Under the Eye of the Storm

by John Hersey

Two married couples aboard a small boat are besieged by a hurricane. The owner, Dr. Tom Medlar, a liver specialist disenchanted with his healing art, has weekend guests with him on the Harmony. Flicker Hamden, a crack computer-think-man, is inclined to see everything in terms of programming potential, even the mystique of sail which is heresy to the fussy, meticulous Medlar.

Genres: Fiction

245 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

John Richard Hersey, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer, earliest practiced the "new journalism," which fuses storytelling devices of the novel with nonfiction reportage. A 36-member panel under the aegis of journalism department of New York University adjudged account of Hersey of the aftermath of the atomic bomb, dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, as the finest piece of journalism of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was interesting in an unusual way. The people were very of their time, so two married couples out on a cruise right before I was born, and the way they interacted with each other was incredibly foreign to me, but Hersey is clearly trying to be super-realistic. It's all filtered through one guy's perception, and the big realization he has at the end is that he is super fallible, but even so, his perceptions and ideas of how people worked and how relationships work, and especially how women work were just deeply contrary to how I've ever seen the world.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a challenging read. There were a lot of nautical terms used and the plot dragged in places. The pacing was perfect for the story line. I recommended this for the first read of a new book club I started and was nervous about the selection as I read. I read A Bell for Adano and Hiroshima, both by John Hersey and thought we should give this book a go. I am glad I read it but not sure I would have finished it if I were not part of the book club.

This book was more of a character study than a rich plot read. The author did a great job introducing and developing the characters. I must say, though, that I was saddened to have to say goodbye to the characters at the end of the book. That, I guess is a good sign of an enjoyable read.

All told, I would recommend the book. It is a challenging, thought provoking read.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in the 1970s while summering on Block Island. One of my favorite BI-based novels. It was like Couples meets the Perfect Storm.

[Kevin Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read. The ending is less than satisfying, but IS logical.

[Kaitlyn Manc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story. The writer was amazing at using figurative language.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under the Eye of the Storm is another impressive book by John Hersey. He never writes the same thing, and rarely in the same style, but he always writes with purpose. While not always stylish, it is careful, precise writing...I have a feeling he chooses each word and each sentence with care, and then builds a whole paragraph with intent.

Under the Eye of the Storm is a a psychological story, about two couples in a sailboat, intending to spend a short vacation together on the water, cruising the New England Atlantic. Dr. Tom Medlar owns the boat, Harmony, and he loves her, loves the routine of keeping her ship shape, pours his soul into her upkeep, maybe to the detriment of his wife Audrey.

Joining them are Flicker and Dot Hamden, who Tom does not really like too much for long periods. But away on Harmony they go, with initial tensions easing as the journey begins.

We see things from Tom's eyes, knowing his feelings about what is going on on Harmony, and the while the tensions of the other three continue to ease, Tom's increases as he suspects an affair between Audrey and Flicker. And then the storm hits. A hurricane that was supposed to go out to sea comes towards the coast.

They tie up in a good place in a harbor, prepared to ride it out, but the storm's violence causes a fishing shack on shore to get tangled in the anchor line and they have to cut loose or go under, and they must now ride out the storm in open water.

But this could be a story about a wagon crosses the prairie in the past or a spaceship in deep space...it is more about how these people act in a crisis, and how they view things during duress, in relative isolation, with only each other to react to. It is also somewhat existential, because it really asks: "If I perceive it such, does that make it so, or can there be other truths?"

Hersey knows sailing, no doubt, and you feel he is accurate in every term he uses, but he is even more accurate in how he describes these four people, how is shows their psychological states. None of the characters are completely noble, nor are any really bad people, they are real, with faults common to many of us. But caught in the maelstrom will they continue to be who they were, or will they sense and see that they can have a new perception?

This is another excellent John Hersey book.

[Jrohde · Rating 4 out of 5]

the writing is interesting, especially as this is written about waters I know around the Vineyard and Block Island. good command of the terms and situation on a classic old wooden boat with good descriptions of the storm and the behaviour of the boat - a 32 foot Maine friendship (was sloop but rerigged to become a yawl). the real story is about the mind of the protagonist - the owner doctor who reasonably does wonder about his wife and the guest and himself. well written and a good read - got the book from Brian

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. Great adventure. Keep interested to the end. I would recommend this book.

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavily nautical--sailors likely to enjoy more than I did.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good study in human interaction