Posted by Jonathan Labaree on May 09, 2002 at 14:23:52 from 207.5.198.231 user JLabaree.
Some weeks ago, after seeing it mentioned in WoodenBoat, I asked Tarboard if anyone had read Steven Duff’s recent book, Raiders of the Lost Barque. Billed as “an adventure story for young boaters” and as having drawn inspiration from Arthur Ransome, it takes place in Perry Sound on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay (Canada). No one on Tarboard had read it, but a couple of people expressed interest. I had to order it through Amazon.com (my local bookstore couldn’t get it). The book finally arrived and finally made it to the top of my reading list. I thought I would pass on my reactions.
The story spans the summers of 1995 and 1996 and follows the adventures of two families of children who are occasionally by a pair of twins from another family. The book begins as the children’s world is falling apart due to dramatic changes in their summer utopia of islands, water, boats, and friends. Over the course of the two years, normal summer activities of sailing, cruises, and picnics weave into their efforts to thwart the new menace in their midst -- the corrupt businessman who builds ugly houses, drives loud boats, and generally disrespects their traditional quiet way of life.
Mr. Duff creates some wonderful characters (an opera singer-neighbor who swims among the islands everyday belting out his sweet tenor, the children’s warm and adventurous Norwegian grandfather), relates exciting adventures (a midnight cutting-out expedition, a rescue at sea in a raising gale), and captures well many of the nuances of children enjoying their family’s summer camp (recounting annual traditions, visiting favorite haunts, learning to run the boats, the long and agonizing winter at school). Having been brought up in the wooden boat religion, I appreciated the principle characters’ devotion to traditional craft and the central role the boats play in the story, where they are really characters in themselves -- rightfully so.
Mr. Duff has chosen to write the book in the first person from the perspective of one of the children. It is an interesting idea, and the style probably captures the attention of teenagers because the language reflects the way kids speak. As a retired high school music teacher, Mr. Duff certainly knows how teenagers use the language. But this approach leaves little room for describing people, places, or events in any way other than how a teenager would see it. Indeed, Mr. Duff has some wonderful passages and images, but those segments don’t sound like a teenager talking. For example: “When you open a cottage door for the first time each season, there is always a chill, as if winter left something of itself behind, and a thick and somehow expectant silence.” That’s a perfect description of what it’s like to return to a summer house after a winter’s absence.
I have a few other quibbles, but I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others, particularly “young boaters.” Reading it also made me appreciate Arthur Ransome’s accomplishment in creating such rich characters, lush landscapes, exciting adventures, and engaging prose. He is a tough act to follow, and Mr. Duff is brave and honest in recognizing AR as his literary mentor.