The Lifeboat

A Novel

De: Charlotte Rogan

Narrado por: Rebecca Gibel

The sinking of an ocean liner leaves a newly married woman battling for survival in this powerful debut novel.

Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life.

In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying her and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize is over capacity. For any to live, some must die.

As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace recollects the unorthodox way she and Henry met, and the new life of privilege she thought she'd found. Will she pay any price to keep it?

The Lifeboat is a page-turning novel of hard choices and survival, narrated by a woman as unforgettable and complex as the events she describes.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The Lifeboat traps the reader in a story that is exciting at the literal level and brutally moving at the existential: I read it in one go."—Emma Donoghue, author of Room

"The Lifeboat is a richly rewarding novel, psychologically acute and morally complex. It can and should be read on many levels, but it is first and foremost a harrowing tale of survival. And what an irresistible tale it is; terrifying, intense, and, like the ocean in which the shipwrecked characters are cast adrift, profound."—Valerie Martin, author of Property and The Confessions of Edward Day

"What a splendid book. . . . I can't imagine any reader who looks at the opening pages wanting to put the book down. . . . It's so refreshing to read a book that is ambitious and yet not tricksy, where the author seems to be in command of her material and really on top of her game. It's beautifully controlled and totally believable."—Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall

This could have been so much better

I can only surmise the author was independently wealthy before this book was written, or it would have been completely overhauled before its publication. While very well written, nothing really happens that we as the audience particularly care about. A mysterious explosion on a transatlantic ship, stolen jewels and hidden gold! A murder on an overcrowded lifeboat filled with peril!

All of this comes up in this book, but not a single thing is addressed with any satisfaction. The main character, Grace is supposed to be the typical unreliable narrator, but character development is so weak throughout everyone in this book that Grace comes off as having the personality of a shoe instead of unhinged, calculating, devious or even strong. Instead of suspense or mystery we get a platform for the author to explain her politics. Women were unequal to men in 1914! (gasp) Women couldn't vote or even serve on juries! (I'm shocked) Men wrote laws that governed women! (oh the injustice)

What saves this book is the pretty excellent writing, poor character development aside. But I was disappointed that what was described as a mystery thriller was actually a diatribe on gender politics of the early 20th century. And being an educated person with average brain function, I sort of already knew that it wasn't kosher.

will keep you wondering whats next

Would you consider the audio edition of The Lifeboat to be better than the print version?

I think so, it was well read

What other book might you compare The Lifeboat to and why?

I think it was like itself and quite confronting

Did Rebecca Gibel do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

yes. It would have been quite difficult, quite a few characters

Any additional comments?

The Characters in the story were suitably different and that would have been a challenge. The descriptions were great and I had a mental picture of everyone on the boat.

Perilous but no conflict

First, I loved the premise and the idea. Always great to delve into the minds of people who have survived such a horrible experience. Wonderful idea to have Grace time-skipping over her trial for murder and her wet ankles. I couldn't wait to read this book.
The book inspired me to write my own novel with some surprises and more exciting conflict than I found in this book. The passengers were throwing people off the lifeboat! That indeed should have caused some visceral emotions among the survivors, but not it did not, not really. I felt that the characters' reactions were, "oh gosh, there goes another one, but it wasn't me so I'm good."

Also, I would have made someone on the lifeboat the culprit. Why did the mysterious ocean liner explosion happen? No back story about the ocean liner. Perhaps the reader was supposed to assume all the Titanic background applied. But better: maybe Grace was REALLY devious and evil, as well as being just a run-of-the-mill un-unhinged woman of her time. She should have been in cahoots with some unknown person to destroy lives for her own self-centered goals. Now there's a survival story!

The book could have been set in an upscale parlor instead of a lifeboat. There was so little conflict or character development. The only thing I learned about Marianne was that she was a big whiner. I would have added 100 pages to learn more about the passengers and how they ended up on a lifeboat in the middle of nowhere. There was no explanation about how they found themselves in this dire situation.

The so-called nefarious seaman who was aboard didn't seem that horrible. He was the only character who could have and should have, been the hero! It wasn't our girl, Grace. No hero in this book where one would have been welcome.

Good first effort. I am certainly not the writer that Ms. Rogan is.

A True Disappointment

The Lifeboat surely ranks as one of the least enjoyable books I have ever read. The story is disjointed and hard to follow and the characters are poorly drawn. The narration is unremarkable. Nothing positive to say about this book. Don't waste your time.

I'd rather drown, thanks!

This book was so over-hyped that I expected nothing short of a masterpiece. Not quite. I never really liked the main character, it never felt like a turn of the century setting, and I couldn't wait for them to be rescued - so the book would end! Skip it.