The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

I'm not sure who the target audience of this book was, but I think the writer beautifully described life onboard a ship. I have been on 3 deployments, and one thing I've always thought was that somethings never change. The first few chapters describe the life of people onboard. The descriptions are eloquently romantic but also give no doubt about the arduous work and in the 1600s, mire survival. Even better is that the verbal paintings are succinct; the writer doesn't go on and on, but gives an explanation and moves on with the story. I think this book will be most enjoyed by those that read a lot of shipwreck books, or have had to endure numerous sea stories by those who have have had a few years of sea time.

DNF. Made it to chapter 13.. Not as much a "tale" as it is a book report. One in which the author clearly had a word count to reach. Chapters 1-3, overall unimportant and what was possibly relevant could have been condensed down to a page. Obviously the author did his research, and you can feel it. Constantly pulling quotes from book after book that made it hard to get in any sort of flow for the "tale". Didn't care at all about the characters. For a book about "mutiny and murder", there was no drama or suspense. Felt like I was reading encyclopedias. 0/5

As far as historical non fictional narratives go, The Wager was decent. Grann does a very good job at getting the reader engaged in the first few chapters, meanwhile in the back of your mind, you know what direction the book is going-especially as a book about a shipwreck. One could predict-without any prior knowledge of the story- how the majority of the story would play out, and unfortunately, that is what hurt the book. It had moments of captivation, but ultimately, it seemed to drag a bit, considering the subject matter (without giving too much away)- we get it, they are hungry and likely delirious. I would say if this type of historical story line, you may enjoy it to a decent degree. If not, it is average at best. 3/5.