Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Les Naufragés du Wager by David Grann

16 reviews

abicaro17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious slow-paced

4.0

This starts out incredibly slow but after chapter 5 grows into a story of mutiny, murder, and survival. You become involved in this insane story of how a British ship and its sailors fight off scurvy, the rough seas, and other crewman to eventually end up back in England depleted and desolate anywhere from a year to five years later. I'm traditionally cautious of non fiction historical books because I find them tedious and boring but, with The Wager, once the initial accounts of send off and troubles at sea are finished, you're immersed into a tumultuous account of the shipwreck. It was interesting and full bodied. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

oliviamich's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment

daughterofatom's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

4.0

I enjoyed this. I appreciate the authors non judgemental perspective, never casting blame or guilt on any party, and keeps first hand accounts of native people in perspective. It's a tale of mutiny and horrible situations, but you never think "dang what a villain", you see the motivations of each party and are given ample details about the people to not just see them as pawns. They all had families at home they hoped to return to, some were on their first voyage, some were seasoned enough to doubt some choices. Great read for anyone looking to learn about 1700s seafaring, British navy shenanigans, or for folks looking for empathetic compelling tales of souls stuck in a true no win scenario 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

ecourtis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Colonisation and Classism

creativerunnings's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

chalkletters's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

2.75

During my book club’s nominations, I voted for The Wager without realising it was non-fiction. Usually, I find non-fiction books, especially non-fiction history books, a little dry and difficult to get absorbed in for long periods of time so, despite the promise of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, I took on The Wager with some trepidation.

As it turned out, David Grann’s writing style is particularly easy to read: he tells the story of The Wager almost as it were a novel, in linear order and from multiple viewpoints, keeping the focus on the narrative and not on the process of research. Characters who could easily have merged into one mass of navy sailors had distinct personalities and characteristics: particularly John Byron, grandfather to the poet George Gordon Byron, whose works provided illuminating quotations at relevant points.

David Grann’s introduction set up an interesting opposition between two different contemporary versions of what happened on Wager Island, but this set up an expectation which wasn’t entirely met by the text. While questions were raised about who, and which actions, were morally correct, there seemed to be little dispute over the actual facts of what happened. The ending, too, was surprisingly simple and easy given that there had been hints of a great argument. 

The bulk of The Wager is focused on the journey, the shipwreck and the aftermath. There’s no shortage of action and harrowing details of life at sea in the 1740s. This isn’t the kind of book you read to put yourself in the shoes of the main character and fulfil the wish for an exciting life. Instead, it’s best taken from a safe distance as a display of the human survival spirit. 

While I was impressed with David Grann’s writing, I didn’t particularly enjoy the story as much as I might have hoped.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Cannibalism

Minor: Child death, Suicide, Violence, and War