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The Swells
In this darkly hilarious satire by the inimitable Will Aitken, class war erupts aboard a luxury cruise ship.
A boatload of white privilege, The Emerald Tranquility is the most luxurious cruise liner afloat, its passengers some of the richest people in the world. Meanwhile the ship’s crew, overworked and underpaid, live packed tightly together in airless below-deck cabins.
Briony Paget, globetrotting luxury travel writer, emulates the rich — though homeless and penniless herself — as she hops from gig to all-expenses-paid gig.
The passengers encounter a great number of cataclysms at sea, but no matter the catastrophe, the great ship always sails on.
On her own personal voyage, Briony encounters Mrs. Moore, an enigmatic old woman clandestinely fomenting a mutiny on this bountiful ship. With the captain overthrown, roles quickly reverse: the crew become the ship’s new leisure class and the aged passengers learn how to mop floors and scrub toilets.
Briony, confused and terrified by the resultant chaos, must decide which lot to cast her fate with, in this savage satire of the way we live now.
A boatload of white privilege, The Emerald Tranquility is the most luxurious cruise liner afloat, its passengers some of the richest people in the world. Meanwhile the ship’s crew, overworked and underpaid, live packed tightly together in airless below-deck cabins.
Briony Paget, globetrotting luxury travel writer, emulates the rich — though homeless and penniless herself — as she hops from gig to all-expenses-paid gig.
The passengers encounter a great number of cataclysms at sea, but no matter the catastrophe, the great ship always sails on.
On her own personal voyage, Briony encounters Mrs. Moore, an enigmatic old woman clandestinely fomenting a mutiny on this bountiful ship. With the captain overthrown, roles quickly reverse: the crew become the ship’s new leisure class and the aged passengers learn how to mop floors and scrub toilets.
Briony, confused and terrified by the resultant chaos, must decide which lot to cast her fate with, in this savage satire of the way we live now.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 4, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 14, 2022
This book put me back into a reading slump it was so bad. I only finished it out of spite. The supposed social commentary is bungled so badly to be frankly offensive in many parts. It wasn’t even so bad it was good, it was just not good.
April 28, 2022
I can’t believe I’m actually writing a bad review. Normally I don’t review books I don’t like because writing is an art form and relative to the reader. However, I need to say something about this dumpster fire.
Actual Rating: 1.5/5
This was such a BAD novel for three reasons:
1. The writing style. This is the definition of trying too hard for something posh, niche, kitschy. Because it was so overdone, the plot was nearly impossible to follow let alone focus on or even care about.
2. The characters. If you’re writing the caricatures for stereotypes of different races to point out why it’s wrong, fine. If you’re a middle aged white man and you’re doing it to be funny, it’s not funny. It’s racist.
And 3. The biggest issue I had with this whole freaking book. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PROMOTE SOCIALISM, DO NOT MAKE THE HEROINE A RICH WHITE PERSON. I don’t even care if that is “the point”, it de-values the workers’ struggle and is the equivalent of a jailer unlocking the cell for their prisoners.
#nowarbutclasswar xx
Actual Rating: 1.5/5
This was such a BAD novel for three reasons:
1. The writing style. This is the definition of trying too hard for something posh, niche, kitschy. Because it was so overdone, the plot was nearly impossible to follow let alone focus on or even care about.
2. The characters. If you’re writing the caricatures for stereotypes of different races to point out why it’s wrong, fine. If you’re a middle aged white man and you’re doing it to be funny, it’s not funny. It’s racist.
And 3. The biggest issue I had with this whole freaking book. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PROMOTE SOCIALISM, DO NOT MAKE THE HEROINE A RICH WHITE PERSON. I don’t even care if that is “the point”, it de-values the workers’ struggle and is the equivalent of a jailer unlocking the cell for their prisoners.
#nowarbutclasswar xx
November 17, 2021
Briony is a travel writer who finds herself on a work assignment on board the Emerald Tranquillity; a luxurious cruise liner. The cruise begins normally enough, but as they head towards Japan, the crew stages an uprising and starts a class war against the wealthy passengers. Thrust into this new situation, Briony has to decide who she should align with.
The Swells is a satirical commentary on the world we live in, capitalism and privilege, but sadly, I found it very difficult to follow. I couldn’t connect with the characters and I was confused by the plot. There were scenes I enjoyed, but overall I wasn’t impressed with this book.
The Swells is a satirical commentary on the world we live in, capitalism and privilege, but sadly, I found it very difficult to follow. I couldn’t connect with the characters and I was confused by the plot. There were scenes I enjoyed, but overall I wasn’t impressed with this book.
August 9, 2022
I save all my ‘summerish’ books for reading in July and August, and because The Swells by Will Aitken takes places on a boat, I figured it would be a great novel to dive into while at my family cottage. At first glance I thought this book would make for great dockside reading considering the boat tie-in, instead I realized the whole cottage connection made much more sense. Our modest log cabin is located in Muskoka, and dwarfed by the mansions that have sprung up around it. This area is the playground for the ultra wealthy, which looks very similar to the decks of the fictitious Emerald Tranquility – both could easily be described as “a boatload of white privilege” as the publicity blurb for the book declares.
Plot Summary
Briony is a luxury travel writer who is herself broke, but because she writes for and promotes experiences for the rich, often finds herself among them. Her latest assignment is reviewing The Emerald Tranquility; this ship is specifically designed to house the whitest on top (i.e. the passengers) and as you move deeper into the bowels of the ship, each person’s skin colour gets darker – part of the ship’s tour actually describes this color shift, as if they are proud of it (!) The overworked and underpaid staff of the ship launch a mutiny and purposely disable the ship and take its passengers captive. This revolution is led by a white woman – Mrs. Moore who realizes the horrific conditions the workers live in and carefully help craft a plot to overthrow the captain and his armed sailors. Briony falls in love with Mrs. Moore who helps her see the hypocrisy of encouraging this type of unsustainable and exploitive travel and lifestyle. As the ship slowly breaks down in hilarious ways (poop shooting out of each cabin’s toilet for instance), the storyline begins to unravel and absurdity takes over, eventually ending in a surprise revolution of another sort on an uncharted island in the middle of the China Sea.
My Thoughts
As you can no doubt tell by the summary above, this book is one with a message, but its commentary on the class system it’s woven into is fairly entertaining, and at times has a downright wacky narrative. The word ‘raucous’ comes to mind when I consider an accurate descriptor of this book, because the author does his best to keep us smiling despite the seriousness of what’s being mocked. The plot is rife with shocking deaths, sexual innuendoes, surprising affairs, outrageous outfits and decadent accessories both on the ship and on its passengers. But death is also inescapable as the ship is thrown into a dangerous typhoon, which only acts as an interlude between the havoc breaking out between the passengers and crew. Luckily Briony is the calm eye of this storm throughout the book, and because it’s told from her first person perspective, I appreciated the grounding she offered us, even when situations spin out of control around her – never as a reader did I feel disoriented or confused, I simply enjoyed the ride.
What makes this book so fascinating to read is the complicated ways in which people of multiple levels of society interact on this ship. Many people, not just the ultra-wealthy can relate to the discomfort one feels when travelling in another country and coming across its desperately poor. In this story the coldness of the wealthy is exaggerated when they complain about a woman’s cries for food as ruining their pleasant vacation, but it reminded me of the time I visited the city of Havana and brought diapers with me to hand out to young mothers on the street. Someone at home in Canada had advised me to bring these things, as it was impossible for Cubans to procure these items themselves. After I had handed out a few to crying mothers with impossibly skinny babies in their arms, the tour guide scolded me for doing so, warning me that it could have started a mobbing of our group. I remember feeling a mixture of both horror at what I had witnessed, and shame for not understanding the danger I was placing others in. Tourism is such a fraught industry, creating a reliance on western money, while perpetuating the issues of or objectifying the locals, and by setting the story on a cruise ship (a fairly destructive form of tourism at the best of times) these problems are highlighted even further to the reader.
There are no easy answers in this book, as even the righteous Mrs. Moore is brought down a peg or two in her attempts to help those who need her. But the ending offers a slightly optimistic view of how to start making bad things a bit better – and it all begins with the right intentions. A thought-provoking novel that didn’t feel too didactic while reading, but has given me plenty to ponder since I finished. Plus it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is why I’m happy to recommend this book far and wide.
To read the rest of my reviews, please visit my blog:
https://ivereadthis.com/
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Plot Summary
Briony is a luxury travel writer who is herself broke, but because she writes for and promotes experiences for the rich, often finds herself among them. Her latest assignment is reviewing The Emerald Tranquility; this ship is specifically designed to house the whitest on top (i.e. the passengers) and as you move deeper into the bowels of the ship, each person’s skin colour gets darker – part of the ship’s tour actually describes this color shift, as if they are proud of it (!) The overworked and underpaid staff of the ship launch a mutiny and purposely disable the ship and take its passengers captive. This revolution is led by a white woman – Mrs. Moore who realizes the horrific conditions the workers live in and carefully help craft a plot to overthrow the captain and his armed sailors. Briony falls in love with Mrs. Moore who helps her see the hypocrisy of encouraging this type of unsustainable and exploitive travel and lifestyle. As the ship slowly breaks down in hilarious ways (poop shooting out of each cabin’s toilet for instance), the storyline begins to unravel and absurdity takes over, eventually ending in a surprise revolution of another sort on an uncharted island in the middle of the China Sea.
My Thoughts
As you can no doubt tell by the summary above, this book is one with a message, but its commentary on the class system it’s woven into is fairly entertaining, and at times has a downright wacky narrative. The word ‘raucous’ comes to mind when I consider an accurate descriptor of this book, because the author does his best to keep us smiling despite the seriousness of what’s being mocked. The plot is rife with shocking deaths, sexual innuendoes, surprising affairs, outrageous outfits and decadent accessories both on the ship and on its passengers. But death is also inescapable as the ship is thrown into a dangerous typhoon, which only acts as an interlude between the havoc breaking out between the passengers and crew. Luckily Briony is the calm eye of this storm throughout the book, and because it’s told from her first person perspective, I appreciated the grounding she offered us, even when situations spin out of control around her – never as a reader did I feel disoriented or confused, I simply enjoyed the ride.
What makes this book so fascinating to read is the complicated ways in which people of multiple levels of society interact on this ship. Many people, not just the ultra-wealthy can relate to the discomfort one feels when travelling in another country and coming across its desperately poor. In this story the coldness of the wealthy is exaggerated when they complain about a woman’s cries for food as ruining their pleasant vacation, but it reminded me of the time I visited the city of Havana and brought diapers with me to hand out to young mothers on the street. Someone at home in Canada had advised me to bring these things, as it was impossible for Cubans to procure these items themselves. After I had handed out a few to crying mothers with impossibly skinny babies in their arms, the tour guide scolded me for doing so, warning me that it could have started a mobbing of our group. I remember feeling a mixture of both horror at what I had witnessed, and shame for not understanding the danger I was placing others in. Tourism is such a fraught industry, creating a reliance on western money, while perpetuating the issues of or objectifying the locals, and by setting the story on a cruise ship (a fairly destructive form of tourism at the best of times) these problems are highlighted even further to the reader.
There are no easy answers in this book, as even the righteous Mrs. Moore is brought down a peg or two in her attempts to help those who need her. But the ending offers a slightly optimistic view of how to start making bad things a bit better – and it all begins with the right intentions. A thought-provoking novel that didn’t feel too didactic while reading, but has given me plenty to ponder since I finished. Plus it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is why I’m happy to recommend this book far and wide.
To read the rest of my reviews, please visit my blog:
https://ivereadthis.com/
Sign up for my newsletter here: https://ivereadthis.com/subscribe/
Or follow me on social media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ivereadthis/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivereadthisblog
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6E...
May 22, 2024
it was certainly a book
February 13, 2022
It’s described as “darkly hilarious satire”, but I’d argue it’s more broadly farcical with its caricatures and over-the-top dialogue and situations. More wacky than sharp in its skewering of social conventions, it’s tonally akin to a Wes Anderson film or any of the Marx Brothers offerings. There are some very funny moments, but the humor is so silly that it becomes wearisome after a while. This would have made a brilliant short story.
December 28, 2021
The Swells by Will Aitken is a so-so satirical story of class warfare aboard a luxury cruise ship.
In reality Briony is homeless and makes just enough to survive, but as a travel writer who cruises for free on luxury liners she must mirror the passengers behavior in order to fit in. The Emerald Tranquility is the most luxurious cruise liner and Briony is traveling on it with some of the world's wealthiest people. At the same time the ship's crew lives in small spaces below deck and are over worked and under paid. When a mutiny happens among the crew, it results in the elderly passengers now being required to learn how to mop floors and clean toilets.
This is hardly the "darkly hilarious satire" as described. Although there were a few funny parts, this is not a hilarious novel of class reversal or the privileged versus the underprivileged. All the characters aren't written to resemble real people, they are all caricatures of stereotypes of different people. Let me make this clear, all classes of people are stereotypes. The mutiny happens just before the halfway point (44%). Before that it is a sometimes incomprehensible and decidedly not particularly funny novel of hookups and mocking the elderly rich passengers. After it's all over, the final summary is that this is a satirical novel ridiculing capitalism and promoting socialism. Perhaps those who have taken a cruise will relate to this story much more. Alas, I haven't and have no desire to do so.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/1...
In reality Briony is homeless and makes just enough to survive, but as a travel writer who cruises for free on luxury liners she must mirror the passengers behavior in order to fit in. The Emerald Tranquility is the most luxurious cruise liner and Briony is traveling on it with some of the world's wealthiest people. At the same time the ship's crew lives in small spaces below deck and are over worked and under paid. When a mutiny happens among the crew, it results in the elderly passengers now being required to learn how to mop floors and clean toilets.
This is hardly the "darkly hilarious satire" as described. Although there were a few funny parts, this is not a hilarious novel of class reversal or the privileged versus the underprivileged. All the characters aren't written to resemble real people, they are all caricatures of stereotypes of different people. Let me make this clear, all classes of people are stereotypes. The mutiny happens just before the halfway point (44%). Before that it is a sometimes incomprehensible and decidedly not particularly funny novel of hookups and mocking the elderly rich passengers. After it's all over, the final summary is that this is a satirical novel ridiculing capitalism and promoting socialism. Perhaps those who have taken a cruise will relate to this story much more. Alas, I haven't and have no desire to do so.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/1...
Read
February 7, 2022Satire is anything but my go-to genre, and it’s got to be really good. This is not. This is just bad slapstick half the time.
I don’t care about the characters - there isn’t even one of them that isn’t a full blown caricature - nor do I ever care what’s happening to them. The big ‘critique’ of capitalism and inequality and all that ails us is so lost in it all.
Then there is the ‘pretentious’ language he uses… it’s like he asked Google to find ‘every underutilised English word with 10 or more letters’ and then set out to use every one of them in the book. Absolute twaddle (I know, only 7 letters… I don’t care enough to try any harder).
The only positive is that it was short… (but not short enough!)
Save you time. Steer clear of this one.
I don’t care about the characters - there isn’t even one of them that isn’t a full blown caricature - nor do I ever care what’s happening to them. The big ‘critique’ of capitalism and inequality and all that ails us is so lost in it all.
Then there is the ‘pretentious’ language he uses… it’s like he asked Google to find ‘every underutilised English word with 10 or more letters’ and then set out to use every one of them in the book. Absolute twaddle (I know, only 7 letters… I don’t care enough to try any harder).
The only positive is that it was short… (but not short enough!)
Save you time. Steer clear of this one.
January 3, 2022
I hate to give feedback that it's glowingly positive because I know how many people work so hard to bring books to market. That said, I simply did not like this book.
I know it's meant to be a satire about class and capitalism, but it felt more like a satire about writing about rich people and class and capitalism. The characters seemed more like under-developed caricatures than well-constructed satire, and for a book described as "darkly hilarious," I really didn't think it was funny.
I think the concept of the story is really excellent and has the potential to be a really fantastic novel (which is why I gave it 2 stars), but the execution missed the mark for me.
I know it's meant to be a satire about class and capitalism, but it felt more like a satire about writing about rich people and class and capitalism. The characters seemed more like under-developed caricatures than well-constructed satire, and for a book described as "darkly hilarious," I really didn't think it was funny.
I think the concept of the story is really excellent and has the potential to be a really fantastic novel (which is why I gave it 2 stars), but the execution missed the mark for me.
December 23, 2021
What happens when the world turns upside down for the crew and passengers of a luxury cruise ship? That's the question posed in this satiric novel that wasn't as funny as I'd hoped but which has a. bite. Briony, a travel journalist, isn't sure where she belongs when the crew overthrows the captain with a nudge from Mrs. Moore. You'll likely recognize a passenger or two if you've been on a high end cruise but I liked the crew perspective. This packs a lot into a slim volume but the conceit would have run thin in a longer one. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. An interesting read.
January 19, 2022
The Swells by Will Aitken is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in late January.
This reads quite a lot like the dialogue of a Wes Anderson or a cutely zany Marx Brothers movie (i.e. with many mispronounced, misheard, come-again words and tons of minor characters to interact with) in a Snowpiercer-style situation, but on a boat, instead of a train, where everyone's rich (like an absurdity of riches rich) but wants to revisit life off of the boat.
This reads quite a lot like the dialogue of a Wes Anderson or a cutely zany Marx Brothers movie (i.e. with many mispronounced, misheard, come-again words and tons of minor characters to interact with) in a Snowpiercer-style situation, but on a boat, instead of a train, where everyone's rich (like an absurdity of riches rich) but wants to revisit life off of the boat.
March 2, 2022
I feel the impulse to rate this book higher because all the previous reviews are low. Dark satire is not my usual genre, I've tried to enjoy Vonnegut whom I think encompasses that genre. I enjoy shallow absurdism and I found many parts of this story abdurdly funny.
March 14, 2022
There is a level of bitter-sweet truth to this story of highjinks on the high seas. The protagonist is trying to document a luxury cruise but instead witnesses one level of class warfare after another. A light-hearted read but with some strong moral overtones to it.
October 22, 2023
The only times I had another feeling than boredom reading this book was during the lesbian romances. Disorganized, rushed, and confusing at points. Definitely wanted more character development and coherent details, and the social commentary wasn’t as prevalent as I wanted/expected it to be🥲
November 14, 2021
Unfortunately, this book failed to hold my interest. There was too much scene setting and not enough action for me.
I wish Aitken all the luck, but this book wasn’t my cup of tea.
I wish Aitken all the luck, but this book wasn’t my cup of tea.
November 26, 2021
I really wanted to read this book because I found the premise really interesting. The humour is definitely dark but it explores real world themes but it was definitely missing something.
January 6, 2022
Recommended with reservations.
Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:
https://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2...
Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:
https://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2...
January 22, 2022
What a strange book. But oddly intriguing. After only 3 cruises I can understand many of the ideas and with some socialist background, the rest. So life goes on.
February 3, 2022
Didn’t finish it.
March 23, 2022
Terrible
March 30, 2022
Do not waste time that you will never get back. I had high hopes, but for naught.
April 28, 2022
Meh. Interesting premise, but all over the place. Way darker than I expected it to be.
Read
June 8, 2022bro i should’ve read the reviews on this thing 💀💀 gave up on it
July 21, 2022
Too pretentious for me. I can see how they were trying to be artsy and write about the parallels between our world and this luxury passenger boat.
December 30, 2022
Definitely had some Candide vibes going on. There were some funny moments, but not enough to redeem the writing for me.
June 3, 2024
Easily the worst book I’ve ever read wtf lol
February 22, 2022
This book is for anyone who has watched a movie and scoffed at something unbelievable, only to hear the main character say the same thing seconds later. This romp of a satire is one of the cleverest ways I’ve ever seen an author tell society it needs to shape up.
The story follows Briony, a travel journalist on a luxury cruise. She’s phoned by her boss only to be told the publication has taken a massive hit, and she’s taking a big pay cut but at least her travel expenses will still be taken care of.
Aitken shocks and soothes you on nearly every page, detailing out how we fail others as a society and profit off those failings into entering privileged life. The characters are caricatures of the people we see regularly; the older rich, the frantic communications person, the suspiciously religious actor, and the hapless “innocent” who has to choose whose side to take.
Come for the efficient tearing down of cruise life and what sustains it, stay for the banter between Luis and Briony.
The full review is available at @themiramichireader
The story follows Briony, a travel journalist on a luxury cruise. She’s phoned by her boss only to be told the publication has taken a massive hit, and she’s taking a big pay cut but at least her travel expenses will still be taken care of.
Aitken shocks and soothes you on nearly every page, detailing out how we fail others as a society and profit off those failings into entering privileged life. The characters are caricatures of the people we see regularly; the older rich, the frantic communications person, the suspiciously religious actor, and the hapless “innocent” who has to choose whose side to take.
Come for the efficient tearing down of cruise life and what sustains it, stay for the banter between Luis and Briony.
The full review is available at @themiramichireader
July 10, 2022
Love seeing rich, old ladies wearing kaftans and bangles on the ocean while analyzing class struggles and disparities, privilege, and power. Suberbbbbb writing plus a bit of LGBTQIA2+ rep & Canadian author.
May 22, 2024
I'm really surprised this book doesn't have broadly excellent reviews. I liked pretty much everything about it. I was skeptical about the narration at first blush, but I grew to love it quickly.
I think it's rather unfair and probably impulsive to call this novel racist; my own sense is that the author is using the descriptions of characters and events to make the racism in the context of the book clear—being tongue in cheek and farcical, I think, is a way to highlight how the perspectives and frames of reference of the white, wealthy class is biased toward, or rather totally warped into, racism. This is, in fact, what a satire would do. I think this is the best way for someone in Aitken's position—a white man from a wealthy country—to write about observations on power and privilege, and the marginalization of the poor and of people who are not white (and how these two things, to a devastatingly significant extent, go hand in hand).
For my own part, I found this to be a wholly successful satire; The Swells takes a frustrating, infuriating reality and turns it into something that both allows you to feel those thing while also being delighted—I love the characters, somehow, and I can't tell you how much this book made me laugh.
I think it's rather unfair and probably impulsive to call this novel racist; my own sense is that the author is using the descriptions of characters and events to make the racism in the context of the book clear—being tongue in cheek and farcical, I think, is a way to highlight how the perspectives and frames of reference of the white, wealthy class is biased toward, or rather totally warped into, racism. This is, in fact, what a satire would do. I think this is the best way for someone in Aitken's position—a white man from a wealthy country—to write about observations on power and privilege, and the marginalization of the poor and of people who are not white (and how these two things, to a devastatingly significant extent, go hand in hand).
For my own part, I found this to be a wholly successful satire; The Swells takes a frustrating, infuriating reality and turns it into something that both allows you to feel those thing while also being delighted—I love the characters, somehow, and I can't tell you how much this book made me laugh.
March 20, 2023
Read it. The synopsis sounded promising but the conclusion was extremely underwhelming. Lacked flow. Lack of character development. Plot/story seemed forced.
Edit post review: I just watched triangle of sadness and the two are extremely similar.
Edit post review: I just watched triangle of sadness and the two are extremely similar.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews