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The Needle-Watcher
By Richard Blaker. 1973
This fascinating novel reconstructs the story of Will Adams, a native of Gillingham, in Kent, England, and his voyage to…
Japan in the seventeenthcentury. His knowledge of seafaring vessels at the time causes him to be taken into the favor of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and,in time,to become recognized as the founder of the Japanese navy. Adams was one of the most picturesque anddaring of Britain's maritime traders, and this depiction of him as the first Englishman to settle in what was then a hostile country is written not only with distinction but also with an imaginative grasp that takes it right out ofthe class of the ordinary historical novel. It is an epic tale of strange adventures, and it creates an atmosphere of rare and haunting quality. In its understanding of the Japanese mind it is hardly less than remarkable.Will Adams died in Japan in the spring of 1620 and is buried at Yokosuka. Every year aceremony is still held to commemorate the anniversary of his death. There is also a memorial to him at Ito,in Shizuoka Prefecture, as well as one at his birthplace in England. In view of the importance of Japan in the present world picture, this republication of Richard Blaker's splendid novel will no doubtbe a welcome event to all discerning readers.Sexy Sailors: Gay Erotic Stories
By Neil Plakcy. 2012
Seamen: from mariners on huge yachts to competitive sailors in races like the America's cup to recreational boaters, the combination…
of men and water is irresistible. Whether they're wearing Speedos or slickers and handling megayachts or windsurfers, these guys can set sail right to our heart. Neil Plakcy, the editor of Hard Hats, Surfer Boys, Skater Boys, The Handsome Prince and Model Men sailed the high seas and gazed through many a porthole looking for stories of navy men, yachtsmen, and even a pirate or two and the fun they get up to, on land and on sea. These naughty and nautical guys will turn you on with their large masts, from fresh-faced tan youths to the rich yachtie with silver flecks in his hair. Imagine watching those muscles work as they grind winches to set and control sails, steer from the helm, or tack a sailboard.The Needle-Watcher
By Richard Blaker. 1973
This fascinating novel reconstructs the story of Will Adams, a native of Gillingham, in Kent, England, and his voyage to…
Japan in the seventeenthcentury. His knowledge of seafaring vessels at the time causes him to be taken into the favor of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and,in time,to become recognized as the founder of the Japanese navy. Adams was one of the most picturesque anddaring of Britain's maritime traders, and this depiction of him as the first Englishman to settle in what was then a hostile country is written not only with distinction but also with an imaginative grasp that takes it right out ofthe class of the ordinary historical novel. It is an epic tale of strange adventures, and it creates an atmosphere of rare and haunting quality. In its understanding of the Japanese mind it is hardly less than remarkable.Will Adams died in Japan in the spring of 1620 and is buried at Yokosuka. Every year aceremony is still held to commemorate the anniversary of his death. There is also a memorial to him at Ito,in Shizuoka Prefecture, as well as one at his birthplace in England. In view of the importance of Japan in the present world picture, this republication of Richard Blaker's splendid novel will no doubtbe a welcome event to all discerning readers.Herman Melville The Dover Reader (Dover Thrift Editions)
By Herman Melville. 2016
Despite the early success of his tales of adventure in the South Seas, Herman Melville (1819-1891) suffered a reversal of…
fortunes with the 1851 publication of Moby-Dick. The great epic, now recognized as a masterpiece, was scorned by an uncomprehending nineteenth-century audience. Melville's preoccupation with metaphysical and philosophical issues and his use of symbols and archetypes foreshadowed elements of latter-day literature, and modern readers rejoice in his groundbreaking explorations of timeless questions. Along with excerpts from Moby-Dick, this anthology presents the complete text of Melville's classic of travel and adventure literature, Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life. Additional features include the short stories "Bartleby the Scrivener," "The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids," and "The Encantadas or Enchanted Isles."The Breakers
By Claudie Gallay. 2008
In the storm-swept landscapes of Normandy's coastline lies a village that might just be at the ends of the earth.…
A woman has recently arrived to seek healing for some deep sorrow, and spends her days cataloguing migratory birds. On the day of a battering storm a stranger appears in the bar, arousing her curiosity. He stirs up suspicion in the village, looking for answers to apparently unanswerable questions about his family lost long years ago in an accident at sea. What actually happened? How was it that the lighthouse did not guide them safely to shore? The eccentric inhabitants of this desolate village seem riveted to old hatreds, determined to leave secrets buried. Gradually the bird-watcher succeeds in unravelling a tragedy at the heart of a community in which many are suffering still from the loss of people they have loved. And in the process finds her own peace. The Breakers is an immensely satisfying and evocative mystery of great depth. Claudie Gallay unpeels the emotions of her unforgettable characters with such subtlety that the reader is captivated.Storm Birds
By Einar Karason. 2018
"This gripping novel is as good at describing the magnificent seascapes and the unforgiving elements as it is at examining…
the inner lives of the besieged crew, toiling ceaselessly against implacable nature" -Financial Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR"Gripping and Exciting" The Sunday Times BOOKS OF THE YEARIn February 1959, several Icelandic trawlers were caught in a storm off Newfoundland's Grand Banks. What happened there is the inspiration for this novel. Not since The Perfect Storm has there been a book which captures the sheer drama and terror of a crisis at sea. Karason is an exceptional storyteller, an Icelandic Erskine Caldwell or William Faulkner.The side trawler Mafurinn is hit by a major storm just as they prepare to turn for home. Thirty-two men aboard, and a hold full of redfish. The sea is cold enough to kill a man in minutes, and the trawler quickly ices up in the biting frost and violent tempest. The heavy icing weighs down the already fully laden craft, which is pummelled by one breaker after another - and here, out on the open sea, there is no exit route. Distress signals from other ships in the same circumstance and be heard from the fishing grounds around them. It is a battle of life and death.Translated from the Icelandic by Quentin BatesThe Unseen: SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2017
By Roy Jacobsen. 2013
Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize and the Dublin Literary Award"An absolute masterpiece. Packed with understated emotion, stunning from…
beginning to end" Courttia Newland, author of A River Called Time"A masterful and moving work of literature" Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies"Easily among the best books I have ever read" Eileen Battersby, Irish Times"A beautifully crafted novel . . . Quite simply a brilliant piece of work" Charlie Connolly, New European"A blunt, brilliant book" Tom Graham, Financial TimesNobody can leave an island. An island is a cosmos in a nutshell, where the stars slumber in the grass beneath the snow. But occasionally someone tries . . . Ingrid Barrøy is born on an island that bears her name - a holdfast for a single family, their livestock, their crops, their hopes and dreams.Her father dreams of building a quay that will connect them to the mainland, but closer ties to the wider world come at a price. Her mother has her own dreams - more children, a smaller island, a different life - and there is one question Ingrid must never ask her.Island life is hard, a living scratched from the dirt or trawled from the sea, so when Ingrid comes of age, she is sent to the mainland to work for one of the wealthy families on the coast.But Norway too is waking up to a wider world, a modern world that is capricious and can be cruel. Tragedy strikes, and Ingrid must fight to protect the home she thought she had left behind.Translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don ShawThe Breakers
By Claudie Gallay. 2008
In the storm-swept landscapes of Normandy's coastline lies a village that might just be at the ends of the earth.…
A woman has recently arrived to seek healing for some deep sorrow, and spends her days cataloguing migratory birds. On the day of a battering storm a stranger appears in the bar, arousing her curiosity. He stirs up suspicion in the village, looking for answers to apparently unanswerable questions about his family lost long years ago in an accident at sea. What actually happened? How was it that the lighthouse did not guide them safely to shore? The eccentric inhabitants of this desolate village seem riveted to old hatreds, determined to leave secrets buried. Gradually the bird-watcher succeeds in unravelling a tragedy at the heart of a community in which many are suffering still from the loss of people they have loved. And in the process finds her own peace. The Breakers is an immensely satisfying and evocative mystery of great depth. Claudie Gallay unpeels the emotions of her unforgettable characters with such subtlety that the reader is captivated.Storm Birds
By Einar Karason. 2018
"This gripping novel is as good at describing the magnificent seascapes and the unforgiving elements as it is at examining…
the inner lives of the besieged crew, toiling ceaselessly against implacable nature" -Financial Times BOOKS OF THE YEAR"Gripping and Exciting" The Sunday Times BOOKS OF THE YEARIn February 1959, several Icelandic trawlers were caught in a storm off Newfoundland's Grand Banks. What happened there is the inspiration for this novel. Not since The Perfect Storm has there been a book which captures the sheer drama and terror of a crisis at sea. Karason is an exceptional storyteller, an Icelandic Erskine Caldwell or William Faulkner.The side trawler Mafurinn is hit by a major storm just as they prepare to turn for home. Thirty-two men aboard, and a hold full of redfish. The sea is cold enough to kill a man in minutes, and the trawler quickly ices up in the biting frost and violent tempest. The heavy icing weighs down the already fully laden craft, which is pummelled by one breaker after another - and here, out on the open sea, there is no exit route. Distress signals from other ships in the same circumstance and be heard from the fishing grounds around them. It is a battle of life and death.Translated from the Icelandic by Quentin BatesThe Unseen: SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2017
By Roy Jacobsen. 2013
Barrøy Island off the North-western coast of Norway - a holdfast for a single family, their livestock, their crops, their…
hopes and dreams. And their fears. There is a taint passed down the Barrøy line, and Hans and Maria Barrøy fear their daughter Ingrid may be affected. The early years of the twentieth century prove that Norway cannot stand apart from the wider world - no more than Barrøy island can remain at a remove from the rest of Norway. Hans Barrøy decides to build a quay so that his family can be properly connected to the mainland and with neighbouring islands. In time, Ingrid is sent to serve with one of the rich families on the coast, caring for their two children. But when tragedy strikes - twice in quick succession - she finds herself responsible not only for two newly orphaned children, but for Barrøy Island itself. If they are to survive, she and the other young must learn how to tame this remote earthly paradise for themselves.(P)2016 W F Howes Ltd