Found in a box of give away books on Locust St in Philly, so picked it up to do a re-read. Dug up a previous review , from when I read this ages ago, on the enthusiastic recommendation of my SIL. The main gist was that I enjoyed the book, finding it a little like the Jane Austen of the sea. I concur with my earlier assessment.

For some reason LT programming is assigning My copy of Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian to Camus's Cycle of the absurd. It had the right title and picture when I added it to my library, but when I logged on this morning it had changed. I reset the picture, but can't get the attribution to the Cycle off the page. Sorry. ( )

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Well this is a book that took me a hot minute to work through (almost two months, which is extremely rare for me), not because it wasn't interesting, but rather because its incredible use of jargon was a bit difficult to comprehend. I grew up reading the books of R.M. Ballantyne and G.A. Henty , so I am casually familiar with reading nautical fiction in the general sense. I was not expecting Master and Commander to be more believable and authentic than both Henty and Ballantyne. Not only was Master and Commander more authentic, it was also considerably more nuanced, realistic and invigorating. Hands down this was the best historical fiction I have ever read. In short, Master and Commander was an enjoyable slog.

As a kid, all of the nautical jargon in the books I read went way over my head and I didn't want to replicate that with *Master and Commander*. Alas, I read fiction for pleasure, so I gave up trying to understand what everything meant. The nice thing is that, if you can let it go, you only need to understand the general gist of a the movements to appreciate the plotline. While the jargon must be immensely pleasing to the enthusiast, the casual reader can appreciate this book with just a basic understanding and keep reading. Yes, this means that portions of the text will make little sense, but I found these to be generally of non-pivotal importance. There was (is?) a fandom surrounding the Aubrey-Maturin series that has thankfully compiled guides and dictionaries to help you understand more if you're interested. I ended up reading this on my Kindle because having the dictionary on tap was just too convenient. The book contains a lot of foreign words and phrases not to be found in the dictionary, and if you're curious as to what they mean, you can look them up in this fantastic document

The highlight of the story is, surprisingly, not the Navy or the battles that take place. Rather, the relationships between Captain Aubrey, his superiors, crew and paramours is what drives the plot. I cannot help but enjoy this quote regarding Aubrey's dalliances which get him into trouble

"there are times when it seems to me that nothing short of a radical ablation of the membrum virile would answer, in this case." (Yes I have the humor of a teenager).

What makes Master and Commander stand out is twofold. Firstly, O'Brian's mastery of nautical knowledge, especially for a person living in the 20th century. Secondly, the surprising liberality that O'Brian gives in handling subjects such as race, homosexuality, imperialism, nationalism, and religious melodrama. The authors I mentioned above, Ballantyne and Henty are renowned for their racism (which was remarkable even for the time in which they wrote), jingoism and delight in extolling imperialistic evangelical-protestant Christianity. Aubrey harbors none of that at face value, but handles those same subjects in a delicate yet not unrealistic fashion that maintains a veneer of authenticity for the time period in which the book is set.

Dry humor abounds in the book. For example:

Ever since Stephen Maturin had grown rich with their first prize he had constantly laid in great quantities of asafetida, castoreum and other substances, to make his medicines more revolting in taste, smell and texture than any others in the fleet; and he found it answered – his hardy patients knew with their entire beings that they were being physicked.

All in all, this book was good, in fact it was too good for a person like me who was in search of casual entertainment. This is hands down the best historical fiction that I have ever read. If you want to read it, gather some nautical jargon manuals, break out your charts and set sail.

You can find additional resources for comprehension's sake here ( )

I found many things to love about this novel, and other things that tested my patience.

O'Brian's erudition shines throughout the story, not in a pedantic manner but creating a sense of credibility and immersion that I rarely see in historical fiction. These characters feel human, with their virtues and foibles, but also they talk and think as people from their time, rather than modern people somehow transported back in time. There's also depth to them, at least to the main characters.

The relationship and friendship between the two main characters is, of course, the heart of the story. Captain Jack Aubrey and physician and naturalist Stephen Maturin. Does this friendship ring true? If this were a romance we might say that Aubrey and Maturin have too little in common. Maturin is much more learned (except in naval matters), intelligent and sensitive. Aubrey is an excellent seaman, vigorous and with lust for life, but he's not Maturin's equal intellectually. Aubrey is Watson to Maturin's Holmes, although in this case Watson is the leader. Can such a friendship be fulfilling for Maturin? Perhaps it can, because sometimes people have chemistry, no matter how little in common they may have. O'Brian handles this skilfully, never telling us how it is between these two, but allowing us to see it, in the time they spend together, in the conversations and the silences they share.

The writing style is readable, but the vocabulary is challenging. The writer drowns us with naval terms, and to be honest, it sometimes felt like it was too much, to the point that it will be a deal-breaker for some readers. You have to allow it to flow around you and enjoy the immersion, without trying to understand every word. You can sense that these characters would have probably talked this way, but it is not really necessary for us to learn the name of every sail and every single naval term. Even without understanding all the words, you always get the gist of what is happening, and the book rewards your effort and patience.

The plot is rather episodic. We follow the Sophie and her crew in their missions, and they might be escorting a trading convoy or harassing Spanish and French merchant ships. There's plenty of action, but it's not all part of a single, clear-cut mission. The kind of action we see will be familiar for readers of C. S. Forester's Horation Hornblower series, and other naval stories in that style. One thing that bothers me about this kind of action is that you have to show your hero overcoming adverse odds, and that means defeating stronger ships and regularly surprising the enemy. But to do that your enemy needs to be less competent. I have seen that in Horation Hornblower and also here. All the tricks are from our hero and the enemy always falls for them, because it's how these things go. Not that the hero always wins, because sometimes the odds will be too overwhelming, but the opponents definitely are dumber. These exploits are inspired by Thomas Cochrane, who achieved some victories of this kind in real life, so it's not completely unbelievable, but when you read many books like this it gets old.

If you can get past the vocabulary, it is a well-written story. I enjoyed the time we spend on land or the daily life at sea with these characters as much or more than the action. I particularly appreciated the way the point of view of both main characters complemented. ( )

Brilliant for what it is, an immersive historical fiction that does not halt for any audience member less than willing to roll along with its period jargon and nautical terms. I absolutely loved it, but I love the period of the Napoleonic Wars and I love letting myself sink into a time period even if I do not understand what the author is talking about for pages at a time (though the frontispiece map is very helpful for finding out the difference between a topsail and a royal, for example). If you don't enjoy either of those things, I'm not sure why you'd pick up this book at all. If you do, you will likely also love the bluff narrative perspective of Jack Aubrey, the generally non-toxic relationship between men that is surfaced throughout, the oddball characterization of Maturin, and the delightfully true-paced sea battles. This whole series has a very specific reader; you'll know quite quickly if you're one of us (and no, it's not just dudes, I swear). ( )

Only fair, very hard to read due to language (very flowery, ver y BRITISH, & too nautical without explanations)