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 enlarge | Author: Patrick O'brian
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Category: Book
Buy Used: $1.02
Used (4) from $1.02
Avg. Customer Rating:  47 reviews
Sales Rank: 1661934
Format: Import
Media: Paperback
Edition: Re-issue
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0007255926
EAN: 9780007255924
ASIN: 0007255926
Publication Date: August 14, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New - Direct From Distributor - Light Shelf Wear - Remainder Mark
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| Customer Reviews:
 O'Brian is one of the great treasures in modern literature January 10, 2007
Give these stories a chance! I credit the recent film "Master & Commander" with making the O'Brian series more accessible. One of the best films I have ever seen, it provided a visual context for me when I read the Aubrey/Maturin books. Though the film departs quite a bit for good reason from "The Far Side of the World", I thoroughly enjoyed the book and O'Brian's style of writing. Especially memorable for me was the unorthodox method O'Brian applied for conclusion of the book. Victory is in the air, and he dispenses with the need to drag the book out unnecessarily. Brilliant and revelatory to me!
 good book--disappointed with edition November 5, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
My husband LOVES this series of books, and has been collecting them. The newer addition (post 1992) had covers like you can see in the online picture, and the neat thing about them is that when you put the bindings of the series together, it forms a picture. Unfortunately, we thought we were ordering the same edition (that's what it says in the information about the book), and we received this book in the old edition, which does not match. Needless to say, my husband was disappointed. But I would definitely recommend the series.
A Fascinating, Fun Read! August 25, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
The Far Side of the World was my first foray into author Patrick O'Brian's epic series of Napoleon-era novels detailing the exploits and adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and I'm happy to say it won't be my last!
The story, set in 1812, is this: Captain Aubrey, also known as `Lucky Jack' for his good fortune on the seas, is assigned to hunt down and destroy, or take as a prize, the American frigate Norfolk, which has been attacking British whaling ships in the Pacific. After assembling his regular crew and selecting some newer members to fill vacancies left by promotions, the HMS Surprise sets out under Aubrey's command. Along the way, he and his faithful companion, Stephen Maturin, an intelligence officer and ship's doctor, face a series of challenges and incidents (a cheating wife, a murder, a vicious storm, an incident with men overboard and, believe it or not, an encounter with a tribe of deadly Amazonian women!) that threaten to end their voyage and their lives.
From the first sentence, it was clear that The Far Side of the World was not going to read like the `cinematic Big Macs' of today's popular fiction (not that there's anything wrong with that!). Immediately dropping us into the action, that opening sentence sets up a whirlwind of events that are already in progress in a prose style that is more reminiscent of actual novels of the 1800s than of today's popular fiction. Moreover, while some things are explained, it is generally taken for granted that we know the ins an outs of life on a ship, the terminology, the past relationships among the crew members and the general history of the time. As much as I felt that, because of all the references, I wasn't quite getting everything out of the book that I could have been, I simply chose to continue onward without worrying and in the end, I feel that that approach (for someone not familiar with the series nor with the sea) worked well and paid off. The events that transpire in and of themselves prove to be so interesting and fun that it didn't bother me at all - the book simply hooked me.
The story is not necessarily as exciting as it is fascinating. Readers who pick up The Far Side of the World expecting it to be like the movie will be disappointed. The film, while very faithful to the characters, some of the incidents, and most importantly the spirit of the book, has a feeling of full speed ahead that builds as the story progresses. The book, on the other hand, is more about one interesting incident simply following another, with not too much linking these events beyond that they happen on the same ship and on the same mission. Once Aubrey and his crew put to sea, some readers might even say that the story begins to cool off as it meanders from incident to incident and toward it's twist of a conclusion.
While in some respects I can agree that the book is paced, shall we say *patiently*, I found O'Brian's realistic, slice-of-naval-life approach far more fascinating and involving than anything that I was expecting after having seen the film version. I was fascinated by the details of the way things worked on the ship, the relationships between the crewmembers and how they reacted to the challenges that they faced. Most of all, though, I was fascinated by the feeling that everything was as it happened in 1812. It was obvious by the rich detail and painstaking research that must have gone into Far Side of the World that the author was absolutely in love with the sea, in love with the time period and in love with the Surprise and her crewmembers. I think that love of the sea translates into a lot of enjoyment for the reader and is what really carries the book so well when the story slows. Those willing to give the book a chance will find it to be in it's own way every bit as exciting and fun as the film.
If I had one issue with the book, however, it would be the transitions between scenes. Perhaps I'm too much a child of today's popular fiction, where things are simply spelled out, but I found the way O'Brian moved between scenes to be slightly confusing. While I'm sure he was aiming for smooth transitions that moved the story along quickly, the best word I can think of to describe O'Brian's transitions would actually be `stealthy' - as in, the reader isn't always quite aware of them until actual characters or events transpire to anchor us in a new scene. There were numerous times when I found myself flipping back several paragraphs or even a page or two because I was unaware that the scene had transitioned to another and was confused as to who was speaking to who and why! While these stealthy transitions sometimes worked well to move the story along and I eventually got used to them, I thought O'Brian might have made them a little clearer for the reader. Or, perhaps I'm just slow and dim-witted.
To those interested in O'Brian's Napoleon-era epic, I wouldn't exactly say don't start with this book... but I have a feeling that, assuming the other books are just as good as this one, it might be better to start with Master and Commander (the first in the series). All around, however, the Far Side of the World was a fascinatingly detailed read that I found to be great fun. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves tales of the sea or adventure in general. I suppose the best compliment I could give is to simply say that, after reading Far Side of the World, I greatly look forward to reading another adventure of Captain Aubrey and his crew!
Captain Aubrey Sails for the South Pacific and Galapagos June 16, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Note for new readers, or those inspired to read by the movie: For those of you who are beginning this amazing series, or are expecting a close re-telling of the movie starring Russell Crowe, please read the next few sentences closely. This book is the 10th in a series that detail the life and adventures of two best friends and their companions in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars (rough timeline 1805-1812). The recent movie contains the titles of two these novels "Master and Commander", the first of the series, and this novel "The Far Side of the World"; this choice for the movie's title is more than symbolic, the director and script writers have actually taken events, conversations, battles and plot lines from the entire series, and has combined them in new and interesting ways. So, if you're fresh from the movie theater or just watched a new DVD and are excited to experience `the book' version, you should not expect a close retelling. I think of the movie as a new adventure with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, and you can think of this book in the same light. And I believe the concept does the story and the characters justice: in Patrick O'Brian's own brief forward he even speculates on this same possibility -although in a purely literary sense- "and it is possible that in the near future the author (if the readers will bear with him) may be led to make use of hypothetical years, rather like those hypothetical moons used in the calculation of Easter: an 1812a as it were or even an 1812b" (page12). Additionally, I will highly recommend that you start your foray into the nautical world of Napoleon's time with the initial novel of the Aubrey/Maturin Series.
"The Far Side of the World" picks up directly where "Treason's Harbour" left off. Jack Aubrey is in the Mediterranean and coming to terms with the disastrous results of his previous mission involving a violent Barbary city-state secretly allied with France: one ship-of-the-line destroyed, the Surprise barely managing to escape- though through elegant and cunning seamanship, Aubrey led an enemy frigate onto a shoal and destroying her. However, despite what may on the surface seem disastrous is in fact not altogether a failure when the balance of naval power in the region is considered, and Aubrey is given a mission that will take him across the globe in pursuit of an enemy American frigate on course to wreck havoc on British Whalers in the Pacific. Here is the first considerable departure from the movie- the enemy is American due to the War of 1812, rather than the more comfortable villain of France (the movie-makers bow to the audience in the USA and us Patriots around the world).
As the story unfolds, Jack and Stephen must contend with a very attractive impotent Gunner's wife and the chaos she unwittingly ferments in the crew; the adultery it leads to and its final horrifying culmination. Jack and Stephen's most trying adventure occurs lost at sea without a ship, and their deadly rescue by a tribe of cannibal man-hating Pacific Islanders- and throughout the journey they must contend with unnatural bad weather. When the American frigate Norfolk is finally in their sights, the culmination of the story will completely surprise viewers of the movie, and satisfy readers intent on setting sail into another adventure. . .
This story is more focused on life at sea, the particular challenges of the capricious ocean, and the psychology that develops between a small group of people held together in amazingly small confines. It does not satisfy my craving for the gunpowder and saber action found in previous and later novels, but it is a critical juncture in the series, beginning Jack and Stephen's next long journey through the far side of the world.
Don't start with this book! May 20, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are interested in reading this book because of the movie don't start with this one. The movie does a pretty good job of capturing a one dimensional snapshot of Steven and Jack but they are far richer people than the movie can portray. Each book has been written in such a way that it can be enjoyed as a stand alone novel but to get the very best out of it you need to start with the first one. I just finished the last book last night and am deeply sorry, in a way, that it was never finished before Patrick passed away. On the other hand it seems almost right that there is no final period to this wonderful saga.
Patrick O'Brian has done a wonderful job of creating a cast of interesting and conceivably real people that have enough depth to keep you interested. They all have their warts as well as their steller performances. The story lines have enough layers and depth to them to keep you interested without overloading you. I can't imagine what it was like to have to wait for the next novel to come out when these were first written.
If you are looking for cannons and thunder on every page you might be a little disapointed at first but the realness of it all will soon draw you in to a period of history that is both beautiful and brutal at the same time. I am actually looking forward to starting this series all over again in the not to distant future and spending a little more time and research on the wealth of information that these books contain. It is a true masterpeice that has and will stand the test of time.
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