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Summary: Even landlubbers will laugh 'til they're seasick!
Review: Farley Mowat has been accused of sitting in a Toronto bar while concocting these wonderfully stirring tales of the island rock, Newfoundland. Put your mind at ease, mates, and enjoy the book as a true treasure. I lived in Newfoundland for three years before discovering this book. I can heartily recommend you read it with good appetite! It is a cake mixed with truth skillfully told, covered with a frosting of humor, and served with a piquant flourish.These saltwater tales, revolving around Mowats' titanic struggle to find, refurbish and actually sail a boat determined to sink herself and all hands, are chalk full of laughs, tension, tragedy, and still more laughs. Its truths are better than any fiction.Haul up your anchor and sail away with this master storyteller as he outsalts the famed Royal Canadian Mounted Police, falls into the rummish cluthes of Screech, narrowly escapes icy death, and finds the beautiful maiden."The Boat Who Wouldn't Float" is a worthy vessel in which to sail the seas of leisure time. So fill your cup and drink deeply while the captain spins his tales
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Summary: Classic Mowat!
Review: Farley Mowat has written on a wide variety of subjects, from arctic wolves, Northern Man, WWII, deep-sea salvage tugs, and his experiences as a boy and young man. All have been well worth the reading, and many have become my treasured friends, to be re-read over and over...In "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float" Mowat describes in detail his ownership of a Newfoundland schooner "Happy Adventure" (aka "Itchatchozale Alai" and the flagship of the Basque fleet of St. Pierre - read the book, you sort of had to be there...) Vintage Mowat, and yet another which I have worn out the paperback, and sought the hardback.
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Summary: A Tale of Perserverance and Folly
Review: Farley Mowat is nothing if not persistent. After purchasing the Newfoundland schooner from Hell, badly misnamed as Happy Adventure, he finds he has a boat that leaks constantly, has a compass that doesn't know where magnetic north is, hates to head West, has an engine that works when it feels like it and that is just for starters. Much of the time sailing is in the fog, both real and self imposed. Most sane men would have turned this boat into kindling, but Mowat sailors on, one harrowing experience after another with an assortment of mates and in the process tells us a funny and true story of his adventures as only he can. Written over thirty years ago, the story has lost none of its charm and interest.
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Summary: This one is NOT just for children - read it yourself!
Review: Farley Mowat is the kind of writer whose words flow across the page as easily as breathing - and what a delight those words are! I've never sailed, I'm not a boat lover and yet I could not put down this true tale of one man's adventures getting a primitive vessel into seaworthy shape. Several pages had me laughing out loud, especially Mowat's account of drinking Screech, an alcoholic beverage of near deadly strength.While this book is classified as a "children's" book, I think it is far more suitable for adults, who may appreciate some of the humor here with an adult's perspective. Then again, if you have a reluctant reader, I can't think of a better book to keep him or her reading. I guess this book is actually for the WHOLE family.
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Summary: The Boat Who Wouldn't Float
Review: Hilarious and Heart-warming! : I first read "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float" as a reading assignment for a literature class in college. That was almost 20 years ago. Since then I have read it over and over again. Each time I have enjoyed it as much as the first. This book will make you fall out of your chair laughing. Farley Mowat has a way of making you feel and imagine what he is going through. I would highly recommend this book to everyone and it is a must for anyone with a sense of adventure.
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Summary: A Wonderful Introduction To A Little-Known Life
Review: I first read this book in middle school, and have re-read several times over the years. What I really liked about it was that, though Happy Adventure ... and Farley are the reason for the book, the real story and focus is on the Newfoundlanders and their way of life. Far more than you hear about Farley, you hear about Muddy Hole, "the boys of Burin", Farillon and Ferryland, and various other places, as well as the people who inhabit them. It's a delightful peek at another place and time, that still endures to this day.
I was recently delighted that I had read it, since I discovered the band Great Big Sea, which comes out of Newfoundland. Thanks to this book, I can understand their idiom, and recognize places that they sing about. It gives the music a richer feeling for me.
Both are worth spending your time on.
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Summary: If you love hanging out on the water, you'll love this book
Review: I had a heart attack in 1993, and spent some time in the hospital. A friend gave me The Boat Who Wouldn't Float. It was the only book I have ever read (and I read a lot) that caused me to laugh out loud over and over. I just had to read passages aloud to my wife, and then she read it, and we laughed together. It may have helped me get better. Whether it did or not, it'a a treasure. I'm surprised it's classified as a children's book; it doesn't strike me that way, though it's OK for older children. Adults should buy it and get in on the fun!
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Summary: Laugh out loud page turner
Review: I have read this book twice and I still laugh when I re-read some of the passages. This book captures the spirit of Canada during Mowat's youth and compiles the voyages (or not so voyages) of his ambitious father. Great book and highly recommended.
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Summary: Hilarious!
Review: I read this book many years ago and just bought it for my son as a gift. As a previous owner of a leaky, wooden boat, I found this book to be almost non-fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it - especially to wooden boat owners.
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Summary: An amusing adventure story
Review: Maybe you've heard someone say, "We've fixed the leak and now it works fine." And you just roll your eyes. Anyway, if you've ever been on a boat, this is a story for you.
And if you've ever heard of St. Pierre and Miquelon, you may wonder just what those islands are good for. In this book we find out. You use them to smuggle alcohol! When you get caught, you just throw the stuff overboard, weighed down by bags of salt. The salt takes half a day to a day to dissolve, and then the loot surfaces and can be picked up. But by whom? By you or by the authorities? We find that out as well!
This sure was fun to read.
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