Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling, 3.5 stars, ❤️

[NancyJ]

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling has more going on than I expected. I saw the classic movie long ago and never forgot it. When I spotted it on the adventure tag list I knew I had to check it out. One of the reviewers mentioned leadership, and that clinched it. I was surprised when I saw who wrote it, as it is nothing like The Jungle Book. I learned that Kipling lived in New England for some time and liked to spend time by the boats listening to the stories told by the fishermen. He picked up the language, the barbs and their songs as well. This was all captured in the audio narrated by George Guidall, songs included. Some reviewers hated the dialect, but I thought it was fine on audio.

Set (and written) in the 1800’s, 15 year old Harvey Cheyenne is the spoiled son of a rich railroad tycoon on an ocean liner headed to Europe. Trying to show off, he smokes a cigar, and soon gets seasick. Unseen, he falls overboard and is eventually picked up by a fishing boat from Gloucestershire Massachusetts. The captain doesn’t believe his ravings about a rich father, and refuses his haughty demands. There were no radios to try to reach other boats. He lets the boy stay on the ship but says he has to earn his keep. Harvey befriends another boy on the ship, and eventually takes pride in doing the work. His math skills earn him additional responsibilities. A Portuguese fisherman named Manuel plays a fatherly role. (In the film Manuel was played charmingly by Spencer Tracy despite a terrible accent.) Harvey spends the rest of the summer with them, and it was a life changing and character building experience for him.

I enjoyed the adventures, but found myself tuning out during some of the longer scenes on the boat. I really appreciated the long section at the end that focused on his father - his business, and how the parents were affected by the presumed death of their son. The family spent some time in town with the families from the boat, and that was interesting too. The ending was quite different than the film, which was fine with me.

[ Personal note: when I saw this film when I was young, I must have internalized the message that working on a fishing boat builds character. When I met my husband in college and learned that he worked every summer on a fishing boat, I think I was more impressed by that than I would have been otherwise. No regrets!]

[Booknblues]

NancyJ wrote: "Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling has more going on than I expected. I saw the classic movie long ago and never forgot it. When I spotted it on the adventure tag list I knew I ..."


I love your note about your husband.

Your review made me want to read it.

[Jgrace]

Your review made me want to see the movie! ;)