title: The North Water by: McGuire, Ian published: 2016-02-11 read: 2020-09 preview

Ravishing story about whaling, playing in 1859. Why on earth would one sail to the arctic circle to catch whales? Well, each of the people on board have their own story. The story, however, is written through the eyes of the ship surgeon, who in the end is one of the very few survivors of the horrid story. Starting from Hull and ending up first at Jan Mayen and then more, more up, the whole book consists of sailor’s cursing, blood, killing, rape, hate, treachery and all the gruesome stuff one associates with whaling or adventurous sea travel on old sailboats.

Maybe that’s why, despite its 300+ pages, I read it in 2 days or so, perhaps 3, and enjoyed the ride. Yet, it left no impression on me. It was turned into a BBC series which I watched after, and liked.