Rating: 
Summary: An astonishing portrayal of the human side of war
Review: "The Cruel Sea" focuses on the British naval experience during World War II--more specifically, on the crew of a corvette during the first half of the war and, to a lesser extent, of a frigate during its waning years. Like most war stories, the plotting is at times necessarily predictable (yet still thrilling), but Monsarrat's epic is a cut above in both its human element (even in its occasional depiction of Germans) and in its presentation of the morally gray aspects of war. This is no ode to blind patriotism. Instead, the novel is an elegy on the selfless bravery and selfish survival instincts of a group of sailors whose reasons for being in the war are as varied as the men themselves: the stern but fair-minded Lieutenant-Commander Ericson, the indolent and tyrannical (and somewhat comical) First Lieutenant Bennett, the nervous and self-doubting Sub-Lieutenant Ferraby, the level-headed and thoughtful Sub-Lieutenant Lockhart (who, I would guess, is Monsarrat's alter ego), and a supporting cast of dozens. There are some spine-chilling and devastating battle scenes, but the book never once loses its focus: the men (and women) who fought and endured the war. Another surprising aspect of "The Cruel Sea" is its intense lyricism. There are many sentences and descriptions that linger in the mind long after one has finished the novel. The death a crew member: "He did not exactly surrender to the sea, but he stopped caring much whether he lived or died; and on this night, an ambiguous will was not enough." An officer finding out his girlfriend is pregnant: "The child would be the occasion of their marriage, not the cause for it." Equally impressive is the novel's unusual wit--humor far beyond the stereotypical bawdiness of sailors: the friendly banter between crew members, the scrapes between men on leave and family members or other civilians, the hilarious clash of cultures when the frigate is docked for repairs in New York City. Generally, I am averse to "war novels" (with the exceptions of the usual famous classics); I'd rather read the real thing--journalism or history--and forego the shallow characterizations and poor writing so common to the genre of military fiction. So I can't explain what caused me to pick up this 500-page book, but I am certainly glad I did. This novel is a neglected classic and should be read by an audience far beyond the aficionados of war novels.
Rating:
Summary: The everyday man at war
Review: "The Cruel Sea" gives an excellent account of the real war at sea, the everyday lives of sailors and the situations they were up against both at sea and at home. The reader feels the fear, the anguish, the camaradarie of the crew. There is no glamour in war, there is the ordinary man doing his best to win the battle and when it is won, to go home to continue with his life
Rating:
Summary: Wow. Even women will love it.
Review: "The Cruel Sea" was recommended to me by my mom who read it as a young woman when it was first published. I was skeptical about reading this epic of WW2 battle at sea -- thought I wouldn't want to read about war in great detail -- but I found that the pages turn themselves. It is a GREAT book -- expertly constructed and beautifully written. It is an insight into the human spirit in a time of war, but it also works so well because it does an amazing job of making the ship itself a living, breathing character, in whose destiny one becomes intimately wrapped up. The copy I have is from the 50's and I'm thrilled to see it is still in print, though not surprised. The book is a true testament to the fact that GOOD WRITING, on any subject, is fascinating and stands the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: One of England's finest naval WWII novels
Review: 37 years ago in high school English class we were challenged to read The Cruel Sea. I have never forgotten the flaming seas, the U-boats hiding under floating survivors, the cruel consequences of war, the noble Captain, the obnoxious crewman with his mouth of insults I had to ask my mother what they meant. A young girl, age 16, never read a war story, loved this book and never forgot it.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: A brutal, dark, bitter-sweet insight in the life of a ship and it's crew during WW2.
An amazing read, that will captivate you from the first page through to the last.
Rating:
Summary: A true masterpiece of war time realism
Review: A realistic tale of the Second World War at sea This war time drama is played out through the desperate struggle of one man, his crew and their ship. We follow the expliots of a Royal Navy corvette HMS Compass Rose, as she carries out her duty in protecting the vulnerable convoys from the hunting packs of U-boats in the North Atlantic. All the experiences of the war at sea are there, in the faces of the men, the arduous conditions of the rough seas and in the horrors of war like the poor wretched survivors they pluck from the sea, choking and covered in oil. However, the most memorable scene, and one of which is surely equal to any other in cinematic history, has to be when Captain Ericson (Jack Hawkins) is forced to decide whether or not to attack a U-boat or save a group of British survivors that struggle in the water directly above his intended target. After 1942 this dilemma was turned into a blunt order when the Admiralty instructed anti-submarine vessels to make every attempt to destroy a U-boat thus carrying out their sole duty of protecting the convoy. At that time U-boats were believed to be diving close to the sinking ship so that their presence in the area would be harder to detect by the ship's Asdic radar. This often resulted in survivors losing their lives or being seriously injured from an indiscriminate depth charge attack. In the book by Herbert Gordon Male 'In All Respects Ready For Sea,' there is a true story of such an attack and the author gives such an account. My father served on a anti-submarrine armed trawler during the war and his experiences were of special interest to the film's main star Jack Hawkins whom he met and became friends with during the completion of the film. My father felt that this film was an important one as it told a real story of the men and their sacrifice during the history of the Battle of the Atlantic. Today it is as honest a film as it was then and shows the effects of war on the ordinary men who fought it. Only a few films have since dared to portray the personal and true realities of war with out the usual and expected thrilling pyrotechnics of the big screen action film.
Rating:
Summary: The best naval story I have ever had the pleasure to read.
Review: Although written for the Royal Navy corvette duty of World War II it brings the adventure of the sea to life for anyone. As a U.S. Navy veteran, I found this book to be outstanding in its reality of the sea, the ships, the men, and the tensions of war. The Cruel Sea is difficult, if not impossible, to put down. I'm ready for other books by Nicholas Monsarrat, he is a powerful and enlightened writer.
Rating:
Summary: Misplaced Death
Review: Andrew Mendelson's review mentions a "misplaced death". He misses the point it was as un-necessary and as useless as many in the war - and that is one of the points of this classic war novel. Monserrat writes well about the sea because he was at sea and this story is one of his strongest because he tells it from the point of view of someone who witnessed it for real. The Cruel Sea is an extensive fictionalising, reworking and fleshing out of his wartime short stories "HM Corvette, East Coast Corvette, Corvette Command", published during the war when it was quite clear he did not expect to survive the Battle of the Atlantic on which the bulk of the Cruel Sea is based. The Cruel Sea is taughtly drawn, superbly observed and records the transition from amateur civilians into trained professional killers with all the physical, and emotional casualites that were incurred along the way. The 1953 movie (also available on Amazon) is also a good adaption of the tale.
Rating:
Summary: Misplaced Death
Review: Andrew Mendelson's review mentions a "misplaced death". He misses the point it was as un-necessary and as useless as many in the war - and that is one of the points of this classic war novel. Monserrat writes well about the sea because he was at sea and this story is one of his strongest because he tells it from the point of view of someone who witnessed it for real. The Cruel Sea is an extensive fictionalising, reworking and fleshing out of his wartime short stories "HM Corvette, East Coast Corvette, Corvette Command", published during the war when it was quite clear he did not expect to survive the Battle of the Atlantic on which the bulk of the Cruel Sea is based. The Cruel Sea is taughtly drawn, superbly observed and records the transition from amateur civilians into trained professional killers with all the physical, and emotional casualites that were incurred along the way. The 1953 movie (also available on Amazon) is also a good adaption of the tale.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most realistic accounts of sea life I've read
Review: As a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy, I have been searching for books that can give me an idea of what the seagoing officer experiences on a deployment. Monsaerrat's THE CRUEL SEA is by far the most realistic, vivid portrayal I've read about life on a small ship. From personnel problems to equipment failures to helping injured, dying sailors, THE CRUEL SEA covers a vast spectrum of nightmares and headaches aboard a small convoy escort. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in going to sea!
| 
