⇒ [PDF] Wrack A Novel James Bradley 9780805064476 Books

Wrack A Novel James Bradley 9780805064476 Books

Download As PDF : Wrack A Novel James Bradley 9780805064476 Books

Wrack A Novel James Bradley 9780805064476 Books

"Wrack. A Novel" by James Bradley.
Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1998.

A novel set in Australia, about two love stories that take place fifty years apart, brought together by the common theme of the search for the Portuguese ship, the first European vessel to discover Australia.

In the late 1930s, just before World War II erupted, Kurt and Veronica became involved. Veronica Marshall was upper class, and Kurt Seligman a poor student. Kurt worries about the condition of his poor clothes, his inability to pay the lunch tab, etc., but Veronica ignores all of that. They become lovers. But then, Veronica marries Fraser McDonald. Not only has Kurt lost Veronica, his lover, but, of all things, she has become the wife of his thesis advisor! Heaven help us.

The second love story is between David and Claire and set in the 1990s. David is a widower and Claire, a medical doctor, has just moved back after a failed affair. In some sense, then, both individuals are on the "rebound". Fortunately, Claire, as a doctor, is available to keep the old man, Kurt, medicated and alive as David attempts to pry the secret from him of the Portuguese ship.

And the ship is the central unifying theme of this book. Sixty plus years ago, Fraser McDonald and Kurt Seligman were looking for the wreck of the Portuguese mahogany ship that was rumored to have sailed around the continent of Australia. In the 1990s, David is looking for the same vessel. Kurt is dying and Claire assists David by keeping the old man, Kurt, both alive and lucid.

The story jumps back and forth between Kurt/Veronica and David/Claire, with side explanations of the Portuguese exploration of Africa, India and the Orient. Did a Portuguese vessel actually make the journey from Goa, India, down to the then unknown continent of Australia? Was the Portuguese red mahogany wreck buried in the beach sands and did Kurt know the location? While developing both love stories, the author also finds it necessary to develop the history of map making, and to give a synopsis of Portuguese exploration contemporary with Columbus and other explorers of Spain. The brief history of Portuguese exploration by James Bradley in this novel is better than most text books, where Spanish exploration dominates the pages. (A recent example of this emphasis on Spanish exploration is: "The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus" by David Abulafia.)

So, in this novel you get two love stories, an introduction to maps, a synopsis of the history of Portuguese exploration, the Australians in Singapore as the Japanese advance down the peninsula, and it all begins with the discovery of a mummified body in the beach sands. Read the book to find out if the Portuguese wreck is found.


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Wrack A Novel James Bradley 9780805064476 Books Reviews

WRACK is heart breaking story of love and obsession. Mixing a search for proof that the Portuguese were the first to reach Australia with a murder mystery and a love story may not seem to be a natural fit, but Bradley makes it all work. Reminiscent of [ASIN0679745203 The English Patient]] in the way time is used and with its dying storyteller, WRACK remains true to itself as its tale of obsession plays out in a desolate shack where a desperate archaeologist and his former lover try to piece together the story of a cancer ridden man, who may have the answer to where the ship is located but who definitely has his own agenda. WRACK remains intriguing to its bitter end.[
You'll learn more about early Australian history, and the history of map making, than you'd ever imagine. But don't let that keep you from a very interesting story that combines history, academic politics, and (oh but the way) murder.
Who really discovered the continent? and when did it happen?
More interestingly, what happens when an academic disagrees with the prevailing thought about that, and says so, and thinks he can prove it? As it turns out, there are two different people, about fifty years apart, who come up with the same 'alternative explanation.'
All it takes to complete the story is the discovery of a body of too recent vintage during an archeological dig, the delay caused by the police, and an old bum living in a shack in the area who may or ma not have the answer to both mysteries.
If you like history, or if you like mysteries, you'll like this book.
This was the first novel by James Bradley I have read, and I was disappointed in it -- but I will read another.
I picked up "Wrack" because of the idea of mapmaking. I anticipated a riveting novel and the unraveling of a puzzle, along the lines of Sobel's Longitude [yes, I realize it is not a novel]. The plot was predictable, and the ultimate denouement was an anticlimax.
That said, I think Bradley is a gifted writer. Two quotes "Although he ... believes in the coded and ordered knowledge of science, the structured discourse of academic debate, he feels the pull of other places, other times." And "We know so little. And it's only when we come to try and understand why something might have happened that we realize how poor and cheap our tools of understanding are. Forensics, memories, the law; but in the end they're all just matches we're striking in the darkness." Bradley is able to do what few contemporary writers even attempt he expresses, and expresses well, our unuttered fears and limitations. A writer with that talent deserves a second reading.
This book was a surprise to me...I thought it was merely a mystery from all the reviews I had read, and even from the cover of the book itself. Yet the mystery turned out not to be as compelling as the historical story and the story of dual obsessions. The intelligent narration of the story within a story proved to be confusing sometimes, yet overall the writing was spectacular. This young author has a definite way with words and descriptions of the possible discovery of Australia by the Portuguese proved to be one of the most compelling historical fiction I have read in years. The research and incorporation of the cartographic science involved, and also the tale of scientific obsession which leads to jealousy, bitterness, and rivalry is all too credible. I personally am not crazy about the use of objectional language, especially if it serves no purpose to move the story along (which I felt was the case here). However, Bradley's impressive language use and insights into the links between the past, present, and future made for an exquisite book.
This book is a definite must for readers who enjoy mysteries with plausible historical context and for those who enjoy writers who are masterful practitioners of the English language. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh
"Wrack. A Novel" by James Bradley.
Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1998.

A novel set in Australia, about two love stories that take place fifty years apart, brought together by the common theme of the search for the Portuguese ship, the first European vessel to discover Australia.

In the late 1930s, just before World War II erupted, Kurt and Veronica became involved. Veronica Marshall was upper class, and Kurt Seligman a poor student. Kurt worries about the condition of his poor clothes, his inability to pay the lunch tab, etc., but Veronica ignores all of that. They become lovers. But then, Veronica marries Fraser McDonald. Not only has Kurt lost Veronica, his lover, but, of all things, she has become the wife of his thesis advisor! Heaven help us.

The second love story is between David and Claire and set in the 1990s. David is a widower and Claire, a medical doctor, has just moved back after a failed affair. In some sense, then, both individuals are on the "rebound". Fortunately, Claire, as a doctor, is available to keep the old man, Kurt, medicated and alive as David attempts to pry the secret from him of the Portuguese ship.

And the ship is the central unifying theme of this book. Sixty plus years ago, Fraser McDonald and Kurt Seligman were looking for the wreck of the Portuguese mahogany ship that was rumored to have sailed around the continent of Australia. In the 1990s, David is looking for the same vessel. Kurt is dying and Claire assists David by keeping the old man, Kurt, both alive and lucid.

The story jumps back and forth between Kurt/Veronica and David/Claire, with side explanations of the Portuguese exploration of Africa, India and the Orient. Did a Portuguese vessel actually make the journey from Goa, India, down to the then unknown continent of Australia? Was the Portuguese red mahogany wreck buried in the beach sands and did Kurt know the location? While developing both love stories, the author also finds it necessary to develop the history of map making, and to give a synopsis of Portuguese exploration contemporary with Columbus and other explorers of Spain. The brief history of Portuguese exploration by James Bradley in this novel is better than most text books, where Spanish exploration dominates the pages. (A recent example of this emphasis on Spanish exploration is "The Discovery of Mankind Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus" by David Abulafia.)

So, in this novel you get two love stories, an introduction to maps, a synopsis of the history of Portuguese exploration, the Australians in Singapore as the Japanese advance down the peninsula, and it all begins with the discovery of a mummified body in the beach sands. Read the book to find out if the Portuguese wreck is found.