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26th out of 75 books
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52 voters
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Pincher Martin: The Two Deaths of Christopher Martin
The sole survivor of a torpedoed destroyer is miraculously cast up on a huge, barren rock in mid-Atlantic. Pitted against him are the sea, the sun, the night cold, and the terror of his isolation. At the core of this raging tale of physical and psychological violence lies Christopher Martins will to live as the sum total of his life.
Paperback, 216 pages
Published
December 16th 2002
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(first published 1956)
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The worst experience I've ever had with a book. I lost it on purpose after failing to pawn it off on someone who asked me why I hated it. I told them and they said 'forget it'.
If you want a book filled with descriptive material that finds you rereading paragraphs because your mind has wandered onto something more interesting, a book with the biggest anti-ending of any book I've ever read, read this book.
If you want a book filled with descriptive material that finds you rereading paragraphs because your mind has wandered onto something more interesting, a book with the biggest anti-ending of any book I've ever read, read this book.
Judy
rated it
Recommends it for:
students of human nature
Shelves:
20th-century-fiction,
books-from-1956
Pincher Martin is the second book from 1956 about shipwreck on a deserted island. (Boon Island by Kenneth Roberts is the first.) Pincher Martin however, is alone on his rock in the mid-Atlantic and though he thinks of himself as a rational, educated and resourceful fellow, when faced with death he goes quite mad.
"Pincher" is British slang meaning a nautical person, one who serves on ships, etc. This pincher's Christian name was Christopher and as we enter his mind, we lea...more
"Pincher" is British slang meaning a nautical person, one who serves on ships, etc. This pincher's Christian name was Christopher and as we enter his mind, we lea...more
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The novel Pincher Martin surrounds the psychological struggles of Christopher Martin after the submarine he was working on is sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean, he wakes up alone ashore a small rocky island. Alone, cold, hungry, and ill equipped, this novel follows the struggle of Martin, as he struggles to survive, fighting against hunger, insanity, and a loss of hope.
This is an interesting novel that really focuses on the psychological struggle of Martin. It's interesting to look into his ...more
This is an interesting novel that really focuses on the psychological struggle of Martin. It's interesting to look into his ...more
I know that the author was trying to capture the experience of being confused and feeling disconnected from the body, and I think he did a great job with that, but it made it hard to stay in the story. I think I'd have to read this book again to really get it. I did like how he wove the history leading to the event into the dreams and hallucinations, and I thought that the foreshadowing of the ending was subtle, but satisfying. It took me a LONG time to read this book, though, because I found it...more
Published a year or two after LOTF. Excellent. Worth reading if you'd like to explore more of Golding's work. Be warned, it is incredibly dark. Like much of Golding's other work, it explores human nature. He has an interesting thesis in this work - that greed is an overwhelmingly powerful force that drives us, and that the ultimate expression of it is greed for your own life (self-preservation).
This book is a bizarre, and often dreary read. I picked it up because I loved Golding's Lord of the Flies, but it didn't meet the same standard.
That isn't to say, however, that there was nothing good about the book. The ever-increasing psychoses of Martin were interesting to follow, although he was a somewhat irritating and depressing character to read about. The far-and-away best part of this book, though, was the ending. It was well-done, interesting, and thought provoking. It's a...more
That isn't to say, however, that there was nothing good about the book. The ever-increasing psychoses of Martin were interesting to follow, although he was a somewhat irritating and depressing character to read about. The far-and-away best part of this book, though, was the ending. It was well-done, interesting, and thought provoking. It's a...more
Mark Dolce
added it
A very strange book I read during my mssspent youth. I was really into Lord of the Flies and found this in the used book store where worked and gave it a go. I seem to remember the main character turning into a lobster or something. Another book i read way to young to appreciate. I may re-read it with Kafka in mind.
The four stars mean "really like" this book. I am not sure that "like" is a term to be used for so intense a book. I read it one morning while waiting for a friend who had summer classes when I did not. It is only about 200 pages long and moves quickly.
Not a half bad novel, the main reason why I don't care for it much is simply because I don't care much for survivalist novels. Golding does it well enough here, though, and while I was a bit bored with it at first I was quite happy with its ambiguous ending.
I read this book many years ago - pre-university days. Then it was just called Pincher Martin. It was complex and needed some working out, but boy, did it leave an impression.
The book is quite a literary feat - not for the faint-hearted reader.
The book is quite a literary feat - not for the faint-hearted reader.
Preferred this to LOTF, though I would recommend it (LOTF) as well. A man confronted with his mortality, forces beyond his control, and the underlying nature of himself, and presumably all men.
This was surprisingly horrible.
It mirrors a short story by Ambrose Bierce, maybe in a deliberately skewed way. I do not know. Sheer terror makes it worth reading.
It mirrors a short story by Ambrose Bierce, maybe in a deliberately skewed way. I do not know. Sheer terror makes it worth reading.
I found an old paperback edition of this from '56. It's cover design features the words "Pincher Martin" surrounded by flatly colored red lobster claws. I picked it up because I recognized Golding's name. Then I read through it because of it's title. And I went home with it because of its cover. "Pincher Martin" is a quick, psychological story of the sole survivor in a destroyer wreck. He's stranded on a large rock in the Atlantic. He tries "greedily" to stay alive...more
This novel raised the question for this reader - it is far better than Lord of the Flies - so why is it relatively unknown?
Hard to read....very put-down-able! Found it hard to get to the end......nowhere near as good as Lord of the flies!
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My senses changed irretrievably.
I started to see and feel different things.
One of my favourites.
I started to see and feel different things.
One of my favourites.
Impressive, like a nightmare. The opposite of a pageturner; I struggled through it, but that felt appropriate. I loved the style, the images.
This is a great book. It's a hard read and it's brutal, but very few books that I've read have had as powerful an effect. An existential masterpiece.
I read this book in elementary, maybe fourth grade or so. I challenged my older brother and told him I was a better reader than he was and bet him I could finish this book and he couldn't. I won. I think this is probably still the most challenging book I've ever read. I wonder if I would understand any more of it now than I did back then. Let's assume I would, because I really, really, really don't want to try reading this beast again.
A brutally pessimistic look at human nature. While reading the novel, I found it helpful to read Golding's Nobel acceptance speech to serve as a reminder that he didn't completely despise humanity. As in his other works, he handles the symbols here brilliantly.
a dark work with many of golding's motifs concerning the savage man and the absence of god. only one character, stream-of-consciousness, stranded on a rock in the uncharted sea. man versus nature at its cruelest. despite the limitations of the plot, the character moves through revelations and developments that make this a good read.
Was completely thrown off by the ending at first, but realize you must read this book twice to get it. After I read the book I read this critique: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0... Now I'm reading the book again. This book is brilliant.
A stunning, hallucinatory tour-de-force from the writer better known for 'Lord of the Flies'.
I found this book through a mention in Richard Adams' 'Plague Dogs', in which Adams basically said "It's amazing, and you should read it once you've finished this one". Good advice, so I'm passing it on!
I found this book through a mention in Richard Adams' 'Plague Dogs', in which Adams basically said "It's amazing, and you should read it once you've finished this one". Good advice, so I'm passing it on!
A meditation on loneliness, agony, and desperation, this book should come with its own prescription antidepressant. As a literary exercise, though, it is amazingly, meticulously crafted and darkly descriptive.
Thickly William Golding-esque, but not an easy read. Often inexplicable, but certainly ends in style! At a little over 200 pages, it doesn't take long to devour, so don't give up on this one if you've begun.
I liked Lord of the Flies, so that's why I decided to read another of his novels. Waaay too abstract for me. Man vs. nature / God / his own will to survive. blah blah blah. [snore]
Minnie
rated it
Recommends it for:
students of Golding
Recommended to Minnie by:
Professor Harvey
Shelves:
had-to-read-at-college
Possibly my favourite Golding novel. Not to spoil it for anyone wishing to read it, but it's the one book that you have to read twice to really understand
An incredibly cerebral novel from William Golding--as you might expect--and not an easy read, but well worth it! The ending will shock you!
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Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies. He was also awarded the Booker Prize for literature in 1980 for his novel Rites of Passage, the first book of the trilogy To the Ends of the Earth.
In 2008, The Times ranked Golding third on their list of "The 50 greatest British w...more
More about William Golding...
In 2008, The Times ranked Golding third on their list of "The 50 greatest British w...more
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