andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this story about the Titanic disaster from the point of view of the Morgan the nephew of Rothschild. He's an interesting narrator pulled by the shallow rich friends who frequent first class but uncomfortable with the working crew from whom he has emerged as his mother is a black sheep. Beautifully written each sentence is well crafted. Like Birthday Boys a good read.
wendoxford's review against another edition
4.0
We all know how this story ends yet Bainbridge presents Titanic's maiden voyage in a masterly way. She uses techniques that brush fiction against known historical characters, layering the entrenched "classed" society meeting its fate with witty observations - a vignette of black humour/comedy of manners.
The writing avoids references to "good chaps" (or indeed "bad lot") yet it festers there nonetheless as we watch the social interaction, jaded morality and sense of entitlement from the first class deck.
I love the book's unique slant and its constant bubbling tensions.
The writing avoids references to "good chaps" (or indeed "bad lot") yet it festers there nonetheless as we watch the social interaction, jaded morality and sense of entitlement from the first class deck.
I love the book's unique slant and its constant bubbling tensions.
iainkelly_writing's review against another edition
5.0
A Booker shortlisted novel, and a Whitbread winner, that was intriguing and readable - a rare thing. A sharp look at an endlessly interesting disaster. I read the Folio Society edition with artwork by the author.
unisonlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
A disclaimer! I don’t claim to have brilliant taste in movies and so Titanic by James Cameron is one of my favourites. When I was 17 and in the first throes of love, the film gave me an insight in to another world both opulent and past and this book by Beryl Bainbridge has just done the same thing once again. The power of the word as well as the image to conjure up something magical should never be underestimated but the setting is where the similarity ends between book and film.
Every Man For Himself is a rich satire of upper class existence that could have leaked out of the pen of Evelyn Waugh himself. The characters, though for the most part real people long gone, are dealt with brutally by the author as shallow, vacuous types, intent on living a debauched life of intoxication, ignorance (blissful or otherwise) and decadence. They feel little shame, lack morality and human decency and are an illuminated image of the bright young things of the British and American elite before the First World War.
The book centres around a distant, fictional relation to the financier J P Morgan who describes himself as being central to events rather than seeing them happen. He is a man finding himself and is still unsure of what his future should be; keen to listen to his betters but keen as well to forge his own path but lacking the wherewithal to do so. Sexually inexperienced and socially retarded, we almost sympathise with him, an almost that appears not for any other central character.
The satire develops grandly among the corridors and restaurants of the luxurious upper decks with small references every once in a while to unsinkability and “the future” for those whom we know [spoiler alert] will soon perish in the freezing black hollow of the Atlantic Ocean.
Two things are key to the story – the steerage classes are largely absent from the narrative, showing the absolute obliviousness the central characters have to the majority of the passengers on board. Their lack of acknowledgement of their fellow human beings, even towards the end is in passing and brief and this is mirrored deliberately in the plot. Secondly, and refreshingly, the sinking of the ship does not take centre stage; it is not until the final 50 or so pages that we learn of the ship hitting an iceberg, once we are fully invested (or not) in the characters and their purposeless lives.
One interesting part of the book is the references to J P Morgan’s real life absence from the Titanic’s maiden voyage for which is was scheduled to attend. Along with other small references to certain pieces of the ship being labelled with “RMS Olympic”, Titanic’s sister ship suggests that Bainbridge may subscribe to the famed conspiracy theory which suggests J P Morgan deliberately had the ship sunk. The story goes that the Olympic had collided with a Naval ship not long before and was permanently damaged but the captain was also at fault for the incident so Lloyds refused to pay out on the insurance claim. Morgan then has the Olympic repainted as the Titanic and sank it while the actual Titanic lived on under the name Olympic. The theory gains ground when we’re told the fellow bankers and financiers that were on board happened to be all the ones opposing Morgan’s plan to create a Federal Reserve Bank, and that Morgan not only didn’t go on the journey but advised several friends not to go aboard. He also had a selection of works of art he was supposed to be transporting to the US removed from the ship at the last minute. Mine is not to suggest any truth to this, merely to point out that it is alluded to in the book.
If you are looking for a rip-roaring tale of derring-do at sea; heroism and romance then this is not a book you will enjoy. If you are looking for expert mockery of class on its last legs set against the backdrop of one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history then you will love it. I did; it has subtlety, grace, power, disgust and empathy and if, like me, you find the whole Titanic story alluring then it will envelop you wholly as it did me.
Every Man For Himself is a rich satire of upper class existence that could have leaked out of the pen of Evelyn Waugh himself. The characters, though for the most part real people long gone, are dealt with brutally by the author as shallow, vacuous types, intent on living a debauched life of intoxication, ignorance (blissful or otherwise) and decadence. They feel little shame, lack morality and human decency and are an illuminated image of the bright young things of the British and American elite before the First World War.
The book centres around a distant, fictional relation to the financier J P Morgan who describes himself as being central to events rather than seeing them happen. He is a man finding himself and is still unsure of what his future should be; keen to listen to his betters but keen as well to forge his own path but lacking the wherewithal to do so. Sexually inexperienced and socially retarded, we almost sympathise with him, an almost that appears not for any other central character.
The satire develops grandly among the corridors and restaurants of the luxurious upper decks with small references every once in a while to unsinkability and “the future” for those whom we know [spoiler alert] will soon perish in the freezing black hollow of the Atlantic Ocean.
Two things are key to the story – the steerage classes are largely absent from the narrative, showing the absolute obliviousness the central characters have to the majority of the passengers on board. Their lack of acknowledgement of their fellow human beings, even towards the end is in passing and brief and this is mirrored deliberately in the plot. Secondly, and refreshingly, the sinking of the ship does not take centre stage; it is not until the final 50 or so pages that we learn of the ship hitting an iceberg, once we are fully invested (or not) in the characters and their purposeless lives.
One interesting part of the book is the references to J P Morgan’s real life absence from the Titanic’s maiden voyage for which is was scheduled to attend. Along with other small references to certain pieces of the ship being labelled with “RMS Olympic”, Titanic’s sister ship suggests that Bainbridge may subscribe to the famed conspiracy theory which suggests J P Morgan deliberately had the ship sunk. The story goes that the Olympic had collided with a Naval ship not long before and was permanently damaged but the captain was also at fault for the incident so Lloyds refused to pay out on the insurance claim. Morgan then has the Olympic repainted as the Titanic and sank it while the actual Titanic lived on under the name Olympic. The theory gains ground when we’re told the fellow bankers and financiers that were on board happened to be all the ones opposing Morgan’s plan to create a Federal Reserve Bank, and that Morgan not only didn’t go on the journey but advised several friends not to go aboard. He also had a selection of works of art he was supposed to be transporting to the US removed from the ship at the last minute. Mine is not to suggest any truth to this, merely to point out that it is alluded to in the book.
If you are looking for a rip-roaring tale of derring-do at sea; heroism and romance then this is not a book you will enjoy. If you are looking for expert mockery of class on its last legs set against the backdrop of one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history then you will love it. I did; it has subtlety, grace, power, disgust and empathy and if, like me, you find the whole Titanic story alluring then it will envelop you wholly as it did me.
aniahollinshead's review against another edition
2.0
this was perhaps the oddest book ever. i didn't actively hate it, but i definitely didn't like it.
- the plot was, until the last chapter, so stagnant. most of it was our pompous protagonist walking around the ship and forming complex opinions on two-dimensional characters whom we only ever learn the last name of.
- even the sinking chapters I found myself skipping through. how do you make the sinking of the Titanic boring?! Beryl Bainbridge certainly managed. Probably because we spent the entire time looking for Wallis. no one cares.
- the protagonist was so annoying. yes, the class divide in 1912 was clear cut, but Morgan didn't need to revel in it and mention it every three lines.
on the other hand, sometimes Morgan was quite funny, and occasionally the scandals were somewhat interesting. hence 2 stars.
p.s. happy bday to me heheh
- the plot was, until the last chapter, so stagnant. most of it was our pompous protagonist walking around the ship and forming complex opinions on two-dimensional characters whom we only ever learn the last name of.
- even the sinking chapters I found myself skipping through. how do you make the sinking of the Titanic boring?! Beryl Bainbridge certainly managed. Probably because we spent the entire time looking for Wallis. no one cares.
- the protagonist was so annoying. yes, the class divide in 1912 was clear cut, but Morgan didn't need to revel in it and mention it every three lines.
on the other hand, sometimes Morgan was quite funny, and occasionally the scandals were somewhat interesting. hence 2 stars.
p.s. happy bday to me heheh
schopflin's review against another edition
3.0
Like all her books, this is an Excellent Short Novel, but I found it less compelling than some of her others. I have enjoyed her more brittle depictions of shallow, doomed characters in the past and love the period detail here but it's very difficult to care what happens to them.
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