The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable story of survival
Review: "The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, has an interesting history (which is described in a short introduction by the author). In 1955, 8 crew members of a Colombian naval vessel were washed overboard. One of them, Luis Alejandro Velasco, survived 10 harrowing days on a drifting life raft before reaching land. The sailor collaborated with Garcia Marquez to produce a series of newspaper articles about the ordeal; those articles eventually became this book, which has been translated into a very readable English by Randolph Hogan.

The book is written as the sailor's own first-person narrative. This is truly an amazing tale of endurance under some horrible conditions. Velasco describes his experiences in graphic detail: the harsh weather elements, the disorienting hallucinations, the times of despair. Particularly interesting are his encounters with a variety of marine animals. But it's not all suffering; there are moments of poetic beauty.

I've never experienced anything as harrowing as this. But as a U.S. Navy veteran, I can say that Garcia Marquez skillfully captures the wonder that can only be encountered at sea, far from land. An excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: The best one hundred pages I've read in a long time...
Review: ...I read this book in Spanish as a teenager and loved it. Just ordered it for my teenager son and when it came I started reading it again and couldn't put it down. Excellent translation. Reads as well in English as in Spanish. Great piece of journalism.

Rating:
Summary: Stunningly Vivid
Review: This book is a marvel. The writing is so engaging in its simplicity and clarity. Vivid details abound in this account of Luis A. Velasco's ten days at sea in a little raft after he was swept overboard from his Colombian naval ship, en route from Mobile, Alabama to Cartagena, Colombia. He endured watching fellow crew members drown, followed by daily visits from sharks, intense sun that blistered his skin, near starvation and thirst, and fear. It's an amazing account of just what it is to survive, and not think or ponder about life, but just survive. And all with one oar bitten in half by a shark!

I've loved this author for a long time, and consider this early work of his a special treat. Stories of the sea can be so magnificent! I kept thinking of the Old Man and the Sea when reading this. Very highly recommended! You won't be able to put it down.