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review 2018-09-30 09:43
Rollicking adventure
Mutiny on the Bounty - John Boyne

John Jacob Turnstile earns his living on the streets of Portsmouth as a petty thief. He has no real life, no real friends, employed in the services of Mr Lewis and used periodically to feed the sexual desires of propertied gentlemen. When the theft of a pocket watch leads to the arrest of young Master Turnstile it seems he is destined to spend a year incarcerated until an unexpected opportunity results in a change of fortune. John Turnstile is informed that if he joins the crew of the Bounty, on her mission to Otaheite, better known as Tahiti, he will on his return be a free man. On the Bounty he is of little importance his main role attending to the whims and desires of none other than Captain William Bligh.

 

What follows is a rollicking adventure as we sail the high seas in the company of a motley crew including the infamous Christian Fletcher. It of course comes as no surprise for me to tell you that a mutiny takes place and young Turnstile together with 18 crew members are set adrift in the Pacific ocean. Every page of John Boyne's extraordinary novel bristles with the taste and feel of what it was like to sail the high seas at the end of the 18th century. The crew faces the constant battering of inclement weather, the fear of pillaging pirates, and the threat of Scurvy, the disease of discovery,  which ravaged both body and mind, and was caused by chronic vitamin C deficiency, brought on by lack of fresh fruit and vegetables. In the second part of the book when the mutiny takes places our survivors, under the remarkable leadership of Bligh, cling to life on a minuscule diet in the hope that they can replenish and refuel at the numerous Polynesian islands in the vicinity of Tahiti. This in turn leads to further turmoil when hostile inhabitants seem content on killing our brave sailors and cannibalizing their remains.

 

From the opening paragraph to the very satisfactory, poignant and just conclusion once again John Boyne has proved himself a master storyteller. Every page of his fictional account (but based on the known facts) sparkles with energy and a vibrancy that is so often missing in writing today. It is not only a boys own adventure but a beautiful coming of age story as John Turnstile uses opportunity offered to turn himself from a worthless street urchin into a man of some standing. Readers and admirers of Boyne will be delighted at this change in direction, if the art of a storyteller  can be measured in his ability to create a narrative and compose a picture out of any situation then surely John Boyne has no equal. Wonderful colourful writing by one of my favourite authors and oh so highly recommended.

 

 

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text 2018-09-25 11:43
Reading progress update: I've read 61%.
Mutiny on the Bounty - John Boyne

great colourful writing from John Boyne shows that a good storyteller can lend his hand to any genre..

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review 2014-06-18 15:10
"Mutiny on the Bounty", by John Boyne
Mutiny on the Bounty - John Boyne

I love how Mr. Boyne takes a well-known event gives it a new spin and revives it into a most riveting iconic story of the sea, a sure sign of a very talented story-teller.

In a few words this is what happened to the ill-fated ship: After a long voyage on the high seas and a short stay on a sexy Polynesian paradise, the screw revolted, a mutiny led by Fletcher Christian erupted, the breadfruit-laden Bounty was seized shortly after leaving Otaheite (Tahiti) in April 1789, and the captain, William Bligh, with his followers were set adrift in a boat to fight for their lives. Miraculously the captain led his small screw back to England to a hero’s welcome and the hunt for the mutineers began and those found were rounded up and tried in London.

In this novel, the real –life John Smith, Captain Bligh’s steward, was replaced by John Jacob Turnstile, a fourteen year old street urchin who was given the choice of a year in the goal or taken service aboard the Bounty. Through John Jacob’s (Turnip) eyes we travel from the streets of Port Portmouth to a myriad of adventures. His character is a brilliant creation with a charming sharp sense of humour and the most delightful egotistical narrator.

This book is captivating, it is expertly written to describe with heart the sailing and those aboard the Bounty and with skill guides us during the 48 days the 23 foot launch held the starving men till they reached Timor. It also deals with the sexual frustration of sailors at sea, the root of their mutiny after enjoying the delights of the native women and forced to return to the ship and leave them behind. Mr. Boyne style flows smoothly and allows for the most vivid, fresh images to filter into our mind. Although I have a strong sense that historical record may have been modified to make this story the most enjoyable of fiction. 

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review 2014-01-31 18:58
Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny On The Bounty - John Boyne

This book tells the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. Before I read this book, I hadn't really heard about it. But that made it more thrilling for me, as I didn't know how it was going to end and all.

 

Boyne has a very pleasant way of telling stories, I really like it. Even though I'm usually not that into boats and sailing, I did enjoy this book.

I also really liked the fact that at the beginning there is a reference to another book by John Boyne; The Thief of Time

 

Note: I read a Dutch translation of this book.

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review 2013-08-20 00:00
Mutiny on the Bounty - John Boyne Earlier this year I read [b:Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before|94529|Blue Latitudes Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before|Tony Horwitz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1316136524s/94529.jpg|3963317] which I really liked and this book is basically the same voyage with the captain of the Bounty being one of the men on Captain Cook's ship. There are so many references to Captain Cook, his voyage and his death that this seems like a regurgitation of his story. They basically traveled the same path, visited the same islands, had the exact same adventures on said islands, etc. There really wasn't anything new this time around.

Other than the mutiny itself, there isn't anything to separate this book from Blue Latitudes. Though I must say that this book was not as exciting as that one. It has a real slow start (almost halfway before they end up on Tahiti and things start to happen) so not much action except for the dealings between Mr. Fryer, Mr. Christian and Mr. Heywood which start early on - a mutiny in the making from three jealous sailors.
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