Lunch & Acknowledgments
A huge thanks is owed to our host, Paul, who went to considerable effort yesterday. Rather than emulate the poor fare served aboard HMS Wager, Paul prepared a meal that would have made Pizarro (the captain of the Spanish galleon targeted by the English fleet) quite proud.
To accomplish that, he enlisted the assistance of his fine friend Paul, an expert in hosting paella parties; he set out plates of delicious Spanish appetizers; and he avoided any food tainted by an association with the Royal Navy. Actually, that's not true. For verisimilitude, Paul included a plate of hard tack next to his 3 types of Spanish cheese, his marinated carrots, his blanched almonds, and his tureen of delicious Andalusian gazpacho.
For an outstanding luncheon of paella and more, for the gorgeous vineyard setting in Glen Ellen, and for the gracious hospitality shown to us and our significant others, Paul has our gratitude.
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| A smaller turnout, but no less convivial l to r: Paul, Jack, Andrew, Tom, Garth, George, Larry, Stan |
Our Review and Discussion of The Wager by David Grann
We spent several hours at Paul's but could only break away for 25 minutes to discuss our book. No matter. It was a fast consensus: Grann has produced yet another winner in his preferred category of non-fiction (i.e., stories of events poorly remembered and long since sanitized). It worked for him (and for us) with Killers of the Flower Moon, and now with The Wager.
Set in the 1740's during the fabricated War of Jenkins Ear, in which the English sought revenge for Spain's exclusionary trade practices in the Caribbean, The Wager tells the story of a small squadron dispatched from England to cross the Atlantic and round Cape Horn in order to capture a Spanish galleon in the South Pacific. Challenged by harsh weather, rudimentary navigation, and malnutrition and disease, the Wager is separated from the fleet, founders off the coast of Chile, and is shipwrecked on a deserted island. Convinced that the captain is unable to lead the 100 or so remaining crew back to England, 81 of the men mutiny and head back to London by way of Brazil. Fewer than 30 make it. Of the 20 who stay with the captain, two survive with him and they arrive in London the following year.
The journey, the hardship, the mutiny--all of these elements made our reading a pleasure. But many of us were disappointed that the inevitable court martial was devoted to expedience, not justice. Grann teases the reader with the moral and legal questions provoked by the crew's behavior, but then makes no apology for the Admiralty's evasive ruling.
Our Rating of The Wager
While our reactions were uniformly positive, we split into 3 camps: the 7's enjoyed a terrific story but complained about a narrative too constrained by the official record or simply felt it suffered in comparison to other excellent non-fiction tales of the sea, like Endurance. The 8's felt the story was impressive enough to overcome serious criticism. And the 9's--led by ringleader Stan--were simply out to game the ratings! The result was an impressive 8.0.
Next Up: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
With a slate focused on the perspectives of children, Larry proposed Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See, McCourt's Angela's Ashes, Zamora's Solito, and Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun. Ishiguro has been on proffer several times and, with Klara and the Sun, we finally get our chance. We'll see in September if his is the version of AI we need to fear.
Paul here. I enjoyed the book a lot. We've all read Lord of the Flies, but now we get to read about a real story that descends into far seamier mutiny, murder, and a morality play. I always appreciate Grann's deep historical research that uncovers fascinating stories. Of course the key question here -- and the one that the group side stepped -- was "what would you do?" if you were on that island.
ReplyDeleteYou even get the classic "civilized" approach undermining survival when a local group of natives helps the castaways but when some of the sailors get rude, violent, and grabby, their saviors bail and leave them to starve. And then the Admiralty sweeping everything under the rug. Anyone see any parallels to our current world in here?
It was great seeing everyone on the vineyard and sharing good food and wine! And Tom's homemade zin was one of the best wines he's ever done. Thanks!
Had we discussed it, I'm guessing we'd all have chosen Bulkeley as our leader. He was a pragmatist and extremely capable. The only reason some stayed with the captain was from a misplaced sense of duty (like Lord Byron's grandfather).
ReplyDeleteYou other point about the treatment of the natives was just one more example of the shameful colonial mentality that infected the English on all levels. Whether in their behavior towards the natives with modular canoes that portaged easily (amazing!) or the natives who fed them from their own subsistence stores, the lack of respect and gratitude was extraordinary.
But let's not get started on parallels between the bureaucratic, self-serving hierarchy of the 18th century Royal Navy and our own dysfunctional, polarized politics. Not productive.
I will point out, in reference to George's explanation about the inadequate timekeeping that prevented ships from determining longitude, that within 25 years of the Wager's demise the English had developed a maritime clock accurate to within 3 seconds a week! That changed the course of history and gave the Royal Navy a huge advantage in commerce and war.
One acknowledgment that deserves mention: Larry told us at lunch that since he aged up in May, his latest 100m butterfly time has him newly-ranked. What he didn't say was that his time now places him #2 in the US! Before he gets knocked off the podium, let's be sure to congratulate him.
ReplyDeleteWow Larry, great job!
DeleteDavid Grann is a great researcher, and a fine writer. This story suffered more than some of his other writings due to the passage of time from the incident, and multiple contradictory narratives that various crew members proffered to the public. This book will go with my collection of ocean going narratives. For those interested in the time piece solution, look for Dava Sobel's "Longitude".
ReplyDelete