure is an act of worship. Respect and stand up for yourselves and you will be respecting and standing up for Him. Let Him know that if He can’t help you, you’ve got the guts and the will to go it alone. Fight for yourselves and He will be fighting at your side uninvited. When you succeed, it is because you've accepted Him, and He is in you. When you dog it, you’ve denied Him.
I don’t know about you, but after reading that, I feel just about ready to navigate an overturned ship myself.
The Poseidon Adventure was turned into a classic Irwin Allen-produced disaster movie in 1972, with a youngish Gene Hackman starring as Dr. Scott. While I love the film, it concentrates on the Rube Goldberg-like obstacle course of the flipped SS Poseidon, with one barrier to be surmounted after another. While there are some surprises, the arc is pretty standard.
The novel is much more interested in the characters. Sure, there are challenges: busted staircases; a swim through the engine room; a climb among the scaffolds. But the main trials are psychological. The greatest test each must face is their own limitations. The result is a book that goes to some dark, dark places.
That’s not to disparage the “adventure” portion of The Poseidon Adventure. Gallico does an excellent job describing this inverted world, paying keen attention to spatial characteristics. It’s hard enough for a writer to describe an ocean liner; it’s that much harder to describe it upside down and tangled up.
But the entertainment factor of the novel is a degree lower than the film. There are no rules, no sense of fairness or justness. Gallico creates a cold and unsympathetic and capricious universe. Characters are killed off with stunning brevity (and at times, with a macabre and lurid detail). A child is lost. There is a graphic rape. The death count rises the higher the group gets. Even after survival, the wounds keep opening. These are people who have lost loved ones; these are people who will never be better than they were in that ship, and you can sense that the rest of their lives will be anticlimax.
Then comes the ending. It’s so bleak it left me a bit stung. Only after a bit did I realize that the ruthlessness of the last few pages, a ruthlessness that borders on cynicism, perfectly fits that existential ship-of-horrors through which we journeyed.
At this point, it is unlikely that The Poseidon Adventure will ever be recognized as great literature. But it sure is memorable.
February 11, 2014
I saw the movie with my friend Linda, and an obsession was born.
We played "Poseidon Adventure" with our Barbies. We played "Poseidon Adventure" with the Deitch boys from across the street. (Even though they had not seen the film, in our crazed madness, we forced them to play all the male roles.) I even saw the movie en espanol on a trip to Spain. (Didn't understand a word of it. Didn't matter. I had it memorized.)
My dad, never one to miss an opportunity for education, came home with a present one day. "Did you know it was a BOOK before it was a MOVIE?" he asked. No, I had not. I began to realize that many of my favorite movies had been books first. "The Wizard of Oz." "Peter Pan." Even "Mary Freakin' Poppins," for cryin' out loud! It was probably a late age to make this discovery, but it opened up a whole new world for me. (And unfortunately led me to waste many teenage years reading movie tie-ins. But that was my own fault.)
"The Poseidon Adventure" is my most-read book. I kept a running tally inside the front cover of my now bedraggled paperback. I read it seven times. Was it THAT good? I'm pretty sure it wasn't, but I was young and in love -with a movie, a book, and the idea that in a world before VHS and DVD, I could "rewatch" my favorite movies whenever I wanted simply by "reading" them.
We played "Poseidon Adventure" with our Barbies. We played "Poseidon Adventure" with the Deitch boys from across the street. (Even though they had not seen the film, in our crazed madness, we forced them to play all the male roles.) I even saw the movie en espanol on a trip to Spain. (Didn't understand a word of it. Didn't matter. I had it memorized.)
My dad, never one to miss an opportunity for education, came home with a present one day. "Did you know it was a BOOK before it was a MOVIE?" he asked. No, I had not. I began to realize that many of my favorite movies had been books first. "The Wizard of Oz." "Peter Pan." Even "Mary Freakin' Poppins," for cryin' out loud! It was probably a late age to make this discovery, but it opened up a whole new world for me. (And unfortunately led me to waste many teenage years reading movie tie-ins. But that was my own fault.)
"The Poseidon Adventure" is my most-read book. I kept a running tally inside the front cover of my now bedraggled paperback. I read it seven times. Was it THAT good? I'm pretty sure it wasn't, but I was young and in love -with a movie, a book, and the idea that in a world before VHS and DVD, I could "rewatch" my favorite movies whenever I wanted simply by "reading" them.
September 4, 2011
Most are probably familiar with this story about a group of people in an upside-down cruise ship thanks to the classic adventure movie that's based on it. The book is more salacious and brutal than its famous film adaptation.
There's a heavy focus on the thoughts and discussions of the characters, sometimes at the expense of what's actually happening on the ship - I had to re-read more than one action scene to understand what was going on. This would have been more acceptable to me if the themes that the story raised had been dealt with more effectively, but instead, the author brings up societal and relationship issues only to leave them floating awkwardly around.
It's usually easier for me to make allowances for older novels when it comes to sexism, racism, and other forms of prejudice (and they're pretty much all on display here). The women of this book still frustrate the hell out of me.
To be fair, all of the characters are complex, flawed, and not entirely admirable. But the abusive husband, for example, is nearly portrayed as justified thanks to his obnoxious wife. The philanderer partially redeems himself by assuming a leadership role. Even when the women are brave and strong, it's undercut by the constant observation that they're holding up better than anyone's low expectations for them. A lot of attention is given to their looks, even in the case of the grandmother whose extraordinary talent saves everyone. The one woman who seems like a bright spot among this stereotypical group is dragged down into drama and only recovers her standing by denying her own individuality for the sake of her husband.
The struggle for survival and group interactions were still really compelling at times. But my thoughts about the book were easily sealed by the last few lines, in which . Seriously, Poseidon Adventure? What the hell?
There's a heavy focus on the thoughts and discussions of the characters, sometimes at the expense of what's actually happening on the ship - I had to re-read more than one action scene to understand what was going on. This would have been more acceptable to me if the themes that the story raised had been dealt with more effectively, but instead, the author brings up societal and relationship issues only to leave them floating awkwardly around.
It's usually easier for me to make allowances for older novels when it comes to sexism, racism, and other forms of prejudice (and they're pretty much all on display here). The women of this book still frustrate the hell out of me.
To be fair, all of the characters are complex, flawed, and not entirely admirable. But the abusive husband, for example, is nearly portrayed as justified thanks to his obnoxious wife. The philanderer partially redeems himself by assuming a leadership role. Even when the women are brave and strong, it's undercut by the constant observation that they're holding up better than anyone's low expectations for them. A lot of attention is given to their looks, even in the case of the grandmother whose extraordinary talent saves everyone. The one woman who seems like a bright spot among this stereotypical group is dragged down into drama and only recovers her standing by denying her own individuality for the sake of her husband.
The struggle for survival and group interactions were still really compelling at times. But my thoughts about the book were easily sealed by the last few lines, in which . Seriously, Poseidon Adventure? What the hell?
April 29, 2020
4 Stars for The Poseidon Adventure (audiobook) by Paul Gallico read by Dylan Baker. This was an interesting adventure. Lots of fascinating characters in a challenging environment. The narration was great too.
November 28, 2010
Afloat North Atlantic, SS Poseidon turned upside down because of tsunami due to undersea earthquake. Unlike RMS Titanic, the story of SS Poseidon is fiction and managed to inspire only 4 movie adaptations unlike the former that inspired 20 movies both in TV or wide screen. In fact, when American novelist Paul Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) released The Poseidon Adventure in 1969, it did not generate much interest as it was seen as a lame version of the RMS Titanic story.
But I liked the movie Titanic of Jack and Rose in 1997. I saw it thrice at the movie house, bought a VHS, watched it again at home. Then when VCD came out, I bought a copy and watched it again. Then a good pirated DVD copy came out, I bought a copy and watched it again. Original DVD came out, a bought a copy and watched it again. Hope the technology stop at Blue Ray because I am still to buy but I am not sure if I will watch it again after see De Caprio already an aged actor in Inception and Winslet killing herself in Revolutionary Road.
And that is one of the differences that make this book also appealing to me. True that there is also a pastor committing suicide thinking himself as a sacrifice for his flock to survive, there is a lady who got unconsciously raped by a teenage boy, relationships that got tested, broken and thank God, mended during their almost futile search for the way to the hull of the ship. They climb their way through almost everything turned upside down: from inverted Christmas tree, to the 2- story stair, elevator cable, Hollywood hallway, etc.
This book is a mixed of drama and pulsating adventure. I find the former a bit melodramatic but the latter as equally as engaging as reading Ian Fleming or Dan Brown. Now that you are putting a Christmas tree, imagine that you are in a luxury ship and it is 50 feet long and it is inverted and you have to climb through it to survive.
Then reading Poseidon will have a whole different meaning for you this Christmastime.
But I liked the movie Titanic of Jack and Rose in 1997. I saw it thrice at the movie house, bought a VHS, watched it again at home. Then when VCD came out, I bought a copy and watched it again. Then a good pirated DVD copy came out, I bought a copy and watched it again. Original DVD came out, a bought a copy and watched it again. Hope the technology stop at Blue Ray because I am still to buy but I am not sure if I will watch it again after see De Caprio already an aged actor in Inception and Winslet killing herself in Revolutionary Road.
"Secondary to being the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon is first and foremost, the god known as the "earth-shaker".says the Mary Kinsale a character in this book, The Poseidon Adventure. Gallico aptly titled the book because the cause of its sinking or to be precise, being upside down was an earthquake. There is a mixed of characters and at least those whose names mentioned in the story survived. Somehow, I think that Gallico wanted his story to be of survival rather than dying just like that of Jack and Rose.
And that is one of the differences that make this book also appealing to me. True that there is also a pastor committing suicide thinking himself as a sacrifice for his flock to survive, there is a lady who got unconsciously raped by a teenage boy, relationships that got tested, broken and thank God, mended during their almost futile search for the way to the hull of the ship. They climb their way through almost everything turned upside down: from inverted Christmas tree, to the 2- story stair, elevator cable, Hollywood hallway, etc.
This book is a mixed of drama and pulsating adventure. I find the former a bit melodramatic but the latter as equally as engaging as reading Ian Fleming or Dan Brown. Now that you are putting a Christmas tree, imagine that you are in a luxury ship and it is 50 feet long and it is inverted and you have to climb through it to survive.
Then reading Poseidon will have a whole different meaning for you this Christmastime.
March 22, 2018
I suspect this potboiler would've been entirely forgotten by now if not for the classic 1972 disaster movie it inspired.
While the film followed the book's plot fairly closely -- the screenplay shuffles around a few major events and pares away some characters -- the two properties are very different in tone. Gallico presents us with a group of unlikable characters who are all, to one degree or another, the last person with whom you'd want to be trapped in a life-and-death struggle. It isn't merely a case of these people being flawed and having to find their individual strengths or rise above their weaknesses, which is how the movie presented them. These people are genuine jerks, in particular the vacationing police detective Rogo (played by Ernest Borgnine in the movie) and even the ostensible hero, the Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman in the movie). Scott is an especially frustrating character because the reader never fully learns what it is that's driving him. There are some hints, things that the movie expanded upon, but on the page he remains a cypher. As for Rogo, he has some redeeming, humanizing moments toward the end, but it comes across as too little, too late, especially as those moments are counteracted by one sneering comment he makes in the final pages.
In addition to the obnoxiousness of the characters, the book fairly drips with anti-Semitism, misogyny, and homophobia. Possibly this simply reflects the attitudes of the time, but it's difficult going for the modern reader.
As for the writing, well, Gallico was no stylist. His writing is serviceable at best. There are occasional glimmers of poetry, but there's also a whole lot of clunky prose and info-dumps in between them.
And yet, I have to confess that the book held my interest. It was a genuine pageturner with a genuine tension and claustrophobic feeling throughout, as well as a sense of relief when our survivors are rescued at the end, followed by a sadness at their realization that they'll likely never see each other again. For that emotional response alone, I'm giving the book a positive rating. If you're a fan of the movie, it's worth a look to see where the film came from.
But believe me, this is a rare case where the movie was better than the book.
While the film followed the book's plot fairly closely -- the screenplay shuffles around a few major events and pares away some characters -- the two properties are very different in tone. Gallico presents us with a group of unlikable characters who are all, to one degree or another, the last person with whom you'd want to be trapped in a life-and-death struggle. It isn't merely a case of these people being flawed and having to find their individual strengths or rise above their weaknesses, which is how the movie presented them. These people are genuine jerks, in particular the vacationing police detective Rogo (played by Ernest Borgnine in the movie) and even the ostensible hero, the Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman in the movie). Scott is an especially frustrating character because the reader never fully learns what it is that's driving him. There are some hints, things that the movie expanded upon, but on the page he remains a cypher. As for Rogo, he has some redeeming, humanizing moments toward the end, but it comes across as too little, too late, especially as those moments are counteracted by one sneering comment he makes in the final pages.
In addition to the obnoxiousness of the characters, the book fairly drips with anti-Semitism, misogyny, and homophobia. Possibly this simply reflects the attitudes of the time, but it's difficult going for the modern reader.
As for the writing, well, Gallico was no stylist. His writing is serviceable at best. There are occasional glimmers of poetry, but there's also a whole lot of clunky prose and info-dumps in between them.
And yet, I have to confess that the book held my interest. It was a genuine pageturner with a genuine tension and claustrophobic feeling throughout, as well as a sense of relief when our survivors are rescued at the end, followed by a sadness at their realization that they'll likely never see each other again. For that emotional response alone, I'm giving the book a positive rating. If you're a fan of the movie, it's worth a look to see where the film came from.
But believe me, this is a rare case where the movie was better than the book.
Want to read
October 9, 2013Okay... confession here... When I was 11, my father took me to see the original Poseidon Adventure at the Beekman theater in Manhattan. I loved it. I was obsessed with it. I think that perhaps my adult fascination with cruise ships was strongly influenced by it. The idea of a cruise ship turning upside down was so damn surreal, terrifying and compelling creatively, I couldn’t get it out of my mind as a kid. Back when I was twelve, I read the novel, and loved it. So just last year I found a copy of a first edition at a garage sale. I picked it up, and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since.
Well, these days I’m keeping a bedside vigil for my Mom, and I’m up a lot in the middle of the night, so I picked up the book. A bit of nostalgia. I began reading... and you know what?
IT’S AWFUL!
So badly written, the characters so under developed, the dialogue so wrong. But, as with any famous sinking ship, I can’t take my eyes away. No matter how awful it is, I’m sure I’ll read every last word. So I suppose this book is my “Twilight.” Paul Gallico had a concept. That’s all. It was a concept that was good enough to carry it through.
Last year I saw the movie again. Still loved it. Camp, and dated in so many ways, but still so much fun. I still get teary eyed when (spoiler) Shelley Winters dies.
Well, these days I’m keeping a bedside vigil for my Mom, and I’m up a lot in the middle of the night, so I picked up the book. A bit of nostalgia. I began reading... and you know what?
IT’S AWFUL!
So badly written, the characters so under developed, the dialogue so wrong. But, as with any famous sinking ship, I can’t take my eyes away. No matter how awful it is, I’m sure I’ll read every last word. So I suppose this book is my “Twilight.” Paul Gallico had a concept. That’s all. It was a concept that was good enough to carry it through.
Last year I saw the movie again. Still loved it. Camp, and dated in so many ways, but still so much fun. I still get teary eyed when (spoiler) Shelley Winters dies.
September 11, 2023
One of my favourite sea adventure stories, after watching this do you still want to go on that cruise you were contemplating??...
October 12, 2012
A genuinely bad book. Loaded with sexism, obnoxious characters that you dont even care about, and a really stupid bit where a woman is raped and seems oddly okay with it.
October 24, 2019
Very good book adaptation of the movie. Recommended
April 3, 2019
This was less of an adventurous fight for survival than it was a character drama. None of the characters were traditionally relatable, they were all flawed, some even broken, but all of them in a realistic way. They are the wild mix of people you would really have at such a cruise, which led to mostly compelling conflicts.
I felt uncomfortable reading this at times, because some of the things happening really hit hard. I think this was intentional, but I'm not 100% sure that some of the instances don't come from things being acceptable in the 60s that aren't anymore, but I hope they were intended to be shocking even back than.
Still, I didn't like all of the plot points and arks, even though they weren't unbelievable. The last few sentences were just brutal and uncalled for.
I really enjoyed the writing style and the characterisations. However, this isn't an easy travel read, as other reviews make it out to be, not if you have some empathy. It effected me emotionally while reading.
I also wouldn't recommend it to younger readers, since the character's questionable decisions and thoughts aren't explicitly judged within the text.
I felt uncomfortable reading this at times, because some of the things happening really hit hard. I think this was intentional, but I'm not 100% sure that some of the instances don't come from things being acceptable in the 60s that aren't anymore, but I hope they were intended to be shocking even back than.
Still, I didn't like all of the plot points and arks, even though they weren't unbelievable. The last few sentences were just brutal and uncalled for.
I really enjoyed the writing style and the characterisations. However, this isn't an easy travel read, as other reviews make it out to be, not if you have some empathy. It effected me emotionally while reading.
I also wouldn't recommend it to younger readers, since the character's questionable decisions and thoughts aren't explicitly judged within the text.
February 18, 2011
Until just a few weeks ago my only exposure to The Poseidon Adventure was the film made in the early 1970's. When I discovered that it was first a book by Paul Gallico, I knew I had to read it. I'm one who prefers to read the book first and then see the movie. Having done it in reverse order this time, I was interested to see how much the film held to or diverted from the book.
The Poseidon Adventure is the story of a huge cruise/cargo ship that is full of passengers on a 30-day cruise taken over the Christmas/New Years holidays. After experiencing rough seas, many passengers are ill and in their cabins one evening and only the brave-hearted and hungry venture to the dining room for dinner. For a variety of reasons, the ship begins to roll violently from side to side in the rough seas adn then suddenly capsizes. Imagine the chaos of their environment and their lives suddenly being turned upside down!
Once the boat settles, things stop exploding high above them in the bowels of he ship and things stop crashing and falling all around them, and realization hits that most of the passengers have died instantly, the survivors in the dining room gather to assess their situation.
From this point, the book is like an experiment of humanity and survival skills. Not "survival of the fittest", but more like what is in the heart and mind of each person that gets exposeed when put into the heat of this battle to survive this worst case scenario. These "survivors" are a cross-section of humanity; the good the bad, and the ugly. They all have stories or secrets that have made them who they are and that impact how they react or respond in this crisis. Who rises to become the leader; who follows obediently; who complains at every turn; what relationships develop, stay strong or fall apart; what is revealed about each of them in the midsst of the fight of their lives.
To reach the hull of the ship where rescuers (if there will be any) will be able to find them, they must now adjust to their upside down world and overcome whatever obstacles they encounter, physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually (really bad theology, but that's another story) in order to make it to the propellor shaft tunnel, which may as well be climbing Mt. Everest to them.
IF you need warned, I will say, as this book was written in 1969, it's NOT "politically correct" in words used regarding sexuallity or race in a few situations.
I highly recommend reading this book. Now that I've read the book, I definitely want to see th4e 1970's movie again ASAP!
The Poseidon Adventure is the story of a huge cruise/cargo ship that is full of passengers on a 30-day cruise taken over the Christmas/New Years holidays. After experiencing rough seas, many passengers are ill and in their cabins one evening and only the brave-hearted and hungry venture to the dining room for dinner. For a variety of reasons, the ship begins to roll violently from side to side in the rough seas adn then suddenly capsizes. Imagine the chaos of their environment and their lives suddenly being turned upside down!
Once the boat settles, things stop exploding high above them in the bowels of he ship and things stop crashing and falling all around them, and realization hits that most of the passengers have died instantly, the survivors in the dining room gather to assess their situation.
From this point, the book is like an experiment of humanity and survival skills. Not "survival of the fittest", but more like what is in the heart and mind of each person that gets exposeed when put into the heat of this battle to survive this worst case scenario. These "survivors" are a cross-section of humanity; the good the bad, and the ugly. They all have stories or secrets that have made them who they are and that impact how they react or respond in this crisis. Who rises to become the leader; who follows obediently; who complains at every turn; what relationships develop, stay strong or fall apart; what is revealed about each of them in the midsst of the fight of their lives.
To reach the hull of the ship where rescuers (if there will be any) will be able to find them, they must now adjust to their upside down world and overcome whatever obstacles they encounter, physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually (really bad theology, but that's another story) in order to make it to the propellor shaft tunnel, which may as well be climbing Mt. Everest to them.
IF you need warned, I will say, as this book was written in 1969, it's NOT "politically correct" in words used regarding sexuallity or race in a few situations.
I highly recommend reading this book. Now that I've read the book, I definitely want to see th4e 1970's movie again ASAP!
April 15, 2015
Good: Gallico writes more complicated characters than I expected to find in a disaster story and for the most part people behaved in a way that felt pretty natural, such as forming close relationships that dissolved when they got off the boat. I really liked the Rosens and I enjoyed Nonnie and Muller's path from strangers to lovers and then back to strangers. I was even intrigued by Martin and his struggles with the evidence of his affair (his mistress) going down with the ship.
Bad: Jesus, fuck, where to start? The rape scene bothered me the most, not just because Susan was raped but because the narrative had her dwelling on her virginity right before she was raped and it was obnoxious how much Gallico wanted to drive home that this was not how she'd expected to lose her virginity. No shit. The guy had to find her in the dark on a goddamn upside-down boat probably an hour after it flipped over. Plus she almost immediately forgives her rapist because he's so young and good-looking and scared and didn't mean to rape her, honest, he meant to rape a stewardess (I saw red at that line). The last goddamn lines of the book are even Susan hoping that she's pregnant so that she can take a bit of her rapist home with her. Gross, guys, gross.
Also the way that the author wrote about women in general was upsetting. There was never a mention of elderly Belle Rosen that didn't harp on how grotesquely fat she was and the number one thing I know about Nonnie is that she had smaller tits than the terrible (but sexy) Linda Rogo. Don't even get me started on Linda Rogo and how apparently if your wife is a breathtaking bitch it's fine to almost break her nose when she's hysterical.
Weird: I love how chill Kemal was the whole time even though he didn't speak a word of English and didn't know what the fuck was going on. Apparently Turkish people play it really close to their chest during insane natural disasters. And in the end they just send him to London because they don't know what else to do with him and he's completely fine with whatever. I don't think he was in the movie but he should have been.
End: Love the movie, like most of the characters, don't like the book. Watch the movie. Would not recommend the book.
Bad: Jesus, fuck, where to start? The rape scene bothered me the most, not just because Susan was raped but because the narrative had her dwelling on her virginity right before she was raped and it was obnoxious how much Gallico wanted to drive home that this was not how she'd expected to lose her virginity. No shit. The guy had to find her in the dark on a goddamn upside-down boat probably an hour after it flipped over. Plus she almost immediately forgives her rapist because he's so young and good-looking and scared and didn't mean to rape her, honest, he meant to rape a stewardess (I saw red at that line). The last goddamn lines of the book are even Susan hoping that she's pregnant so that she can take a bit of her rapist home with her. Gross, guys, gross.
Also the way that the author wrote about women in general was upsetting. There was never a mention of elderly Belle Rosen that didn't harp on how grotesquely fat she was and the number one thing I know about Nonnie is that she had smaller tits than the terrible (but sexy) Linda Rogo. Don't even get me started on Linda Rogo and how apparently if your wife is a breathtaking bitch it's fine to almost break her nose when she's hysterical.
Weird: I love how chill Kemal was the whole time even though he didn't speak a word of English and didn't know what the fuck was going on. Apparently Turkish people play it really close to their chest during insane natural disasters. And in the end they just send him to London because they don't know what else to do with him and he's completely fine with whatever. I don't think he was in the movie but he should have been.
End: Love the movie, like most of the characters, don't like the book. Watch the movie. Would not recommend the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2014
For more reviews, please visit my blog Obsessive Compulsive Reader
Obsessive Compulsive Reader
Actual rating: 0.5/5
It was only recently when I visited the local library that I discovered the film "The Poseidon Adventure" was adapted from a 1969 novel of the same name written by Paul Gallico. Given that I was fairly disenchanted with some of the cliched scenarios in the film, I was intrigued to pick the novel up and see whether the usual "book is better than the movie adaptation" mantra holds true.
Boy, did I regret my choice.
The story began like any regular epic adventure style novel. Having seen the film before, I knew going into this novel that there are a lot of characters involved and that it may be initially very confusing to orientate myself. But The Poseidon Adventure doesn't even try to make the initiation process easier. Every character is introduced without any fanfare with only one or two characteristics attached to them, none of which are very distinguishing. I understand that the book is trying to set up the premise that the passengers are normal-day people but in the span of the first two chapters, you are introduced to a dozen characters and I kept referring back to the beginning to figure out which character is which.
But that was not even the most unpleasant part of the reading experience. I don't think I have ever been so angry whilst reading a book before. Even with the concessions made to the book's age, there is nothing remotely enjoyable about the underhanded way he deals with the issues of race, class and gender. I don't care if those were the widely accepted behaviour back then. The background setting is one thing, the way the characters just roll over and accept what is dished out to them is a whole separate issue. I cannot wrap my head around how the characters behaved, reacted and did what they did, especially the completely unnecessary epilogue. What the?!
This is probably one of the most unpleasant books I have read this year. For those who watched and enjoyed the film, stick to the movie.
Obsessive Compulsive Reader
Obsessive Compulsive Reader
Actual rating: 0.5/5
It was only recently when I visited the local library that I discovered the film "The Poseidon Adventure" was adapted from a 1969 novel of the same name written by Paul Gallico. Given that I was fairly disenchanted with some of the cliched scenarios in the film, I was intrigued to pick the novel up and see whether the usual "book is better than the movie adaptation" mantra holds true.
Boy, did I regret my choice.
The story began like any regular epic adventure style novel. Having seen the film before, I knew going into this novel that there are a lot of characters involved and that it may be initially very confusing to orientate myself. But The Poseidon Adventure doesn't even try to make the initiation process easier. Every character is introduced without any fanfare with only one or two characteristics attached to them, none of which are very distinguishing. I understand that the book is trying to set up the premise that the passengers are normal-day people but in the span of the first two chapters, you are introduced to a dozen characters and I kept referring back to the beginning to figure out which character is which.
But that was not even the most unpleasant part of the reading experience. I don't think I have ever been so angry whilst reading a book before. Even with the concessions made to the book's age, there is nothing remotely enjoyable about the underhanded way he deals with the issues of race, class and gender. I don't care if those were the widely accepted behaviour back then. The background setting is one thing, the way the characters just roll over and accept what is dished out to them is a whole separate issue. I cannot wrap my head around how the characters behaved, reacted and did what they did, especially the completely unnecessary epilogue. What the?!
This is probably one of the most unpleasant books I have read this year. For those who watched and enjoyed the film, stick to the movie.
Obsessive Compulsive Reader
January 29, 2015
Sometimes we have to make allowances for older books and movies and TV shows, because it's not fair to judge them by contemporary values. Still, some parts of The Poseidon Adventure are hard to take.
There's the cop's selfish, racist, shrewish wife, who sometimes "needs" a good slap. Not only in the opinion of her husband, but also in the opinion of the other survivors and even the narrator.
There's the rape. Not that it happens, but the victim's reaction to it. Ye gads.
There's the need for all of the men to tend to all of the women. At least one thing the book has in common with the movie is Belle's swimming prowess, with which she is able to help the group get past what seems to be a dead end. So the female characters aren't completely weak and useless -- just almost.
A common refrain you will hear when a book has been adapted to the screen is: "the book was better." But there are many instances when a movie has made improvements on the original novel, and I think that's the case here. Of course, I suppose I'm biased, given that I saw -- and loved -- the film first. But without giving too much away here are a few examples of how the film improves on the book:
- The overturning of the ship is a greater spectacle in the film because it occurs during a larger event. In the book, most of the passengers are in their cabins when the ship rolls.
- In the film, deaths are more meaningful.
- The book does not have the sense of urgency found in the movie. In the book, there's time for the entire group to nap and for two characters to have sex TWICE.
- The ending of the film is positive.
Some comments on the book's ending -- again, without giving too much away. One of the biggest differences between the book and the movie is the tone. The movie is about a heroic and epic struggle for survival. Whereas the book almost views the entire story as pointless. Mind you, I'm not saying that there's something wrong with the tone. Gallico has a different message than does the movie, and that's fine. But I do prefer the movie's message to the book's.
After all is said and done, I enjoyed spending more time with these characters and following them through "new' adventures.
There's the cop's selfish, racist, shrewish wife, who sometimes "needs" a good slap. Not only in the opinion of her husband, but also in the opinion of the other survivors and even the narrator.
There's the rape. Not that it happens, but the victim's reaction to it. Ye gads.
There's the need for all of the men to tend to all of the women. At least one thing the book has in common with the movie is Belle's swimming prowess, with which she is able to help the group get past what seems to be a dead end. So the female characters aren't completely weak and useless -- just almost.
A common refrain you will hear when a book has been adapted to the screen is: "the book was better." But there are many instances when a movie has made improvements on the original novel, and I think that's the case here. Of course, I suppose I'm biased, given that I saw -- and loved -- the film first. But without giving too much away here are a few examples of how the film improves on the book:
- The overturning of the ship is a greater spectacle in the film because it occurs during a larger event. In the book, most of the passengers are in their cabins when the ship rolls.
- In the film, deaths are more meaningful.
- The book does not have the sense of urgency found in the movie. In the book, there's time for the entire group to nap and for two characters to have sex TWICE.
- The ending of the film is positive.
Some comments on the book's ending -- again, without giving too much away. One of the biggest differences between the book and the movie is the tone. The movie is about a heroic and epic struggle for survival. Whereas the book almost views the entire story as pointless. Mind you, I'm not saying that there's something wrong with the tone. Gallico has a different message than does the movie, and that's fine. But I do prefer the movie's message to the book's.
After all is said and done, I enjoyed spending more time with these characters and following them through "new' adventures.
July 9, 2016
Paul Gallico was 72 when this book was originally published. He'd lived through the golden age of ocean liner travel, and this is a profoundly cynical story about the vulgar, undignified end of an era.
As I was reading, I was thinking about how deeply unpleasant all the characters were. The women come out of it worst, and all seem pathetically dependent on men. If they're not dumb bimbos, self-effacing doormats or dreadful shrews they're silly teenagers, dried-up spinsters or fat old women. But the men are awful too: mean, brutish, drunk, weak – all except for the maniacal Reverend Scott, who's awful in the most interesting way.
He's like the personification of the American bootstrap social mobility philosophy – only by force of individual will can his band of survivors pull themselves up to safety. And this is like a horror novel in the brutal way that people get picked off by the disintegrating ship, or vanish into the chaos. Rev. Scott has a real "He'll only slow us down…" attitude that reminded me of the cave-diving disaster film Sanctum 3D, in which people are summarily abandoned to their deaths with injuries that look no worse than paper cuts.
The 'adventure' is gruelling, made even more so by the characters' mean-spirited bickering and intense self-loathing. The 1972 film adaptation removed some of the worst aspects of the book, including making its ending more heroic. In the book, after all their loss and suffering, it's revealed that they weren't even the only survivors.
This book is interesting as a historical relic, but its values are now extremely dated and its writing is pulpy and mean-spirited.
As I was reading, I was thinking about how deeply unpleasant all the characters were. The women come out of it worst, and all seem pathetically dependent on men. If they're not dumb bimbos, self-effacing doormats or dreadful shrews they're silly teenagers, dried-up spinsters or fat old women. But the men are awful too: mean, brutish, drunk, weak – all except for the maniacal Reverend Scott, who's awful in the most interesting way.
He's like the personification of the American bootstrap social mobility philosophy – only by force of individual will can his band of survivors pull themselves up to safety. And this is like a horror novel in the brutal way that people get picked off by the disintegrating ship, or vanish into the chaos. Rev. Scott has a real "He'll only slow us down…" attitude that reminded me of the cave-diving disaster film Sanctum 3D, in which people are summarily abandoned to their deaths with injuries that look no worse than paper cuts.
The 'adventure' is gruelling, made even more so by the characters' mean-spirited bickering and intense self-loathing. The 1972 film adaptation removed some of the worst aspects of the book, including making its ending more heroic. In the book, after all their loss and suffering, it's revealed that they weren't even the only survivors.
This book is interesting as a historical relic, but its values are now extremely dated and its writing is pulpy and mean-spirited.
January 24, 2019
I prefer the movie (the 1972 version) by a mile. There are just so many things wrong with this book, that didn't age well at all, like .
June 22, 2019
Deeply problematic, but Belle Rosen was one of the most beautiful characters I've ever read.
September 30, 2014
Well this one is ending up on the didn't finish shelf. I remember watching the old movie version on TV, so I figured this would be interesting. Unfortunately, almost all of the characters are deeply unpleasant in one way or another, and when I got to , I was done.
March 5, 2025
4 stars - When you subtract the dated-ness of the book, the blatant racism, misogyny and homophobia that persists right up until the very last page, and the ridiculously large cast of characters all with stupidly similar names, it’s still somehow one of the most unique shipwreck novels I’ve ever read. Really glad to have finally ticked this off my list
November 24, 2019
Mejor la adaptación cinematrográfica, es un poco menos machista y con más acción.
April 2, 2020
Engaging and old fashioned, reminds me a bit of Michael Crichton.
April 2, 2020
It's kind of a sick fascination to be so awed by what is, by most estimations, pretty much a text-book definition of a "cheap thriller". I make no bones about it, forget the movie(s): this book is a terrific page-turner of a cheapie, but Graham Greene it aint'. That one author could produce both "The Snow Goose" and "The Poseidon Adventure" says much about Gallico's versatility, and not a little about the fallacy of classifying authors by genre.
Why do I like it? I saw the film first; or rather, I saw the first 30 minutes of the film, up to the point where Roddy McDowall gets his (sorry, newcomers), and was terrified enough to go to bed early. That I was only about 13 explains some of it. Dial forward a few years, and I'm holidaying on the edge of Dartmoor with the family. In one of the finest second-hand bookshops I know, in Ashburton, Devon, I found a beat-up paperback copy of the book. Perhaps I didn't connect the title with the film, until the cover pic of a roguishly young Gene Hackman, and dear old Ernie Borgnine, raised a memory.
It comes from the sea, I suppose: a morbid curiosity with boats going down, blowing up, turning over... When your father (and latterly your brother) are both away for long stretches at a time, it's not a deliberate choice, but you do tend to focus on that sort of thing.
Anyway, back to the book: it is great entertainment, and it pulls no punches too in meting out its punishments left, right and centre on both the just and unjustly selected survivors. I'll leave the spoilers there; suffice it to say, it differs substantially from the 1969 film (and bears only a passing resemblance to the 2006 "Poseidon", while we're at it). But every character, if roughly drawn, is a type rather than stereotype, and novice thriller writers could learn several lessons from the structure, pacing, build-up - and occasional pauses too. The action takes place (mostly) in the space of under three hours, which gives the author room to breathe and set his characters (and readers) down, every now and then, for a little well-earned rest.
Final keynote: a brilliant holiday book - for dry land. Do not tempt the gods by taking it on a cruise (although I was compelled to read it thoroughly before and after my trip to New York on the QM2).
Why do I like it? I saw the film first; or rather, I saw the first 30 minutes of the film, up to the point where Roddy McDowall gets his (sorry, newcomers), and was terrified enough to go to bed early. That I was only about 13 explains some of it. Dial forward a few years, and I'm holidaying on the edge of Dartmoor with the family. In one of the finest second-hand bookshops I know, in Ashburton, Devon, I found a beat-up paperback copy of the book. Perhaps I didn't connect the title with the film, until the cover pic of a roguishly young Gene Hackman, and dear old Ernie Borgnine, raised a memory.
It comes from the sea, I suppose: a morbid curiosity with boats going down, blowing up, turning over... When your father (and latterly your brother) are both away for long stretches at a time, it's not a deliberate choice, but you do tend to focus on that sort of thing.
Anyway, back to the book: it is great entertainment, and it pulls no punches too in meting out its punishments left, right and centre on both the just and unjustly selected survivors. I'll leave the spoilers there; suffice it to say, it differs substantially from the 1969 film (and bears only a passing resemblance to the 2006 "Poseidon", while we're at it). But every character, if roughly drawn, is a type rather than stereotype, and novice thriller writers could learn several lessons from the structure, pacing, build-up - and occasional pauses too. The action takes place (mostly) in the space of under three hours, which gives the author room to breathe and set his characters (and readers) down, every now and then, for a little well-earned rest.
Final keynote: a brilliant holiday book - for dry land. Do not tempt the gods by taking it on a cruise (although I was compelled to read it thoroughly before and after my trip to New York on the QM2).
November 10, 2024
OK look I can see why if people go into this expecting a standard disaster/action movie formula they're going to be angry or disappointed. It's so much more fun than that.
What you have is a great joke premise, a bunch of story archetypes are having dinner on a cruise ship.... (grizzled NY detective, faded starlet, dancing girl, Virgin, a priest, married Jewish couple, a drunk, the adulterous salesman etc) and then you literally FLIP THEM UPSIDE DOWN.
When the ship capsizes, so do the characters. No one is who they seemed to be. The dancing girl is the innocent, the virgin becomes worldly. The priest hates God, and might be a con man, and the fat Jewish grandmother was a world record breaking swimmer in her day.
Yes there is sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism etc. It's a first class cruise in 1969. These people suck. Deeply flawed. They start out sucking. During their struggle they have fleeting moments of pathos and empathy. They have growth. And then when they are right way up again they go BACK TO SUCKING because they were bonded by their shared trauma and once it's over they have learned NOTHING.
The anti semitism is actually really interesting because the Rosens are the most gorgeous couple, they are genuinely wonderful people and they are the heart and soul of the Strong Stummick Club. The group comes to love them despite their general apathy towards the Jewish people, and they reject Linda's outright anti-semitism and several times favour Belle over Linda, a factor that strongly leads to Linda's antagonism in the group and eventual death. The fact that people state the presence of anti semitism in the book as a reason they don't like it is interesting to me, because the presence of the Rosens as Jewish is overwhelmingly positive. Linda's anti semitism is portrayed as negative and the internal antisemitic thoughts of the others aren't expressed as something people should admire or perpetuate.
What you have is a great joke premise, a bunch of story archetypes are having dinner on a cruise ship.... (grizzled NY detective, faded starlet, dancing girl, Virgin, a priest, married Jewish couple, a drunk, the adulterous salesman etc) and then you literally FLIP THEM UPSIDE DOWN.
When the ship capsizes, so do the characters. No one is who they seemed to be. The dancing girl is the innocent, the virgin becomes worldly. The priest hates God, and might be a con man, and the fat Jewish grandmother was a world record breaking swimmer in her day.
Yes there is sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism etc. It's a first class cruise in 1969. These people suck. Deeply flawed. They start out sucking. During their struggle they have fleeting moments of pathos and empathy. They have growth. And then when they are right way up again they go BACK TO SUCKING because they were bonded by their shared trauma and once it's over they have learned NOTHING.
The anti semitism is actually really interesting because the Rosens are the most gorgeous couple, they are genuinely wonderful people and they are the heart and soul of the Strong Stummick Club. The group comes to love them despite their general apathy towards the Jewish people, and they reject Linda's outright anti-semitism and several times favour Belle over Linda, a factor that strongly leads to Linda's antagonism in the group and eventual death. The fact that people state the presence of anti semitism in the book as a reason they don't like it is interesting to me, because the presence of the Rosens as Jewish is overwhelmingly positive. Linda's anti semitism is portrayed as negative and the internal antisemitic thoughts of the others aren't expressed as something people should admire or perpetuate.
June 24, 2015
I really liked this book its interestin they route from New York City to Greece on New Year's Eve, majestic passenger ship the S.S. Poseidon is overtaken by a tidal wave. With the captain (Leslie Nielsen) dead, surviving passengers, including the passionate Rev. Scott (Gene Hackman), band together in the ship's ballroom. My brother told me to read it he said its pretty cool its adventure it quite scary I felt that thisis like titanic a big ship gets drawned when the big wave slam it under water and then that man and ladie survive but I think this book is awsome I suggest you should read it.
May 2, 2016
Leí la novela después de haber visto sus tres adaptaciones cinematográficas, pues la verdad es que me gustaron muchísimo. La obra en sí no está mal y conoces mejor a los personajes que en los filmes (obviamente) pero el problema oscila, quizá, en lo tremendamente visual que es todo, aspecto en el que sobresalen las películas (pese a que la última, fechada en el 2006, presente a unos personajes diferentes). Ha sido interesante conocer la novela que inspiró a una de las películas clásicas más aclamadas de los años 70, sin duda, pero no me ha marcado tanto como yo esperaba.
February 15, 2009
The first mature novel I read (age 14 or 15 I think). Read the book, then see both movies. The book is much richer and tauter in how the survivors made it out.
June 26, 2009
Pretty much like the movie. I kind of liked this movie better.
September 21, 2009
I was surprised at this. A far better book than I expected. I had always loved the movie, but now I see why they made the movie. This book is fantastic.
June 11, 2014
The most interesting thing in the entire book is the cover.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews