The North Water

A major BBC TV series starring Colin Farrell, Jack O'Connell and Stephen Graham

By: Ian McGuire

Narrated by: John Keating

A Simon & Schuster audiobook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every listener.

Critic reviews

'A stunning achievement, by turns great fun and shocking, thrilling and provocative. Behold: one of the finest books of the year' (James Kidd, Independent on The North Water)

'McGuire delivers one bravura set-piece after another . . . The North Water has, in places, a Conrad–Melville undercurrent, but for the most part it is Dickens’s influence that is most keenly felt . . . This is a stunning novel, one that snares the reader from the outset and keeps the tightest grip until its bitter end' (Financial Times on The North Water)

'Horrifically gripping. Such fine writing might have been lifted from the pages of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick’ (Independent on Sunday on The North Water)

'Terrific, seamed with pitch black humour and possessed of a momentum that's kept up to the final, unexpected but resoundingly satisfying scene ... Inspired' (Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail on The North Water)

'As a storyteller, McGuire has a sure and unwavering touch, and he has engineered a superbly compelling suspense narrative . . . As a stylist, too, McGuire is never less than assured . . . a writer of exceptional craft and confidence' (Paraic O'Connell, Irish times on The North Water)

'Raw and compulsively readable . . . think The Revenant for the Arctic Circle' (The Millions on The North Water)

'Terse, grisly...Henry Drax, chief harpooner on board the Volunteer, is the dark presence around whom the novel revolves and what a presence. One thing’s for certain: like Moby Dick, this book is not about the fish.'

'This book is quite a ride . . . The powerful story and the riches of the setting do not romanticise the past' (Erica Wagner, New Statesman on The North Water)

'The North Water has exceptional power and energy' (Nick Rennison, Sunday Times on The North Water)

'A vivid read, full of twists, turns, period detail and strong characters . . . An enjoyable contrast to most literary fiction' (Robbie Millen, The Times on The North Water)

'Brilliant, fast-paced, gripping. A tour de force of narrative tension and a masterful reconstruction of a lost world' (Hilary Mantel on The North Water)

‘Riveting and darkly brilliant . . . The North Water feels like the result of an encounter between Joseph Conrad and Cormac McCarthy in some run-down port as they offer each other a long, sour nod of recognition. McGuire has an extraordinary talent’ (Colm Toibin, New York Times on The North Water)

'A novel that takes us to the limits of flesh and blood. Utterly convincing and compelling, remorselessly vivid and insidiously witty. A startling achievement' (Martin Amis on The North Water)

Good writing, believable characters and plot

Ian McGuire is a good writer. The story clips along, the characters are believable and the plot plausible. Enjoyed it.

Fast paced, rated 18+

Great writing, great performance, fast paced and graphic. Some chapters not for the faint hearted! Totally sucked me in.

Not a morality tale!

For the frist several chapters this is a book that presents a pessimistic and gloomy portrayal of the human race. The tone is almost oppressive. Which is not to say it is a bad book. Depending on your state of mind this might be interesting or repellent. After this scene setting things start happening and the plot progression provides some respite from the gloom but it never leaves the novel.

Once the plot kicks in it continues at a decent pace to its conclusion. I was impressed with the writers ability to describe the physicality of the world his characters inhabit; there is no air-brushing away the filth or corporal reality.

John Keating was an excellent choice for the narrator; an excellent pairing for this novel.

gripping story. rivetingly told and written

Loved it. Couldn't turn it off. the narrator is fantastic and it is beautifully viscerally engaging

needlessly horrific

A macho wet dream that didn't need to be written. It starts with the rape of a young child and goes downhill from there.