Search - Voyage of the Narwhal

This was pretty good - a little slow in parts, but overall interesting. It felt like a sequel to _The Terror_ about a mission looking into John Franklin's disappearance. It was well researched and the character of Zeke was especially easy to hate - he made a good villain in that there wasn't anything redeeming about him.

The sea voyage is vividly recounted, with especially fine description of the frozen beauty of Arctic. Though I am not especially interested in Arctic expeditions of the first half of the 19th century, I found it a readable novel with various themes. Pre-occupied intellectuals: Erasmus, a shy naturalist, cocoons himself in his studies to avoid contact with other people. Pressure on women to live for others, never themselves: Alexandra finds days fly by when helping her family but considers days not working on her craft and study as wasted. The conceit of celebrity: Zeke uses everybody because he wants fame. An engrossing read.

winner of the 1996 National book award
From a womans view she writes of exploration,romance, and extreme conditions
very enjoyable