Monday, November 17, 2003

Good Reading: Patrick O'Brian With winter coming on, some of us still like to light a fire and curl up with a good book. Let me recommend the novels of Patrick O'Brian, whose Master and Commander is now appearing in USA theaters. I recommend the movie as well, because its director is Peter Weir,  an Australian with a long track record of interesting, off-beat films: The Truman Show, Witness, Dead Poets Society, to name but three. Until his death in 2000, O'Brian lived quietly in Ireland with his wife, also his best friend and editor, and wrote 20 novels about maritime life in the early 1800s. The books tell a continuing story of two friends, Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin, who are exact opposites: Jack a tough, resolute man of action; Stephen a quiet scholar and gentleman. The Aubrey-Maturin series has spawned a cult of readers who love the books for their historic accuracy, thrilling action, and convincing portrayal of the main characters, whose enduring friendship is really the main story. Whether you like sea novels or not, you should find O'Brian's novels fascinating. They are not long, and once you've read one, you'll want to know what happens in the next.  You'll find them at any online or local bookstore: Enjoy! 9:48:51 PM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 William Howarth. Last update: 12/3/03; 11:26:32 PM.