Unexpectedly delighted

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This really isn't the sort of book I normally choose: Fact, not fiction, and the ending known - they win the race! - I mean, where is the appeal in that?! But I read a review that was so very persuasive, and I do have a keen interest in sport, so I thought I would give it a go.

And now it is my turn to try and do what that reviewer did for me....namely, to persuade you that Daniel James Brown's 'The Boys In The Boat' is an epic, compelling, stunningly well-written account of triumph over adversity.....on so many levels. Because, as with all sporting endeavour, the battle to succeed is as much about the psychology of the participants and the context of their participation as skill in the sport itself.

Key to the power of the narrative is Brown's story-telling. It may be an account of fact, but it reads like fiction - page-turning fiction, whether it is the harrowing back-stories of the characters, (this is the era of the Depression, remember), that are being described, or the fascinating dynamics of oarsmanship, teamwork and boat-building, or the chilling activities taking place in Nazi Germany as Hitler, secretly, builds up his preparations for genocide and war.

I was gripped from start to finish. I also learnt a lot. Towards the end I even wept. This is virtually unheard-of for me. In fact,in five decades only a handful of books have moved me to tears. (And no, I won't list them here). So, give 'The Boys In The Boat' a chance. It will enrich you in ways that are hard,even for a novelist, to put into words.



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