Master & Commander (Aubrey & Maturin, #1) in Keeping up with the Joneses

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Aug 01, 2018 Emily rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2018

This book took me forever to finish, and I’m not quite sure why. The historical detail, though dense and at first off-putting, was nevertheless intriguing and informative. The sea battles were intense, there was plenty of exposition to help me get my bearings, and the characters were very well-rounded. I’m not sure why this book didn’t grab me, but there is no denying that I had to force myself a bit to get through it. Many times I would sit down to read steadily for an hour or so and find my at This book took me forever to finish, and I’m not quite sure why. The historical detail, though dense and at first off-putting, was nevertheless intriguing and informative. The sea battles were intense, there was plenty of exposition to help me get my bearings, and the characters were very well-rounded. I’m not sure why this book didn’t grab me, but there is no denying that I had to force myself a bit to get through it. Many times I would sit down to read steadily for an hour or so and find my attention wandering after only five minutes. I have never been more aware of the page count in a novel.

Part of the reason that I disliked it, I think, was the denseness of the historical detail. So many words, phrases, and customs were talked about with almost no context for them at all. I had to do a lot of looking things up and a lot of guessing, which slowed the pace of the novel. The accuracy did make for some very interesting sea battles, and I learned a lot. However, I think the novel suffered in intelligibility. Perhaps it is not strictly accurate for characters to give exposition about all of the reasoning behind their maneuvers and orders at sea and their national customs, but it would have helped me to understand the stakes and the motivations of all the characters better. Ethan compared this novel to a Tom Clancy thriller or other overly dense airport novel of the 80s and 90s that tried to pack in as much military and political detail as possible in the interest of “realism,” and I think that comparison is apt. Those make for very long novels filled with a lot of information, but they are short on themes and slow on plot. They are really only good for filling up long commutes for middle-aged businessmen. (Tom Clancy, you are the best of that bunch, and though I don’t particularly like your books and I hate all of the clones they spawned, I recognize that you had real talent and forever changed that genre.)

Another thing that I disliked was the construction of the plot. Important events happened seemingly in random order, and there were weird jumps in chronology. Often O’Brien would skip from an exciting scene to someone reminiscing or talking with friends, but they wouldn’t be talking about the exciting scene that had just happened. Rather, we would have skipped forward three or four days or even weeks, and they would be reminiscing about an important conversation or scene that we didn’t even see. Then O’Brien will go back and fill in those gaps in a flashback. Why the cut-and-paste, O’Brien? Why not just tell the story in chronological order? I think this contributed to my inability to connect with the story; every time I got invested there would be a jump in time and I would lose track of the flow of the plot again. Also, the battle with the (view spoiler) should have been at the end in order to have a proper interest curve for the plot. Most of the main character conflicts are tied up in the battle: (view spoiler) That is all well and good, but then the novel inexplicably continues and Jack is (view spoiler)

However, not everything was awful. The best part of the novel by far is the subtle drawing of the three main characters: Jack Aubrey, Stephen Maturin, and James Dillon. I liked that there was no strong villain amongst them. I also liked that they are all easily likeable men with honor and dignity, but with definite character flaws. They are very well-rounded and it is a pleasure to watch them interact, learn about each other, make mistakes, and grow as people. They are all very different people with none of them being simple clichés or stereotypes. Though I liked Russel Crowe’s portrayal of the character in the film of the same name, he is far less interesting than this complicated captain who is both very capable on the sea and a bit of a fool. I thought their changing relationships to each other and the people around them were the best parts of the novel.

I also loved the epic sea battles. Though complicated to follow, they were intense, varied, and interesting. I enjoyed how he described the Sophie’s capabilities very carefully, and then put her up against a variety of different kinds of ships with varying powers. Sometimes they fought their way out, sometimes they sailed away, sometimes they captured smaller ships, sometimes larger, sometimes military targets, and sometimes merchant vessels. It was extremely interesting. The changing stakes and maneuvers were excellent ways to show off both Aubrey’s and O’Brien’s creative capabilities.

Overall, it was worth a read. I will probably not continue with the series, but I am glad to have read it and compared it with the film version. If you are a huge fan of historical fiction and navy battles in particular, then this book might be for you. Just be prepared to be overwhelmed with the level of detail. ...more

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May 25, 2025 Judith added it · review of another edition

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