We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“We don't sail because the sea is there. We sail because there's a harbour. We don't start by heading for distant shores. We seek protection first.”- We, the Drowned, Carsten Jensen 

It is an epic drama of adventure, courage, ruthlessness and passion by one of Scandinavia’s most acclaimed storytellers.

In 1848 a motley crew of Danish sailors sets sail from the small island town of Marstal to fight the Germans. Not all of them return – and those who do will never be the same. Among them is the daredevil Laurids Madsen, who promptly escapes again into the anonymity of the high seas.

As soon as he is old enough, his son Albert sets off in search of his missing father on a voyage that will take him to the furthest reaches of the globe and into the clutches of the most nefarious company. Bearing a mysterious shrunken head, and plagued by premonitions of bloodshed, he returns to a town increasingly run by women – among them a widow intent on liberating all men from the tyranny of the sea.

From the barren rocks of Newfoundland to the lush plantations of Samoa, from the roughest bars in Tasmania, to the frozen coasts of northern Russia, We, The Drowned spans four generations, two world wars and a hundred years. Carsten Jensen conjures a wise, humorous, thrilling story of fathers and sons, of the women they love and leave behind, and of the sea’s murderous promise. This is a novel destined to take its place among the greatest seafaring literature. 

it's always ourselves we find in the sea

No, that quote isn't from We, the Drowned. It's from ee cummings, but it fits anyway. This time of the year, my thoughts turn towards the sea. I'm from New England, a place with deep connections to the sea, and especially the whaling industry. And every summer, my family goes to New Jersey, where my mother's side is from. My longing for the ocean has been my main reason for picking up We, the Drowned, despite a page count numbering in the high 600s. 

Marstal, Denmark, has more in common with the New England towns I've visited in my childhood than the New Jersey of my summers. New Jersey's beachside is more Edwardian, with its boardwalks and vendors hawking salt water taffy and brightly colored stately Victorians. New England seaside towns are more subdued, old fishing towns with whitewashed houses and small centers. Even the name Marstal makes me think of Mystic or Gloucester or even Newport. The point is, I was ready to love this book before I even picked it up.

The cover and the title and everything are just beautiful, by the way. On the surface, this book is about the residents of a small seaside town from the later half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th. Looking closer, it is about love and family and loss and heartache. Strip away all that, and you will find nothing more than a love letter to the sea, from a man who understands that its call is hard to escape, even if it the hardships it brings are innumerable. 

The writing was easy, pleasant, oscillating between the rare first person plural and regular third person. I loved the use of first person plural. I've seen some uses where it's clunky or unsuccessful, but in this case it fit perfectly. It makes sense with the title (which I love so much it's my second favorite title of all time, right after The Tsar of Love and Techno). The narrators are the drowned. I could only imagine how fantastic this book is in its native language, since I presume some beauty must have been lost in translation, as is the case for all translated books. This book was entertaining. When I first opened it, I was apprehensive- am I really going to like this probably super-slow 675 page book? With small font to boot? While it wasn't the fastest book I've ever read, the pace was really nice and it was written in such an entertaining way. I only took four days to get through this book, as opposed to the two weeks it might have taken me to read books of similar length, even if I am a speed reader. It was pretty funny, too, in a subtle kind of way.

There was a definite tone shift between the first two and the second two parts though. I think I preferred the first two parts, with all the fun seafaring action and adventure. When I read those parts, I felt like I was at sea, and I adored it. However, once Albert went back to shore and Klara was introduced, the book started to get slow and drag along. It pulled me out of the nice seaside vibe I got from the book, and I didn't much like Klara. I know she was supposed to give us a woman's perspective on the sea as opposed to a man's- the man sees the sea as an adventure, the woman sees it as a graveyard- but I still didn't like how, once she got money, she set out to destroy the town's economy. She had the best intentions, but still. I couldn't imagine what Albert would think about his money being used to tear the town apart like that. 

But then we return to the sea with Klara's son Knud Erik and I loved it all over again. I loved how Knud Erik became a sailor and how his mother didn't want him to but he became one anyway because he couldn't resist the ocean and yes, the life was miserable and gruesome, but that didn't send him home. He kept at it because he couldn't resist what the sea had to offer him. Some of the most poignant parts of this book were told in letters his mother wrote him, my favorite being the second one, which almost brought tears to my eyes. 

The ending is absolute perfection. Oh my God, this book was so worth the read. If you don't care so much about a discernible plot but are just as in love with the sea as I am, this book is so highly recommended. I feel like I didn't do it justice with this review, and for that I apologize to Carsten Jensen. I wonder how much is true and how much isn't?

8.5-9 out of 10