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Book ask-around
Nov. 19th, 2007 09:43 amHas anyone read "Castaways of the Flying Dutchman" by Brian Jacques? I started it yesterday - my sister loaned it to me over the summer and I'm just now getting around to it and its sequel (I found the third book and mailed it to her with the hope of borrowing at Christmas when I give her back the first two). It seems really good so far. I don't know for sure, I think it's written for children, but you know me, simple minds and all that ... LOL ...
From what I've read and what I gather, basically it's about this orphan boy who can't speak, read, or write, escaping from his stepfather's family in the Netherlands and boarding the Flying Dutchman in 1620, when it's still a regular ship captained by a cruel crew and hard captain determined to round the Cape for a deal so he can become wealthy and retire. The boy, dubbed Nebuchadnezzar, or "Neb," by the crew, is forced to work on various parts of the ship. At one port he finds a mangy, scrawny black dog and lures him on board out of pity to feed and hide him. The dog ends up saving Neb's and the captain's life, causing the captain to put some trust in Neb and provide a little protection against the crew. Eventually, however, when the ship is buffeted by storms and prevented from rounding the Horn, the captain rails and curses Heaven, and an avenging angel shows up to curse the captain and his crew (including raising the ones who had died earlier and were thrown overboard - a neat trick) to wander forever with no rest. Neb and his dog are washed overboard by the storm, at which point the angel blesses them in their innocence and decrees they will live forever youthful and whole, with the power of speech to help those around them. (Even the dog "talks" to Neb after this.) They wash up on shore and an old shepherd takes them in - that's the part where I've stopped for now.
Language note: According to Jacques, "Hollander" is Dutch for "Dutchman." I find much more irony in Cutler Beckett now .......
From what I've read and what I gather, basically it's about this orphan boy who can't speak, read, or write, escaping from his stepfather's family in the Netherlands and boarding the Flying Dutchman in 1620, when it's still a regular ship captained by a cruel crew and hard captain determined to round the Cape for a deal so he can become wealthy and retire. The boy, dubbed Nebuchadnezzar, or "Neb," by the crew, is forced to work on various parts of the ship. At one port he finds a mangy, scrawny black dog and lures him on board out of pity to feed and hide him. The dog ends up saving Neb's and the captain's life, causing the captain to put some trust in Neb and provide a little protection against the crew. Eventually, however, when the ship is buffeted by storms and prevented from rounding the Horn, the captain rails and curses Heaven, and an avenging angel shows up to curse the captain and his crew (including raising the ones who had died earlier and were thrown overboard - a neat trick) to wander forever with no rest. Neb and his dog are washed overboard by the storm, at which point the angel blesses them in their innocence and decrees they will live forever youthful and whole, with the power of speech to help those around them. (Even the dog "talks" to Neb after this.) They wash up on shore and an old shepherd takes them in - that's the part where I've stopped for now.
Language note: According to Jacques, "Hollander" is Dutch for "Dutchman." I find much more irony in Cutler Beckett now .......
