Rating: 
Summary: More Humor and Irony
Review: A dark, perhaps even grim novella, with glints of brilliant characterization, "Offshore" is weakened by the abrupt ending. Not all books need to be tidy and tied up at the finish, but this one seems to need a few more pages. One also wonders at the philosophical sophistication of the two girls, Tilda and Martha, and their adult dialogue that at times sounds more like the voice of the author than of the two children. A bit more humor and irony might have helped.
Rating: 
Summary: In precarious existence
Review: Describing the quietly desperate - if not demented - lives of people clinging to the shores of the Thames in London - struggling to extend their existence in some form of order - was perfect staging for Ms. Fitzgerald. She reveled in the development of characters which did not fit, did not conform, never really understood their society or their surroundings. These characters living Offshore have not so much banded together as they have fled to the same (unsafe) haven from the demands of society around them. There is no plot - there are just the wonderfully developed characters and their idiosyncratic deeds and mis-deeds. This odd assortment of dwellers on the edge of the river - and the outer fringes of life - are the base from which Ms. Fitzgerald compels the reader to reflect on their own precarious existence. The final scene - literally heading Offshore - is priceless. Certainly one of the great short novels of recent memory, recommended to all who read to admire the craft of a literary artist in the perfect element.
Rating:
Summary: Vividly gratifying and incisive book that never drains away.
Review: Engossingly sagacious in observance and unremitting in economical prose, Offshore is a sententious written work of art that owes its eloquence to its timeless and picturesque narration as well as its breakneck character development. Like Hemmingway, the late Penelope Fitzgerald carefully chose her diction, framed it beautifully and perspicuously articulated it. Rest assured, readers, there is no verbiage or cluttered wording in this book; each word, sentence, has a clearly defined purpose. Her phraseology is literary without being rhetorical, candid without being laconic and attractive so as not to be excessively slavish. If the totality of the novel is written in a too secure fashion, it is not surprising that the story takes place on the Battersea with a group of somewhat lost, Bohemian, barge-dwelling souls. The fragmented lives of the characters and the manner in which they choose to live is anything but rigid. The characters are neither land-dwellers nor sea-dwellers; they are in between - the middle - fluctuating like their barges in utter confusion or utter certainty. For them, however, they are in certain confusion. That is the one thing they are sure of, so it is probably appropriate that they live where they do, in a sense: a no-man's land. The rigorous and hard-edged juxtapositional phrasing is almost like the character mentality: grim, intense, uncertain, twisting, sometimes amorphous. Applying these emotions to the human perception of daily life makes these characters almost depressing and pathetic to want to comprehend. But they are real and genuine emotions. That is the pith of this work. The repetitive mental grayness that thrusts the story forth is rather weary in it hardships, and its subtle dry wit is almost unrecognizable if one is not looking - in vain - for it. The abruptness of the novel's ending may seem unsatisfactory, but it is appropriate: "The hatch in front of them flew open and the frame, tilted from one side to the other, gave them a sight of the wild sky outside...As the battering wind seized them they had to stoop along in the darkness, fighting for handholds, first the base of the old pulley, then the mast. Three toasters sailed away like spindrift in the gale still blowing hard north-west." (P.139-140) The minds of some of these characters appears to be in prevalent disarray. In a state like that sometimes the best way to get out of it is with the help of the people we have around us, like in this barge-dwelling community. To surmount the oncoming gale, Nenna, Maurice, Edward and the lot are not only dependent on themselves, but on the able efforts of each other: a community of willing friends. To stumble off the golden path of destiny and wind up in a realm of havoc and haze is a hard truth of what life can offer. But it is an easy thing to accept depending on the people around you. This is a book imbued with world wisdom and hard falls.
Rating: 
Summary: Need to think about it
Review: Having chosen this for a bookclub I was dissapointed when I finished the book. The story seemed to go nowhere, the characters not that interesting and like others have written I was left wondering... I am so used to having the whole story completely given to me - in great detail. This is not Penelope Fitzgeralds style, barebones is a better description. But...I must say the discussion we had bought the book alive for me. The author gives us such little detail we spoke at length about our individual reflections on each characters motives and their 'roles' within the micro barge community. Did Nenna in the end assert herself as a women or allow her life to be controlled by her sister as in a way she had allowed her daughter to be the parent on their barge? Why was she propositioned on the way home from meeting her husband, why didn't she go back for her handbag. Was the owner of the Lord Jim attracted to her weaknesses (so unlike his wife) or something else. A lively discussion took place as we each cast our own perceptions upon the ending. Those who are interested in taking a deeper look I think would enjoy this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Charming!
Review: Having spent a few summers by the sea and being a sea-lover, I was absolutely enchanted by Fitzgerald's description of life by the River Thames. All characters are unforgettable with their struggles; they strived for happiness and acceptance which unfortunately seemed to be mutually exclusive in their situations. Their friendship on the river barges warmed the heart - the barge-dwellers were happy simply because they've got each other. The ending is climatic and sad because it signaled the end of where Richard, Nenna, Tilda, Martha, Maurice, and Willis found one another. This is one of the best novel I've read. Absolutely heart-warming!
Rating:
Summary: A Graceful & Elegant Look at the Importance of Friendship
Review: Here is a short, but wonderfully tight and thoughtful story about a motley group of characters living on houseboats along Battersea Reach on London's Thames. One follows the various moods of the river and it's inhabitants, both of which are picturesque indeed.In the end, it is the importance of friendship and companionship that stick. Very much worth the short read.
Rating:
Summary: A Graceful & Elegant Look at the Importance of Friendship
Review: Here is a short, but wonderfully tight and thoughtful story about a motley group of characters living on houseboats along Battersea Reach on London's Thames. One follows the various moods of the river and it's inhabitants, both of which are picturesque indeed. In the end, it is the importance of friendship and companionship that stick. Very much worth the short read.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I was expecting
Review: I must start off by saying that the late Penelope Fitzgerald deserved the literary accolades showered upon her. This is the first book that I have read by Fitzgerald and I must admit that it was not what I was expecting. Knowing that this book had won the distinguished Booker Prize, I settled into it with high expectations. I must warn readers that they should not expect a plot-driven novel in Offshore. The strength of Fitzgerald's book is the character development. She has a knack for the subtleties of human emotion and the strong bond that exists among the residents of Battersea. The main theme of the novel is original: this group of outcasts lives somewhere in between land and sea and have formed their own little community. The book has its moments: the characters of Martha and Tildie are particularly intriguing. However, in my opinion, the book is a disappointment. I must admit that I have little patience for a book with so little momentum when the characters do not generally appeal to me. The shortness of the novel may appeal to some readers: personally, I prefer the larger opus that moves the story along. A terrific book in its own right but simply not my cup of tea.
Rating: 
Summary: Prententious, minimalist nothing
Review: I notice that above there are only book critics, who all loved this book. I'm not and I didn't. I bought it (paid full price, worse luck) on the strength of its having won the Booker prize. I liked Byatt and other Booker prize winners, but this thing is ridiculous. It might do as an outline for a novel, but it certainly isn't one as it stands. Fitzgerald apparently was trying to win the prize for terse signifcance. In my book, she got the terse, but the significance escapes me. Don't bother with this if you like real novels.
Rating:
Summary: Penelope Fitzgerald is the greatest and so is OFFSHORE!
Review: I'm sorry the reader below didn't appreciate this novel more, but at the same time hope that others won't take his or her carping too seriously. "Offshore" is full of initially small, memorable wonders--from the two children to a highly unsentimentalized cat to scene after amazing scene. Fitzgerald doesn't strive for significance--it comes as naturally to her as does deep comedy.
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