( 9 reviews )
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Posted: May 29 2009
I really enjoyed this book. However, I put it aside for six months because the writing was really poor and was apparently unedited. I ran across a series of sentences without any main clauses, some sentences completely without verbs. Perhaps I have been out of college for too long and this is a new accepted method of writing. This made me have to re-read passages to understand what was written, but this was not much of a setback. What really annoyed me was the way he blamed every pitfall in his adventure on somebody else. Every interaction David had with another human being, except his wife (for obvious reasons), ended in some degree of strife and resentment. The man who built his boat was constantly bad-mouthed even though he provided a tremendous deal on a beautiful yacht. Then when they departed, David promised to send his last payments just to get out of town safely. Instead of confronting the man to deny payment, he instead sent the man an irate email saying he would not send him another dime. I have never met this David Vann, but he sounds like a very convincing sort of person but there seems to be nothing behind his handshake. I really really want to like the protagonist of any book I read, but I found myself hoping his adventures would fail and then maybe he would grow up. I guess he hasn't so far, because fools keep handing him money. I sailed around the world as captain of a 97-foot yacht through 53 countries. I got into hassles with fewer than a dozen people, and none of them were bad enough to be worth writing about. Use a steady gaze, a smile, a firm handshake and live up to your commitments and you will go a long way in life. David Vann never learned this lesson, and he serves as a good example of where the human character crumbles. My message to him is: You're not better than the rest of humankind. Get a job and raise a family, That's where true nobility is.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Nov 30 2008
From start to finish I was immersed in this book. I too own a business and could relate to the hardship's he was experiencing. He's now one of my favorite author's.
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( 2 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 3 2008
I don't know, guys. I read the hype for this book, bought it, and dove in with great expectations. Overall, it is well written but the author's agenda - to blame everyone and anyone but himself for mistake after horrific mistake - overshadowed any merit to the story. It felt a bit like a deposition written in hopes that his former creditors might read it and exonerate him. I found it hard to feel badly for someone who used and abused other peoples' trust and money so that he wouldn't have to get a real job. Poor Mr. Vann!
