Entertaining the Alien

23. Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian

Like a lot of people, I went and saw last year's movie version with very little notion that there was a whole slew of novels about Aubrey and Maturin. I was intrigued by what I'd heard about them, and had them on my to-read list. Then, while the managers at work were cleaning out their offices, one of them turned over very nearly the entire series on audiobook, read by Patrick Tull. So I grabbed them up and have been listening to them on my commute to work ever since.

The first book, Master and Commander, was fascinating. Mer describes the series as sort of the male side of Jane Austen's world, and I can see that (especially now that I'm listening to Post Captain, the second book, but that's a post for another time). The level of historical and naval detail is a little daunting, especially since O'Brian doesn't coddle his readers. You're left to sink or swim based on what little clues he's left in the text. I may end up trying to find a reading guide or naval dictionary at some point. Still, hearing someone read it, I think, makes it a little easier to follow the action.

For me, the selling point was O'Brian's characterizations. Not just Aubrey and Maturin, although they're both fabulous characters in their own right (Maturin got such short shrift in the movie!), but all the supporting characters as well. I felt like I knew every man on board the Sophie, like I was right in the middle of their lives.

There are worse ways to spend a sometimes long, sometimes frustrating, often traffic-clogged commute.