Rating: 
Summary: Quite a journey...
Review: This is the only one of Andrea Barrett's books that I've read, but upon finishing it, I'm itching to read more. "The Voyage of the Narwhal" totally enthralled me. It gives an in-depth look at what Arctic exploration was like in the 1850s. Ms. Barrett has clearly done her research; I admit that I'm no historian, but as far as I could tell, all of the background information was accurate (the main characters, of course, being fictional). Tales of the exploration of new and strange landscapes, if done well, will suck you in and make it extremely difficult for you to put the book down. This book fills that description admirably.However, it's so much more than an adventure novel. In addition to its pure historical accuracy, the book also dwells on the general attitudes of that time period towards science. The main character, Erasmus Darwin Wells, is the naturalist on board the Narwhal, back during the time when every ship had a naturalist to collect and preserve whatever flora and fauna they encountered. The book takes place not long after Charles Darwin's stint as a naturalist on board the Beagle, during which time he formulated his ideas on evolution and natural selection. It is clear from the discussions that Erasmus has with his colleagues that Darwin's ideas have not been totally accepted, and reading about these varying viewpoints, unsure about the truth of Darwin's theory, fascinated me. The attitudes of the day towards other races of humans were split into factions; some believed that each race is its own separate species (hence the practice of slavery and prejudice was easily justified, as the "lower" races weren't as "highly evolved" as the white race), others believed in the equality of all humankind. These attitudes are revealed in the various crew members when the Narwhal encounters several tribes of Esquimaux on her journey. All of these factors make for a fantastic book - and I haven't yet said anything about the characters. They are all very real and complex, and the different layers of their personalities are revealed as the Narwhal moves farther into uncharted territory and the niceties of civilization are slowly stripped away. Furthermore, there is just as much development of the women left behind on the mainland, waiting for their men to return to them. Their stories show the frustration and powerlessness that were felt by women in the days when they had little or no control over their lives, and were denied any sort of public recognition for their work. If all of Barrett's books are as good as this one, I'm in for a treat, because I'm planning on buying some of them as soon as possible!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful Voyage
Review: As pointed out by others, this novel does a good job giving a reasonably accurate picture of the arctic but does a lousy job of developing characters or an entertaining story line. Given these facts, there is no reason to read this novel. Rather, pick up a book that describes actual arctic explorations and you will get a more detailed and accurate picture of the arctic. Read what Nansen saw and did, read about the Kane expedition (for real), or read a survey of arctic expeditions such as Fergus Fleming's Ninety Degrees North. But don't read this weak story. It has nothing to add.
Rating: 
Summary: I really liked it
Review: I know I am going to get blasted for saying so but I just couldn't stay awake long enough to finish this book. Its not the books fault I found the book itself to be quite good the audio vrsion is awful. I know its my own fault for not reading it and maybe someday I will but the narrator just bored me to death(which is odd because normally George Guidall does a very good job). My impression-From what I heard(that is listened to on audio) the charecters are there preety much as an afterthought. I couldn't keep Eraumus or any of the others striaght in my head and I wasn'tabut to write little notes to myself to remember how the charecters were. So.. Read the book, don't get the audio version
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and haunting
Review: Although this starts out a little slow, the story is
fascinating. I found Barrett's style and imagery wonderful.
For example, Erasmus, a naturalist, loses his toes and
then compares walking on his shortened feet to the sensation
of walking like a deer on hooves. The characters are described so well that they really
come alive. The science and geography are wonderfully
researched, and the story is so well told! Weeks later
I still find myself thinking about passages from this
book. The book is full of beautiful, insightful paragraphs
and a story self-discovery (from people of various cultures)
that I really enjoyed.
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