The Lifeboat: A Novel

While I had hoped for a more intense story about the dynamics of people unknown to each other being placed in peril on a lifeboat, this turned out to be a strangely dispassionate narrative from only one person's perspective. Because that person was selfishly passive about her circumstances, and so easily manipulated if she thought there was something in it for her, we learn almost nothing about the other passengers. Everything is filtered through Grace's shifting perceptions. Grace is a seriously flawed person, and that usually offers literary opportunity for growth. But Grace's flaws were with her before the lifeboat, remained with her throughout the time on the sea, and her trial, and she came out the other side essentially unchanged. There is a lot of discussion of the ethics and morality of lifeboat survival, mixed with strong undercurrents of the gender politics of a century ago. None of this gave life to any of the characters and I found no one to root for or have any serious curiousity about. There were many loose ends left unresolved, showing them to be no more than red herrings and filler. The book ended with a shrug.

Clear the decks and call in sick; once you begin reading this riveting this debut book, it's going to be hard to come up for air.

The narrator, aptly named Grace, appears on the first pages and right away, we know a few important plot points. We know that Grace survived on a lifeboat after her ship - like the Titanic two years prior - goes down. We also know that she is now on trial for a murder that took place during the ensuing ordeal. But here's what we don't know: how reliable is Grace as the tale-teller? Is she coldly capable of taking whatever actions are necessary to survive? Or is she simply a shell-shocked bystander, susceptible to the slightest suggestion?

In flashbacks, we learn about the harsh reality of lifeboat passenger survival, under the direction of one of the sea fellows named Hardie. The name is likely no accident: like Thomas Hardy's characters, Hardie and the rest of the survivors are overwhelmingly and overpoweringly in the grip of fate and chance. "None of us are worth a spit," Grace ruminates. "We were stripped of all decency. I couldn't see that there was anything good or noble left once food and shelter were taken away."

Indeed, as the characters are forced to endure worse and worse conditions - decreasing rations of food and water, the unexpected squall, the weakening of body and spirit, the emotional horrors of wondering about loved ones - they also form alliances that are crucial in determining who will live and who will die. It quickly becomes evident that some must be sacrificed for the majority to live since the lifeboat bears more people than it can safely carry.

There is an elegiac overlay in this tale: Hardie is at first regarded as all-knowing and godlike. In a Bible parable, he is able to come up with a feast of raw fish and water to feed the hungry. But as hope fades and order falls apart, the one-time prayers become "decidedly pagan, a prayer of appeasement to the sea..." And the sea becomes "as murky and cold as Satan's heart." Not unlike Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, the journey is not just into the deepest waters but into the deepest recesses of one's own mind; knowledge of the human condition is hard-earned and sobering.

Once I began this page-turner, it was virtually impossible to put it down. The theme weaves around that crucial question: during the worst of ordeals, is it possible for a person to be both alive and innocent? Are those who are left standing survivors...or murderers? Or put another way, what would each of us do to stay alive? Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown for a galley for my Kindle; the opinions are entirely my own.

In The Lifeboat, author Charlotte Rogan explores the actions of a group of people who are forced to survive on a small lifeboat and the repercussions of this event. The premise seems simple enough, but in the dexterous hands of Rogan, the story takes on a larger life that invites readers to join in on this fascinating journey.

The year is 1914, and newly wed Grace is traveling with her husband, Henry, across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the luxurious ocean liner, The Empress Alexandra. After a sudden explosion, the passengers frantically evacuate the sinking ship, doing whatever it takes to secure a spot in a lifeboat. As Lifeboat 14 begins its descent into the ocean, it stops just long enough for Henry to put Grace and seaman John Hardie onto the boat. Hardie, who clearly has the most experience with all things nautical, takes lead of the small boat, navigating through the debris, and coldly passing other passengers who struggle to stay afloat in the sea. Hardie is the only one aboard the lifeboat who understands that the small vessel is already overcrowded and to take in even one more passenger would be suicide.

As the days pass, the passengers all follow the lead of Hardie, who has assigned tasks for each of the evacuees. They all seem to believe that despite their misfortune, help will arrive soon. After several days, the solitude of the sea begins to take its toll on the passengers. Hunger and thirst muddy their minds, a looming storm threatens to sink their boat, and different opinions threaten to tear apart the unified effort of the passengers.

The novel is told from the point of view of Grace who is writing a journal of her time on the lifeboat. We learn, through many flashbacks, that Grace is currently on trial for murder. As the novel progresses, we gain further insights into the events that took place on the boat, and are forced to face the question of how far a person should go to further their survival.

Being the debut novel from Rogan, I was very impressed with the strength and clarity of her story telling. The suspense of both the struggle to survive in the ocean and to clear her name in a murder trial kept the pages turning and my attention fully held. Rogan descriptions offer subtle glimpses into human nature and the desire to live. Despite the fantastic build up, I felt a bit let down by the ending. It seemed as if these philosophical ideas about survival were leading to some kind of revelation. Instead we get a resolution to the plot with no emotional punch. That being said, I think this novel is worth the read for that build up alone. Perhaps the lack of a real answer to the questions that come up, in this situation, perfectly captures the reality of the event. Either way, this novel forced me to conjure ideas about life, death, and the will to survive.

Reading this was like reading what happened to the lifeboat that held the Unsinkable Molly Brown, only instead of letting Rose or Molly herself lead the narrative, they found someone's thoughtless cousin to pen something when she grew weary of needlepoint. Spoiler alert: after getting married (to Henry, though it's never explained how the two actually met, let alone fell in love) Grace ends up in a lifeboat (for reasons that are never revealed) to drift in sea lanes for 21 days (for reasons never explained) before finally being rescued. The boat is overcrowded, which is supposed to create some sense of urgency or peril, but all it does is add to the confusion of the story. If the boat is overcrowded, how are they able to move around it so easily? If they're in the middle of the ocean, why is the only odd sea life they encounter a single whale? The moment of Lord of the Flies rebellion (led by the Unsinkable Molly Brown character, who resembles her right down the physical description) makes absolutely no sense. Three women wearing corsets who haven't eaten in days overpowering a man while the others sit idly by doing nothing is just absurd. There was never any real suspense, Grace's role as a dull witness is boring, and there's never anything revealed to indicate she's anything other than a woman of minor aptitude who got lucky. The weird references at the end to Hannah and Molly Brown Clone resembling lesbian stereotypes is also confusing, and distracting. Is the idea to state that only masculine women would assume authoritarian roles, or that the antics of the boat left them masculine and rebellious? And what is it supposed to mean that the women were a united front in favor of the accused women? Does this mean that they were right, or that women are more easily manipulated than men? Why do we never get to know what was in the box, what happened to the ship, how her interaction with Henry's mother went, what they ate after tossing their source of sustenance overboard, etc? The book jacket led me to believe I was about to observe the survival tactics of a feeble-bodied mastermind. Instead, it's the empty, pointless musings of an opportunist half-wit. You shouldn't end a book with the dominant thought of who cares?

Unfortunately, this book was very disappointing. Absolutely NOT up to the hype it has received. While the plot was interesting and certainly drew me to buy it, I found the writing weak and wandering.

There were things that could have made this book a winner. For example, when Grace (the narrator) writes her journal of the time in the lifeboat at the request of her lawyer, there were several elements that could have been focused on later in the book.

One was that she tells of planning to meet her future husband (in spite of reading of his engagement) by breaking the heel of her shoe and for several days waiting where he might show up, in hopes of meeting him by appearing to need his help. This shows a very calculating and unattractive side of her...and makes you wonder why it was not commented upon by her mother-in-law after the trial. It also makes you wonder why the person she marries after the trial (I won't spoil the book for you) wouldn't have some doubts about her character.

I read a review of this book recently that mentioned the author had written this some time ago and took it out and decided to try to get it published. It really could have stood a re-read and revision to make it better. I really could not recommend it.

A sailor who speaks like a character from "Pirates of the Carribean", three constantly singing, weeping or wailing Italian women dressed in black, an accountant praising the power of numbers, birds falling out off the sky, and a deacon offering deep sea metaphors from the scriptures are just a few of the endless cliches Mrs. Rogan uses spinning her yarn about 38 people on a lifeboat following a shipwreck in 1914.
None of the cast is credibly portrayed, least of all the first-person narrator, whose change of moods, motives, and attitudes towards the other characters remain completely unaccounted for... and that's not mentioning the plot and subplots, which are getting more absurd as they proceed.
After suffering through the first half of the book, I tried fast reading, before giving up all together on the last 50 pages. I couldn't agree more with one of the previous reviewers: "I wanted off the lifeboat as much as the characters did."

A fantastic premise for a novel, having read and loved Life of Pi, this became my 'must-have' book as soon as I had heard about it.
Set in 1914 just before the outbreak of war and pre-emancipation, it is a fascinating insight into how polite society quickly breaks down when it becomes survival of the fittest.
Should individual lives be sacrificed to save the majority?

Grace is a 22 year old newly-wed, just widowed, a woman whose family have hit hard times and who is determined to chose her own destiny and not become a lowly Governess like her sister. When her honeymoon is ended by the sinking of the ship, Grace finds herself on a lifeboat with 39 others, predominantly women.
We follow one story with life on the boat as it becomes clear that rescue is not imminent and alternatively leap forward to where Grace and 2 others are about to face trial for murder.
There are power struggles, secrets, misdirection, sacrifice and ultimately murder. This is a tense novel, made increasingly so as the members realise that the boat is overloaded and that some may need to make way if the rest are to survive. Does the end justify the means?

Grace is an unreliable narrator and as we learn more of her we discover she has hidden depths and is not perhaps the innocent bride we had at first taken her for, for me this makes the novel far more interesting. There are some unanswered questions, what was it with the small box? What happened to Blake's boat? Did Grace's husband bribe Hardie? And perhaps just in my imagination, but is there a question mark over Grace and MaryAnn?

So if you enjoy novels where you are left with perhaps as many questions as answers and everything is not wrapped up with a tidy bow, then this is the book for you. Definately a book to make you think about the bigger issues and ultimately - can any of us really ever know what we would be willing to do?
A gripping read!

This book isn't an easy one to review, because in a general sense, it's an effective case study in human nature when intensely tragic and dangerous circumstances rear their heads. However, looking at it in terms of the protagonist and her story specifically, things take a disappointing turn for the reader.

Beginning with the positive side of things, the book truly does make you think about human nature, and what actions you would be willing to take under the direst of circumstances, when you're operating almost solely under the basest of instincts, i.e. survival. Decisions are made as events unfold that may seem to be less than ideal - even horrifying - but the story begs the question of the lengths to which a person will go when his/her life is on the line and priorities and perceptions become so radically altered and skewed. Social conventions and mores, and even the concepts of right and wrong, fall by the wayside as survival of the fittest comes to the fore. Though it is not always comfortable to read, and can, in fact, be quite disturbing, it does provide ample food for thought, and it is this aspect of the story that makes the book a page-turner.

Unfortunately, when the scope changes from the general to the specific, things begin to fall apart. The protagonist (Grace) is not someone who, in my view, is particularly likable - she manages to embody a personality that is, by turns, manipulative and frustratingly passive. She is self-centered, easily annoyed, sometimes even coldly mean-spirited, and frequently exhibits a tendency to be overly judgmental. She is also not the most reliable of narrators, as she all-too-often qualifies her recollections by stating that things may or may not have happened in just that way, or she may or may not have said exactly that.

Further, as other reviewers have pointed out, she reveals events and raises questions that all too often don't go anywhere and/or are never satisfactorily addressed or answered. Regardless of whether these things are loose threads or red herrings, it's aggravating to be made to wonder about so many actions, statements, and perceptions only to find that they are summarily dropped.

Finally, for those readers who prize things like character development, you won't be able to find that here. The characters are actually little more than plot-point driven caricatures - the reader is never made privy to any of their motivations, or why some of their personalities change with much frequency. As for Grace herself, she is an infuriatingly static character - she simply does not change, at all, much less grow as a person.

So, if you're a demanding reader - one who favors well-executed plots, finely drawn characters who respond appropriately to the events in their lives and grow and change as a result, and a decided lack of plot holes, you may want to avoid this one. However, I would say that the general premise of what happens on the lifeboat and how it challenges one's convictions and morality makes the book worth a read.

I bought this book with high expectations based on all the hype surrounding its release. I was sorely disappointed. None of the characters, including Grace, were very likeable. I found the story implausible and the dialogue stilted and unbelievable. Don't waste your time.

This was not the heart-pounding, page-turner that I was expecting based on reviews here and in other media. The narrator's long days at sea make for a book that was painfully long to read.