We, the Drowned

In the days when wooden sailing ships circumnavigated the globe, the small town of Marstal, boasted one of the largest fleets of sailing ships in Denmark. The maritime school in Marstal trained navigators for more than a century and boys were expected to become sailors when they were of age. It was common to find men from Marstal sailing ships all over the world. Husbands would be away from their families for years at a time and boys only knew their fathers from brief visits, but they knew that they wanted to become them. The sailors could expect beatings from the first mate and the boys as young as 14 were started as cabin boys who were expected to be ready any time of the day. The women of Marstal were expected to be strong and to bring up their families on their own while their husbands could be away for years at a time.It is in this city with its proud sailing tradition that the author has set his story. Actually, it is a series of linked stories, rather than just one story. Although the protagonist of the story and the setting changes with the different chapters, the common thread is the town of Marstal.The story begins with the story of Laurids Madsen, who like others from Marstal was called up to serve in the Danish navy to fight the Germans in 1848. Laurids gained notoriety from being blown into the sky when the ship of the line he served on was destroyed and came back down a different man, thanks to his boots. Laurids and the others from Marstal were captured by the Germans, many of who they knew since they often traded with the Germans in times of peace. The life of the prisoners of war is followed as they live through their shame and disbelief and begin to build back up their dignity.In the second story, we follow the life of Laurids's son, Albert as he grows up in the town of Marstal. When he becomes of age, Albert sets out as a cabin boy and then later as a sailor with the goal of finding his father who sailed away one day and never came back. We see the indignity of the life of a sailor but also the strength of human perseverance in the face of cruelty. Albert's search takes years as he travels around the globe, looking for his father and at the same time, finding himself.The third story finds Albert an old man, now retired in Marstal. Albert believes strongly in the power of the fellowship that holds the community of Marstal together. After all, the breakwater that created the sheltered harbor for Marstal was built by volunteers from the town who struggled together for forty years to build it for the common good of the community. Albert has gained wealth and respect in the community, but lacks a future to keep him going. Dreams tell him that war is coming and he dreams of the death and destruction that World War I will cause in the town. All seems lost until he unwilling becomes the friend of a young boy whose father has died. Albert takes him under his wing and teaches him about sailing despite his mother's strong stance against her son ever becoming a sailor.The mother of the boy gains wealth of her own and through careful planning and patience she implements a plan of her own to cripple the fleet of Marstal, not through violence but with money. No longer will boys go away and husbands be taken from their families. But her desires for her own son, Erik slip away as he is drawn to the wooden ships and then to the steamers which replace them.In the final story, Erik sails on the ancient, wooden ships of Marstal which can only compete against the new steamers by taking dangerous routes from Canada to Portugal. Ships can get caught in the ice where the crews then die of starvation. Eventually, Erik gets a position on a steamer but World War II approaches and the ship is commandeered by the British to serve as a convoy ship. While the town of Marstal profits from the war, Erik and his crew see horrors beyond belief as part of the convoys between England and Canada and the Soviet Union.But, We, the Drowned is more than just a story about sailing and sailors. We, the Drowned is a story of human frailty, coming of age, ruthlessness, passion and the endurance of the human spirit. Although the draw to the adventure of the life of a sailor is shown, so too is the hardship and brutality of life the sailing ships. Through the citizens of Marstal, we see how a society can live in prosperity while ignoring that the source of their income is at the expense of misery and war.We, the Drowned is very well written. It is a work of fiction, but the author is equally at home describing the working of the ships, the town of Marstal and life during war that you would believe the stories to be true. During the different scenes, the author can change the viewpoint of the story from the protagonist to the crowd with smooth transitions that help the story flow. The character development is well done and we look deep into the main characters and see their hopes, their fears and their weaknesses.The book is thick and each of the chapters could actually have been a stand alone book. I was finishing the second chapter which would have been an amazing story in itself when I realized that I was only 1/3 of the way through the book. Dont be put off by the size of the book. Although it is not a quick read due to the number of pages, I found that the book was difficult to put down.The author, Carsten Jensen is originally from the town of Marstal where We, the Drowned is based. Carsten Jensen has the distinction of winning both a top literary prize for his writing and an award for human rights from his time as a columnist at the Copenhagen daily, Politiken. We, the Drowned won the Danske Banks Litteraturpris in 2007. In 2009, Jensen was awarded the Olof Palme Prize which is the Swedish labor movements largest and most prestigious award. It was awarded for: "Carsten Jensen's solidarity with the persecuted and oppressed has brought him to the war-torn Balkans, Burma and Afghanistan, as well as to churches and public spaces in his own country, defending the human rights of asylum-seeking refugees."We, the Drowned is one of the most extraordinary books that I have read in some time. I highly recommend We, the Drowned.

We the DrownedbyCarsten JensenThere's a sameness about the lives of sailors before the mast and miners below ground and whether you drown at sea when a ship goes down in a howling gail or die of starvation and foul air after a mine collapse the result is the same and men feel powerless to act in their own defence. In spite of this generations of sailors and miners ply their trade with a sense of fatalism as their fathers did before them. Alas, little seems to have changed over the centuries and despite advances in technology man is still powerless in the face of a raging sea.The brutality of life in the mid-1800’s as described in these pages is unsettling. I'm reminded of the story of the little girl who arrives at school eager to learn who is lined up with her classmates and watches as each in turn is beaten by their new master. An entire chapter is devoted to the description of a sadistic Danish Schoolmaster who administers daily flailings with a rope. In the end the only thing his male students learn in their 6 years with him is how to take a beating. This lesson they take with them when at 12 to 14 they go to sea as cabin boys and the beatings continue.The captain of a sailing vessel that could be at sea for years at a time had the power of life and death over his crew, to this day captains have the right to perform marriages. Given the dregs of society that were often rousted out of bars and jails to fill out a ship's complement iron discipline was probably necessary but the cruelty and hazing here described makes one wonder why anyone in their right mind would submit to such indignities.Given the conditions in which these men live the language used is salty and the sufferings they endure are described in a frank and forthright manner. In battle men soil themselves and as cannon and musket balls fly bodies are rended and blood and guts flow. This is not a book to be read by the squeamish.All this said the stories told here ring true and bring to life an era that is now history. Never boring they keep one turning pages to find the outcome. There is a matter-of-factness about the way these sagas are related and a fatalism about the way the hardships these men must endure are described. While their menfolk are at sea for years on end their wives back home keep the family together cooking and cleaning without an end in sight and without any certainty that their men will ever return or that word of their demise will ever reach home.It’s one of the ironies of a sailing vessel that calm seas are not a good thing. While a ship lay becalmed in the horse lattitudes fresh water and food supplies could run out leaving a crew in dire straits. With no land in sight and a cloudless sky desperate things could happen. On the other hand storms at sea can drive a ship onto a lee shore, a reef, or a rocky shoal and when water temperatures are near freezing or the waves 100 foot high the ability to swim means little.This book gives a unique perspective on the life of the women and children back home that would not go amiss in much of Newfoundland. Husbands and fathers went to sea for periods of up to 5 years and were not heard of until their boat came back in port. Children were born never knowing their fathers or meeting a stranger after they attained school age. Boys became midshipman at age 12 to 14, cabin boys in less exalted contexts and likely objects of sexual favours. The wives back home became defacto widows for years at a time and all too often never heard of their husbands again if their ships went down without a trace. The transition from sail to steam to diesel engines and iron ships was horrendous for many. Ship to shore radio and the internet has ushered in an entirely new communication age but sailors whether navy or merchant marine are still physically absent for extended periods of time.

The story of life in Marstal, a Danish seafaring town, from 1848 to 1945, told through the stories of four people, three seafarers and one widow of a seafarer, who undergo the hardships of this life - wars including the two world wars, bullying first mates who can and do cause the deaths of those they're in charge of if they don't like them, bullying schoolteachers, and the ongoing bereavements suffered by women left behind in the town when the men have gone to sea. Then there are the intrinsic dangers of seafaring, notably on the Newfoundland route - very dangerous and the kind of life left to sailing ships when only ports like this haven't dredged and become suitable for diesel vessels. The story is told by a sort of Greek chorus consisting of the drowned of the town - this sound affected but actually it works really we'll...The male characters are vividly brought to life and so is something of the life of the town - the town breakwater symbolises for one of the four heroes the kind of collective spirit that has enabled Marstal to grow and succeed. The plot is episodic in the nature of things, but the episodes are all enjoyable and inventive - you can never tell what will happen next and you want to find out. And no episode outstays its welcome. Indeed I was sad to reach the end of this book.I found it a little less persuasive in its portrayal of the women and the anti-seafaring strategy of Kara Friis who tries hard to put an end to the business of seafaring in the town through a strategy of benign neglect of the opportunities for modernisation. (There are surely and obviously better strategies, like introducing alternative industry or opportunities to the town and it seems just unpersuasive that this wouldn't occur to her….)Overall, however, I enjoyed this a great deal and would recommend it strongly to others.

I have to echo the positive reviews here to say that this is a truly magical book. Epic in scope, it spans four generations and crosses many seas. The first story starts out in the 18th century and each subsequent character and story follows on so that the reader is taken on a journey through their lives, through many seafaring voyages and, in some cases, loves found and lost. At times heartbreaking, poignant and funny it is most of all, people with admirable characters as well as dubious ones.The translators have also done an amazing job of making the English version just as rich as one can imagine the original Danish version is. It's a gem of a book and the writer should be commended on his storytelling ability.

An epic tale of Danish shipping origins that spans centuries. I'm literally only halfway through after a week but thoroughly enjoying this well written and thoughtful book. I like something a bit different and this certainly is! Kudos to the author who must have taken such care to research world shipping history and the impact of economy and war. Superb historical novel.

I loved this book, genuinely loved it. It is full of the ocean, of seafarers tales, of mystery, humanity and inhumanity.The characters are vividly brought to life and their stories written with a real feel for their lives and motives.It takes you from Denmark to the heart of the Pacific and back again and to much more.It is the story of the town and inhabitants of Marstal, a shipping port in Denmark. At times stark and brutal, at others, warm and humane, shot through with wit and wisdom. This is story telling on a grand scale.It is a big book, but never outstays it's welcome. Highly recommended.

Captured me from page one and didn't let go.Thoroughly entertaining with moments of high action.Intertwined stories nicely brought together for a half decent ending.