Uncertain Voyage [Mass Market Paperback]

I like this book probably because in a real strange way it mirrored my own life just a little. Coming out of a 15 year marriage to a psychologically abusive alcoholic marriage.. this book just felt good.. the story fit like a glove for me.
I just enjoyed this book tremendously. It is a departure from the Mrs Pollifax series stories but very enjoyable.
I cant believe this book didnt get more stars from other readers.. but thats ok.. to each his own.. I loved this book!

I am a Dorothy Gilman fan; the only one of her books I haven't taken to was Incident at Badamya. This one definitely touched me. I thought it was an accurate and insightful portrait of Melissa's (was that her name?) progress towards freedom from depression and a bad childhood. Yes, it was set in the framework of a spy novel, which is fun, but the real story is what happens to her on the inside.

I thought Gilman did an excellent job of conveying how the world seemed like to Melissa at the beginning of her journey and how it seemed to her at the end. Often it seems like people suffering from depression and people who are not are totally unable to communicate, really unable to see the world from the other's perspective however much they try. I especially liked the insight that she couldn't truly love or see other people as they were until she got over herself. Melissa felt like a real individual to me. She wasn't perfect or predictable but she was likable and special.

On the down side, I suppose that if you weren't in the mood for this sort of book, then the continuous introspection and Melissa's initial fear and inability to deal with the world could be a bit tiresome. But if I'm in an introspective mood myself, or if it's a rainy day and I want something to match, this is a lovely book. Quite uplifting.

I became a Dorothy Gilman fan as a reader of her standalone stories. From her `young adult' fantasy to "An Uncertain Voyage" being written about today; I'm sampling all but the "Mrs. Pollifax" volumes from which she derived fame! If her series is superior to the less-known work I treasure so much, I'm in for a treat indeed. This story about a divorcée forcing herself on a European trip, garnered less than five stars because it is heavily introspective but superbly written nonetheless.

`Melissa' married at sixteen and overlooked self-discovery but dug herself out of a complacent life. We meet her after she has finished with a psychiatrist and is trying out her sea legs... and voice. Her apprehension about proving she can be assertive, independent, and find real joy is interspersed with a political chase. This saves the novel from the mundane philosophical approach of Anne Enright's "The Gathering" and the too-long soliloquies of Beth Powning's "The Hatbox Letters". There is mystery and danger to ponder all along, injected early but mounting slowly and culminating in extreme circumstances. The author didn't make it easy on the heroine and I admire such hard-hitting in 1967.

I would like to see inside the export company but the outcomes of both threads are clear; even if not played out in full view to satisfy readers. Regular contemplation is the only weight on this adventure, otherwise buoyantly traversing three countries. If an underage marriage causes undeveloped perception of life then Melissa mulling commonplace victories is plausible; like feeling triumphant that she possesses and exercises opinions. Scenes are in constant motion, you want the heroine to succeed, and she acts intelligently when convinced the ordeal is real. Most remarkable is Dorothy kept dreaming up plots and characters that resemble no work she created before.