by Katherine JohnsonBased in part on the true story of the pursuit of a Uruguayan fishing boat by an Australian vessel in the Southern Ocean in 2003, Pescador’s Wake recounts on one level the chase through some of the world’s most dangerous waters and on another it describes the emotional impact on the families left behind in both in Uruguay and Australia. Desperate to escape enslavement to the unscrupulous Spanish owner of the Pescador, the ship’s captain chooses to risk the lives of his crew in order to land his illegally-caught catch. The captain of the Australian vessel, who is struggling to come to terms with the death of his son, is ordered to follow ‘in hot pursuit’. The text has an immediacy which both puts you the reader in danger with the seamen in the middle of the raging oceans and also gives you insight into this hazardous occupation and the fragile life of the families left at home. Katherine Johnson’s writing describes vibrantly the sprawling southern oceans and the extreme weather conditions endured by those who work there. She is also able to portray the searing impact of family loss and deprivation on the women left behind on shore. Excellent.
by Chris
