Harvill Secker
9781846553677
Jensen introduces the reader to the small Danish community of Marstal, a port on the island of Æero which was renowned for the prowess of its sailors, at the outbreak of war with Germany in 1848. What follows is an exciting romp which follows several generations of Marstallers as they pursue their fates on the high seas. The book is peopled by a number of vivid characters, including Laurids Madsen, who survives the 1848 conflict and immediately sets sail for foreign shores, and his son Albert who, years later, sets off in pursuit of his father. Albert eventually returns to Marstal, where his considerable material success is sadly offset by an unwanted gift of prescience which enables him to foresee the loss of Marstal’s ships and their crews in the First World War. Under Albert’s tutelage a young boy, Knud Erik, learns seafaring skills against the wishes of his mother Klara, the widow of a Marstal sailor. When Klara inherits Albert’s fortune she uses the money to undermine Marstal’s shipping industry to save the men from the clutches of the sea. She is angry and distraught when Knud Erik goes to sea and becomes embroiled in the naval conflict of the Second World War. Spanning a hundred years of maritime adventure, this 690-page novel creates its own world of magic.
Books in Print staff review by Chris *****
Jensen introduces the reader to the small Danish community of Marstal, a port on the island of Æero which was renowned for the prowess of its sailors, at the outbreak of war with Germany in 1848. What follows is an exciting romp which follows several generations of Marstallers as they pursue their fates on the high seas. The book is peopled by a number of vivid characters, including Laurids Madsen, who survives the 1848 conflict and immediately sets sail for foreign shores, and his son Albert who, years later, sets off in pursuit of his father. Albert eventually returns to Marstal, where his considerable material success is sadly offset by an unwanted gift of prescience which enables him to foresee the loss of Marstal’s ships and their crews in the First World War. Under Albert’s tutelage a young boy, Knud Erik, learns seafaring skills against the wishes of his mother Klara, the widow of a Marstal sailor. When Klara inherits Albert’s fortune she uses the money to undermine Marstal’s shipping industry to save the men from the clutches of the sea. She is angry and distraught when Knud Erik goes to sea and becomes embroiled in the naval conflict of the Second World War. Spanning a hundred years of maritime adventure, this 690-page novel creates its own world of magic.
Books in Print staff review by Chris *****
