- Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial US; later printing edition (Feb 15 1993)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 006097530X
- ISBN-13: 978-0060975302
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13.5 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Stone's incisive, haunting story of a copywriter who enters an around-the-world solo boat race, a nine-week PW bestseller in cloth, is a National Book Critics Circle Award nominee.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In this stern but not unhopeful cautionary tale, Stone ( Dog Soldiers , LJ 12/15/74; Children of Light , LJ 3/1/86) depicts Owen Browne and his circle, the powerful American upper-middle class. By coupling this portrait with innovative treatment of the journey motif, Stone bids fair to capture the public imagination. Browne seemingly embodies privilege and success. Yet, avid for honor and glory, he enters a highly publicized, round-the-world, singlehanded sailboat race. As the loneliness and exertion of his voyage test Browne, so the attention of a shallow filmmaker test Anne, Browne's wife. Both learn truths about themselves and one another which destroy one spouse but which compel the other to further trials of strength and will. Superb foreshadowing and some glorious phrasing make even occasionally puzzling devices (e.g., major decisions are almost always reported rather than depicted) seem acceptable facets of Stone's felicitous style. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/91.
- Jane S. Bakerman, Indiana State Univ., Terre Haute
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Jane S. Bakerman, Indiana State Univ., Terre Haute
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece of American literature.,
By
This review is from: Outerbridge Reach (Paperback)
I've read this novel four or five times and consider it one of the best works of fiction by an American writer. The prose is simply perfect - not a false note or glob of fat. The characters have positive and negative qualities that make them believably human - but Stone finds a mote of corruption that he spins into consequence. Owen Browne's flaw is a penchant for glib surfaces - he is a PR man - and he is undone by a boat that is PR perfect but deeply flawed; his tragedy unfolds slowly while he is isolated at sea and the ship reveals itself. Strickland is a brilliant documentary filmmaker with an unfailing instinct for "the lie" and insufficient wariness of the perils of his clear-eyed objectivity. The novel confronts American situations - the Vietnam War, American capitalism, American documentary news. And so on - to the chagrin of readers on this board who were unprepared for Stone's realism. If you don't like realism of the Balzac variety, you won't like this book. But I consider it, along with A Flag for Sunrise, to be a masterpiece of the very highest order. And Stone's other books partake of all his virtues as a writer - less impressive only because they lack the felicitous focus of these two books. Stone writes a book every five years, so his oeuvre is modest: you can pile them on your nightstand and work your way through them over a winter. But begin with Outerbridge Reach. It reaches through surfaces to the corruption underlying ideals - personal and national - as surely as A Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Starts strong, then falls apart,
By
This review is from: Outerbridge Reach (Paperback)
I liked this book very much when I started reading it. The authors' characterizations of sailing were right on the money. The characters and plot start out interesting but it seems the book was rushed to a sloppy and confusing ending that left me dissatisfied and wanting more. I kept waiting for somthing to tie things together, but it never happened.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Useless AND Tedious,
By "docmichaels" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Outerbridge Reach (Paperback)
It took me almost a year of off-and-on reading to finish this book. In most stories, there is at least one character that you can identify with - even if it isn't the author's intended goal. In this book, they are all pathetic losers on a fast track to Nowhere Land. To call this a monumental work is laughable. The story moves like sludge until the very end, then becomes simply forgettable. If you enjoy being abused with other people's dysfunctions, go for it. Otherwise, don't bother.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
