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Reviews tagging 'Suicide'
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
18 reviews
sherlocktomes's review against another edition
5.0
Highly researched, approachable and balanced, this account details the birth and death of The Wager, a ship in 1700’s Britain tasked with colonising and plundering native and non native peoples to increase the British empires hold over the worlds land and resources.
Grann helps paint a vision of the sheer unrelenting and unpredictable nature of the sea, at times you wonder how much more these sailors can endure, and yet the story carries on.
As with KOTFM, I felt I would have liked more commitment from the author towards documenting the extent of the genocidal and colonial actions of so many western countries at this time, particularly their treatment of native peoples who, on the whole, were far more intelligent, resourceful and organised than the people who reduced them to a stereotype of “savages”. I do feel more of a background of the British empire as it stood at that time, and their use of the Navy to do so would have been beneficial for giving more context for the average reader.
Overall, a thorough and very enjoyable read (albeit grim and miserable). 5/5
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Medical content, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, and War
abicaro17's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
hheartbooks's review against another edition
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
kcbas1's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Slavery, Suicide, and Cannibalism
ecourtis's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Colonisation and Classism
emelynreads's review against another edition
5.0
Scandalous, harrowing, epic. I was hooked from the start. This is a book I know I'll come back and read again and again.
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide and Colonisation
creativerunnings's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
chalkletters's review against another edition
2.75
As it turned out, David Grann’s writing style is particularly easy to read: he tells the story of The Wager almost as it were a novel, in linear order and from multiple viewpoints, keeping the focus on the narrative and not on the process of research. Characters who could easily have merged into one mass of navy sailors had distinct personalities and characteristics: particularly John Byron, grandfather to the poet George Gordon Byron, whose works provided illuminating quotations at relevant points.
David Grann’s introduction set up an interesting opposition between two different contemporary versions of what happened on Wager Island, but this set up an expectation which wasn’t entirely met by the text. While questions were raised about who, and which actions, were morally correct, there seemed to be little dispute over the actual facts of what happened. The ending, too, was surprisingly simple and easy given that there had been hints of a great argument.
The bulk of The Wager is focused on the journey, the shipwreck and the aftermath. There’s no shortage of action and harrowing details of life at sea in the 1740s. This isn’t the kind of book you read to put yourself in the shoes of the main character and fulfil the wish for an exciting life. Instead, it’s best taken from a safe distance as a display of the human survival spirit.
While I was impressed with David Grann’s writing, I didn’t particularly enjoy the story as much as I might have hoped.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Cannibalism
Minor: Child death, Suicide, Violence, and War