A review by jimmylorunning
The Ship by Hans Henny Jahnn

4.0

But this frankness was like a clean cloth in the dark; no one could tell if anything had been spilled on it.

I had to check this book out of a nearby college library because it is out of print. I think nearly everybody on Goodreads who has read this neglected book was turned on to it initially by A Journey Round My Skull blog.

The book alternates between mysterious goings-on aboard a ship carrying coffin shaped cargo and circuitous thoughts within the characters' heads... "agonizing exertions" as Gustave puts it himself, full of paranoia, self doubt, moments of clarity, touching vulnerabilities, childish naivete, emotional outpourings, formal and/or ornate declarations, etc. etc.

The prose style is so unique, often the sentences are notable for their handsome bone structure, alternating between vague unknowns and specificity. I felt sea-sick the whole time.

Yes, it is laborious at points, especially in the middle when you have no idea where all this is leading, but the ending more than makes up for it.

Waldemar Strunck thought of his home and the joy of his loins.