Read by Peter Riegert Four Cassettes, 6 Hours Capturing a crucial moment in the history of exploration, the mid-nineteenth century romance with the Arctic, Andrea Barrett focuses on a particular expedition and its accompanying scholar-naturalist, Erasmus Darwin Wells. Through his eyes, we meet the "Narwhal's" crew and its commander--obsessed with the search for an open polar sea--and encounter the far north culture of the Esquimaux. In counterpoint, we see the women left behind in Philadelphia, explorers only in ...
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Read by Peter Riegert Four Cassettes, 6 Hours Capturing a crucial moment in the history of exploration, the mid-nineteenth century romance with the Arctic, Andrea Barrett focuses on a particular expedition and its accompanying scholar-naturalist, Erasmus Darwin Wells. Through his eyes, we meet the "Narwhal's" crew and its commander--obsessed with the search for an open polar sea--and encounter the far north culture of the Esquimaux. In counterpoint, we see the women left behind in Philadelphia, explorers only in imagination. Together, those who travel and those who stay weave a web of myth and mystery. And they finally discover--as all explorers do--not what was always there and never needed discovering, but the state of their own souls.
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Add this copy of The Voyage of the Narwhal to cart. $35.10, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Random House Audio.
The biggest reason I picked up this book, is the gorgeous cover. It's a great addition to the bookshelf, but after starting it, I don't feel too guilty that that is where I left it for so long. At almost four hundred pages, the ship's cabins are an awfully small space for the reader's mind. With some snipets going back and forth with the women waiting, and some interaction with the locals, most of the story takes place on the ship. It is a geniune feel, the restlessness, the dreams that don't live up, the deceit of leadership and crew mates. I would recommend this book for people interested in northern geography and ship lore, but not for the casual reader.
