What do you think?
Rate this book
The Raven
The deaths of thirty-nine people in a boat wreck in 1941 provide decades of intrigue for the New England community that was their home
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
5 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 4, 2009
I was disappointed in this book, having read good reviews and because of my general liking of sea stories. I thought it was disjointed and seemed to be telling the same story over and over. It did not grab my attention or absorb me in the mystery. Basically, he seems to lead the reader down one false road after another, continually reminding you that the answer lies only with those whose lives were lost. I also found it ironic that the character Dove is written about in a derogatory way because of his exaggerating true accounts of sea tragedies for personal gain. And yet Landesman has taken the real story of the Don’s disappearance after setting out from Bailey Island in 1941 and made up a theory of what really happened. He invents a reason for the wreck at the end of the book, after reminding the reader time and again in the story that only those whose lives were lost know what really happened.
May 29, 2017
I first read this book not long after it came out. I was still at university, and was still enamoured of study and reading between the lines enough to think that if a text was gnomic enough it must have been super-profound, and if I didn't get it, it was my fault and not the book's.
That was then. Now, I can go "eh, fuck that book" with impunity and not feel as if I need to turn in my Lit Nerd decoder ring or something. Because even though there's a lot of mystery in the book - it hinges on the shadowy 1941 fate of the titular doomed vessel - I think a lot of it is unintentional, and the result of poor planning.
The Raven is Peter Landesman's first novel, and it shows. It's the sort of novel that's written after mainlining a bunch of a certain type of literature, letting it percolate for a little while and then doing a kind of Markov Chain cut-up reinterpretation. Think of it as And The Ass Saw The Angel but with Melville and Hemingway replacing Faulkner, and with slightly less planning than smack-hammered Cave's work presented. It's long on atmosphere and short on editorial prowess - there's too much unevenness in the way the work is presented.
(It's probably worth noting that Landesman is now better known as a Hollywood producer than an author.)
Reading the work presented me with a problem. I kept feeling as if I'd had a blackout or a stroke or something when I came back to it, as it's arranged in a pretty disjointed manner. I get the feeling there were some images that Landesman thought sounded great in the draft stage, and he's worked like hell to keep them in, even if they don't really make sense. The chronology of the book is murky and the feeling of constant sliding from one area, one person to another is disorienting in a way which indicates a lack of control, rather than the minutely-planned bugfuckery of someone like Pynchon, say.
What's weird about this book is that in writing it, Landesman has pretty much done a hatchet-job on the truth in a manner similar to one of the main characters, Dove, because it's based on a true story. Is this a bit of wry self-insertion? Self-awareness? It just seems a bit cheesy - I think I preferred the book before I knew it was based on a real event, particularly given that the overall tenor of the thing is that, welp, only people on the boat will know what happened on that terrible day!
If that's the case, why bother with the story at all? This could have been a quite acceptable Annie Proulx-styled collection of gruff fisherfolk and hard livin' snapshots without the whole IT'S A CONSPIRACY! thread running through it.
Ah, but the gruffness. The gruffness. It's everywhere - this is kind of like a waterlogged Silent Hill from whence nobody can escape. Everyone hates the fucking sea but continues to work on it, despite old age, a water system that makes Flint, Michigan look pristine, and an education that would enable one to jetpack out of the damp shithole. But nope, they're all wedded to the place, and labour through their jobs with such old-timer wisdom-and-spitting that the only thing with more liquid than the harbour must be the town's collection of spittoons.
The problem is that such gruffness works inexorably towards caricature. So by the end of the book, everyone I read about became a variation on The Simpsons' Captain Horatio McCallister.
Yeah. Again, this is what happens if you read a lot of the Men Bein' Men on THE SEA canon - rather than becoming a meaningful contribution to that shelf of work, you run the risk of becoming a soggy wanksock tribute; something with the same odour, but none of the oomph of the original.
I read this hoping I would have come across some meaning this time around that I didn't notice before. But it's not the case. It's a shame, as when the writing is accomplished at times, and never less than evocative when it's not trying to be too tricksy for its own good - but there's a lot of hand-waving and grizzled silence where there should be plans and structure.
(Short version: go and listen to Insurance Fraud #2 by The Mountain Goats instead, as you'll get all the atmosphere and the hinted-at narrative for an investment of about three minutes. It's preferable.)
That was then. Now, I can go "eh, fuck that book" with impunity and not feel as if I need to turn in my Lit Nerd decoder ring or something. Because even though there's a lot of mystery in the book - it hinges on the shadowy 1941 fate of the titular doomed vessel - I think a lot of it is unintentional, and the result of poor planning.
The Raven is Peter Landesman's first novel, and it shows. It's the sort of novel that's written after mainlining a bunch of a certain type of literature, letting it percolate for a little while and then doing a kind of Markov Chain cut-up reinterpretation. Think of it as And The Ass Saw The Angel but with Melville and Hemingway replacing Faulkner, and with slightly less planning than smack-hammered Cave's work presented. It's long on atmosphere and short on editorial prowess - there's too much unevenness in the way the work is presented.
(It's probably worth noting that Landesman is now better known as a Hollywood producer than an author.)
Reading the work presented me with a problem. I kept feeling as if I'd had a blackout or a stroke or something when I came back to it, as it's arranged in a pretty disjointed manner. I get the feeling there were some images that Landesman thought sounded great in the draft stage, and he's worked like hell to keep them in, even if they don't really make sense. The chronology of the book is murky and the feeling of constant sliding from one area, one person to another is disorienting in a way which indicates a lack of control, rather than the minutely-planned bugfuckery of someone like Pynchon, say.
What's weird about this book is that in writing it, Landesman has pretty much done a hatchet-job on the truth in a manner similar to one of the main characters, Dove, because it's based on a true story. Is this a bit of wry self-insertion? Self-awareness? It just seems a bit cheesy - I think I preferred the book before I knew it was based on a real event, particularly given that the overall tenor of the thing is that, welp, only people on the boat will know what happened on that terrible day!
If that's the case, why bother with the story at all? This could have been a quite acceptable Annie Proulx-styled collection of gruff fisherfolk and hard livin' snapshots without the whole IT'S A CONSPIRACY! thread running through it.
Ah, but the gruffness. The gruffness. It's everywhere - this is kind of like a waterlogged Silent Hill from whence nobody can escape. Everyone hates the fucking sea but continues to work on it, despite old age, a water system that makes Flint, Michigan look pristine, and an education that would enable one to jetpack out of the damp shithole. But nope, they're all wedded to the place, and labour through their jobs with such old-timer wisdom-and-spitting that the only thing with more liquid than the harbour must be the town's collection of spittoons.
The problem is that such gruffness works inexorably towards caricature. So by the end of the book, everyone I read about became a variation on The Simpsons' Captain Horatio McCallister.
Yeah. Again, this is what happens if you read a lot of the Men Bein' Men on THE SEA canon - rather than becoming a meaningful contribution to that shelf of work, you run the risk of becoming a soggy wanksock tribute; something with the same odour, but none of the oomph of the original.
I read this hoping I would have come across some meaning this time around that I didn't notice before. But it's not the case. It's a shame, as when the writing is accomplished at times, and never less than evocative when it's not trying to be too tricksy for its own good - but there's a lot of hand-waving and grizzled silence where there should be plans and structure.
(Short version: go and listen to Insurance Fraud #2 by The Mountain Goats instead, as you'll get all the atmosphere and the hinted-at narrative for an investment of about three minutes. It's preferable.)
February 3, 2012
Man, I just had a hard time following this book. I was constantly confused about who the characters were. The writing seemed very choppy. Was I just not interested?
January 30, 2012
Fictional account of seafaring tragedy off the coast of Maine in 1941. Graphic deaths...just not my thing!
January 14, 2009
This first novel is a moody sea story whose ambitious reach ultimately exceeds its considerable grasp. During early summer 1941, the pleasure craft Raven puts out to sea from Bailey Island offshore Maine and disappears carrying 36 day-trippers from the mill town of Rehoboth. Lobsterman Clayt Johnson and his nine-year-old son, Ezra, recover the drowned bodies of the women who were aboard and the dead captain (found nearly naked and tied to a tuna keg), but the other men have vanished. Even so, there's no lack of scuttlebutt as to what happened; theories range from an unprovoked attack by one of the German U- boats prowling Maine's coastal waters through pilot error and insurance fraud. The narrative slowly unfolds through the eyes of some of those affected by the tragedy. Mavis Beauchamp, who lost a father and two brothers, flees Rehoboth at the first opportunity. Walter McAlister, whose father kept him from the outing, returns home to stay after WW II and keeps the memory of his childhood playmates ever green. Also keeping the story alive is Leslie Everett Dove, the self- aggrandizing author of irresponsible but popular books on New England's maritime past. And there is Ezra, who quits Bowdoin a few weeks short of graduation to join his father on the water he abhors. Ezra unearths what seem to be the facts of the mysterious wreck more than 40 years earlier, but he refuses to help the sensation-seeking author. The conclusion is a bit of a letdown, but the novel is an impressive debut nonetheless. Landesman has a genuine feel for the region with its bleak geography and hard people, a vista made bleak by man as well as nature, and he makes the most of a complex plot that will keep readers guessing to the end.
May 29, 2016
Not an easy read but definitely one that grabs your curiosity to figure out what is going on. As many have said, the editing and sequencing are lacking a little but the stories are compelling and graphic. I read this many years ago and forgot the basics of the story, so a reread seemed like a good idea. It portrays Maine as a very dangerous place to be at that time in history (1941). Either nature or man was on the attack, and no one was safe, even at a picnic. We have boy scouts and dads drowning, possibly because of a U-boat attack and many people drowning in floods, high tides, and currents. And I'm only on page 71. It is graphic in its depiction of death. It also shows humans in a less than positive light, but I think I will keep reading as I want to see where this mystery is going.
Now, I've finished the book and can say that I did find it interesting, if a little confusing at times. Based on a real happening, with elaborations, it did seem worthwhile reading it again. The mystery is finally solved at the end, and it seems possible that things panned out as described. I'm leaving those details out to not include spoilers. If you like marine mysteries that take place in Maine, you will love all the descriptions. Since I have been sailing in most of the same areas, it was almost like revisiting (during good weather, of course). The only problem was the sheer number of characters...it was easy to confuse them temporarily. But it all became clear in the end.
Now, I've finished the book and can say that I did find it interesting, if a little confusing at times. Based on a real happening, with elaborations, it did seem worthwhile reading it again. The mystery is finally solved at the end, and it seems possible that things panned out as described. I'm leaving those details out to not include spoilers. If you like marine mysteries that take place in Maine, you will love all the descriptions. Since I have been sailing in most of the same areas, it was almost like revisiting (during good weather, of course). The only problem was the sheer number of characters...it was easy to confuse them temporarily. But it all became clear in the end.
October 16, 2018
somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. Some of the character writing is excellent. Some is totally confusing. Some of the use of text is perplexing.
An insurance scam taking the bodies with it based on a real life tragedy in Maine. How much of this is fact and how much fiction I can't say. Doubt that anybody can and as such, as many people have pointed out, Landesman seems like the writer character he creates, Dove, in the book. And in fact the whole book reads like something knocked together as a good idea by someone that comes up to their 'weekender' gaff on the wild coast from Boston, New York wherever.
There is, despite this, some good observation of fishing communities and the in-built defensive nature of those places.
A strange book
An insurance scam taking the bodies with it based on a real life tragedy in Maine. How much of this is fact and how much fiction I can't say. Doubt that anybody can and as such, as many people have pointed out, Landesman seems like the writer character he creates, Dove, in the book. And in fact the whole book reads like something knocked together as a good idea by someone that comes up to their 'weekender' gaff on the wild coast from Boston, New York wherever.
There is, despite this, some good observation of fishing communities and the in-built defensive nature of those places.
A strange book
January 22, 2022
Confusing at first, memories flooding in with the rising waters of the Androscoggin and Round Rock off Bailey’s Island. Landesman’s research and superb low key but intense writing is packed to the margins with teeming life and atmosphere.
Based on the unsolved disappearance of the Raven off Bailey’s Island, Maine, in June 1941, Landesman builds to a conclusion that mirrors Clayt Johnson’s adage. “Out here there isn’t any such thing as good and evil, and fate and destiny. There’s only consequences…no such thing as luck, there’s only consequences.” It’s not luck that this is such a wondrous read. It’s the consequence of talent and inspiration.
Based on the unsolved disappearance of the Raven off Bailey’s Island, Maine, in June 1941, Landesman builds to a conclusion that mirrors Clayt Johnson’s adage. “Out here there isn’t any such thing as good and evil, and fate and destiny. There’s only consequences…no such thing as luck, there’s only consequences.” It’s not luck that this is such a wondrous read. It’s the consequence of talent and inspiration.
December 22, 2016
Seemed difficult to get reading it at the beginning. A book. sale book. Author won first novel award from the Sue Kaufman award. Mystery of a boat sinking based on an actual sinking off coast of Maine. Lumber country, the sea as a way of living, and the interest of a young observer make this very descriptive novel a great read
September 25, 2013
Had trouble following it at times because of the writing style and I wasn't a big fan of the ending, but if you enjoy books about the sea and people who make their living on it and their lives around it, then this might be a good book for you.
January 7, 2014
I found this book interesting in its subject matter. However, I feel the ending could have been more consistant with the rest of the book.
January 3, 2016
rich storytelling but ultimately just a bit of an anticlimax
Read
August 30, 2016Tried it, but didn't finish. This writer's style just didn't draw me in...
September 21, 2021
In June 1941, a pleasure cruise off the coast of Maine goes missing with 36 people aboard. The bodies of the women and the naked body of the captain are recovered by fishermen. The bodies of the remaining men are never found. This mystery is at the heart of The Raven.
Moody and wallowing in description of the rough life of those who make their living on the sea, ultimately this never really satisfies. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
Moody and wallowing in description of the rough life of those who make their living on the sea, ultimately this never really satisfies. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
December 6, 2018
Terrific. Got off to a bit of a slow start but soon I was hooked. Rich language, atmospheric, excellent characters, just enough mystery to keep you going. I'm sad he only wrote two novels.
December 22, 2022
3.5 stars
April 4, 2024
The first ~25 pages were not great. Seriously contemplated not finishing the book. It did get better.
April 7, 2024
Haunting
April 9, 2022
Just finished a novel, Raven. Turned out to be a good one. Midway I wasn’t sure. It did end more or less as expected tho. Would have preferred something more “novel.”🤷♂️
February 3, 2018
I pride myself on always finishing a book...until this one. It had no rhythm or synchronicity. I read about 50 pages and finally gave up.
March 16, 2015
The descriptions in this book are excellent, but the sequencing, including introductions to places and characters, is very confusing. I felt at times like I was reading an excellent novel that had been stirred like a sentences soup. It took quite a bit of flipping back and forth in the beginning to try to understand who was who and where they lived. And there were a lot of extraneous descriptions that did not forward the plot. The author indulges in his descriptive power at the expense of the overall sense of the story. I got to the end and thought we really could have skipped most of the novel because the essence, and the true incident that the book is anchored upon, is a boat went out and didn't come back. That is all that I am left with, that and atmosphere which the author writes well. Too much atmosphere, too little story as the author doesn't know what happened to that boat and he can only speculate.
May 2, 2012
Wonderful descriptions of the coast of Maine, the ocean, and the men and women who brave its fury to bring in fish and lobster. I had trouble at times figuring out what was happening and why characters were doing what they were doing. Some of that could be my fault, and some perhaps the style and author's intentions. Being a Virgo, I like to be sure about things. When I'm not, I can't fully engage with a story.
May 25, 2014
Peter Landesman's book is a nautical mystery. Thirty six people on board and only the captain and fourteen women ever found. One of the wives states they were only going out for the day. They left in the morning, afternoon came and then night still no sign of them she said. It was even rumored that the Germans had captured the men and enslaved them. Then bodies of young women started washing up on the shore and only the one man. This is a gripping story.
December 15, 2008
An entertaining tale of a town haunted for decades by the mystery of what happened to a local boating party in 1941. This certainly delves into the deeper psyches of the townsfolk and while well-written could not manage to keep me completely engaged.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews