Pincher Martin
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Product Description
Product Description
Drowning in the freezing North Atlantic, Christopher Hadley Martin, temporary lieutenant, happens upon a grotesque rock, an island that appears only on weather charts. To drink there is a pool of rain water; to eat there are weeds and sea-anemones. Through the long hours with only himself to talk to, Martin must try to assemble the truth of his fate, piece by terrible piece.
From the author of Lord of the Flies, Pincher Martin is a terrifying and unforgettable journey into one man's mind.
About the Author
William Golding was born in Cornwall in 1911 and was educated at Marlborough Grammar School and at Brasenose College, Oxford. Before he became a schoolmaster he was an actor, a lecturer, a small-boat sailor and a musician. A now rare volume, Poems, appeared in 1934. In 1940 he joined the Royal Navy and saw action against battleships, and also took part in the pursuit of the Bismarck. He finished the war as a Lieutenant in command of a rocket ship, which was off the French coast for the D-Day invasion, and later at the island of Welcheren. After the war he returned to Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury and was there when his first novel, Lord of the Flies, was published in 1954. He gave up teaching in 1961. Lord of the Flies was filmed by Peter Brook in 1963. Golding listed his hobbies as music, chess, sailing, archaeology and classical Greek (which he taught himself). Many of these subjects appear in his essay collections The Hot Gates and A Moving Target. He won the Booker Prize for his novel Rites of Passage in 1980, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. He was knighted in 1988. He died at his home in the summer of 1993. The Double Tongue, a novel left in draft at his death, was published in June 1995.
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First Sentence
He was struggling in every direction, he was the centre of the writhing and kicking knot of his own body. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
He was struggling in every direction, he was the centre of the writhing and kicking knot of his own body. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Golding does not shy away from the fact that his title character Christopher Martin is a louse.
Of the thousands of sailors stranded in Mid-Atlantic during World War 2 he was the one that deserved to be there.
He might even have wriggled out of conscription into the navy had any of the influential members of his circle chosen to speak up for him. The truth is that Martin had been such a pig in civilian life that most were heartily sick of him and were more than willing to wave him on his way.
All save perhaps his one true friend Nathaniel. The kind of man who would see the good in anyone, Nathaniel offers Martin warmth and friendship but is repaid by coldness and distain.
In a gesture of loyalty worthy of Beau Geste, Nathaniel also enlists in the navy and Golding contrives to have them serve aboard the same ship.
Alas this act of kindness effectively seals the ship's doom. Nathaniel has also won the heart of the girl Martin himself can only repulse. Martin's coldness for Nathaniel turns into the same kind of loathing that the rest of the world reserves for Martin.
It was Martin's watch on top that fateful day. Instead of paying attention to his watch, Martin's attention is fixed on Nathaniel. Martin has noticed Nathaniel has a habit of learning over a certain rail and he weighs up how he can cause the ship to manoeuvre to wash him overboard.
As a direct result of Martin's dereliction the Destroyer veers from its zigzag course just enough for a U boat to slam a torpedo into its side. The effect is devastating and the Destroyer sinks almost immediately taking all hands with it; although the force of the explosion casts Martin into the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
For the rest of the crew the struggle is over. For Martin it is just beginning. This Ancient Mariner, minus the Albatross and seemingly without a conscience for what he has done, immediately focuses on how he is going to get out of there.
The survival instinct kicks in as Martin struggles out of his heavy sea-boots. Aided by the buoyancy of his life jacket, Martin eventually finds himself at a remote rock island outcrop. Some believe this to be Rockall, somewhat North West of Scotland and Ireland, but I have not seen proof at that.
Struggling out of the water's reach, Martin finds sanctuary on the rock. The bulk of the book thereafter focuses on his life on the rock, initially relating his attempts to secure food, fresh water and basic shelter.
Inevitably after a period of isolation with little immediate prospect of rescue, the episode starts to have a detrimental effect on Martin's state of mind. The weather closes in for the worse and with little to do but stare out to sea and reflect upon his life, Martin's mood becomes as dark as the blackness in the sky.
Struggling to hold on to reality, as Martin's world becomes increasingly surreal and even begins to disintegrate, the reader is left wondering if Martin has lost it completely.
The final chapter is a revelation and the final sentence packs the punch of the torpedo. If the book leaves you scratching your head initially, it is meant to. Retracing your steps and perhaps even careful re-reading and the penny starts to drop.
One of the most skilfully written books I have read, this is one of the treasures of 20th century English Literature.
Unfortunately a less favourable review has leaked the ending. If you really don't want to know look away now.
Of the thousands of sailors stranded in Mid-Atlantic during World War 2 he was the one that deserved to be there.
He might even have wriggled out of conscription into the navy had any of the influential members of his circle chosen to speak up for him. The truth is that Martin had been such a pig in civilian life that most were heartily sick of him and were more than willing to wave him on his way.
All save perhaps his one true friend Nathaniel. The kind of man who would see the good in anyone, Nathaniel offers Martin warmth and friendship but is repaid by coldness and distain.
In a gesture of loyalty worthy of Beau Geste, Nathaniel also enlists in the navy and Golding contrives to have them serve aboard the same ship.
Alas this act of kindness effectively seals the ship's doom. Nathaniel has also won the heart of the girl Martin himself can only repulse. Martin's coldness for Nathaniel turns into the same kind of loathing that the rest of the world reserves for Martin.
It was Martin's watch on top that fateful day. Instead of paying attention to his watch, Martin's attention is fixed on Nathaniel. Martin has noticed Nathaniel has a habit of learning over a certain rail and he weighs up how he can cause the ship to manoeuvre to wash him overboard.
As a direct result of Martin's dereliction the Destroyer veers from its zigzag course just enough for a U boat to slam a torpedo into its side. The effect is devastating and the Destroyer sinks almost immediately taking all hands with it; although the force of the explosion casts Martin into the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
For the rest of the crew the struggle is over. For Martin it is just beginning. This Ancient Mariner, minus the Albatross and seemingly without a conscience for what he has done, immediately focuses on how he is going to get out of there.
The survival instinct kicks in as Martin struggles out of his heavy sea-boots. Aided by the buoyancy of his life jacket, Martin eventually finds himself at a remote rock island outcrop. Some believe this to be Rockall, somewhat North West of Scotland and Ireland, but I have not seen proof at that.
Struggling out of the water's reach, Martin finds sanctuary on the rock. The bulk of the book thereafter focuses on his life on the rock, initially relating his attempts to secure food, fresh water and basic shelter.
Inevitably after a period of isolation with little immediate prospect of rescue, the episode starts to have a detrimental effect on Martin's state of mind. The weather closes in for the worse and with little to do but stare out to sea and reflect upon his life, Martin's mood becomes as dark as the blackness in the sky.
Struggling to hold on to reality, as Martin's world becomes increasingly surreal and even begins to disintegrate, the reader is left wondering if Martin has lost it completely.
The final chapter is a revelation and the final sentence packs the punch of the torpedo. If the book leaves you scratching your head initially, it is meant to. Retracing your steps and perhaps even careful re-reading and the penny starts to drop.
One of the most skilfully written books I have read, this is one of the treasures of 20th century English Literature.
Unfortunately a less favourable review has leaked the ending. If you really don't want to know look away now.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This novel is another one of those William Golding ones that needs full concentration - no radio, no TV, no people chattering in the background. It can be quite hard going to begin with, but persevere: the ending is the best one you will have read in a long time.
Ostensibly, it's the story of a man who is shipwrecked - the descriptions of drowning at the beginning will curl your hair. He is then washed up on a rock in the middle of the ocean, where he has to keep himself alive by eating sea anemones and catching rainwater in his souwester.
During the course of his time on the rock, he suffers sunburn, sunstroke and food poisoning, but it's the things in his mind that threaten him the most. And we gradually learn things about him that make us wonder whether we really want him to survive or not.
And then we get to the end... Wonderful!
Ostensibly, it's the story of a man who is shipwrecked - the descriptions of drowning at the beginning will curl your hair. He is then washed up on a rock in the middle of the ocean, where he has to keep himself alive by eating sea anemones and catching rainwater in his souwester.
During the course of his time on the rock, he suffers sunburn, sunstroke and food poisoning, but it's the things in his mind that threaten him the most. And we gradually learn things about him that make us wonder whether we really want him to survive or not.
And then we get to the end... Wonderful!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
SAFE READING - NO SPOILERS
If readers are looking for summaries, notes and synopsis, please look elsewhere.
Golding seemed to have cornered the examination syllabi at one time, GCSE "Lord of the Flies" and A-Level, "Pincher Martin". It is a fascinating book which challenges some expectations of the novel, perhaps one of the reasons it was listed for the advanced level. It is a classical example of one of Golding's favourite narrative techniques, i.e. to isolate his characters allowing only their actions to affect their lives directly.
Golding at his best is excellent and this is one of his best.
If readers are looking for summaries, notes and synopsis, please look elsewhere.
Golding seemed to have cornered the examination syllabi at one time, GCSE "Lord of the Flies" and A-Level, "Pincher Martin". It is a fascinating book which challenges some expectations of the novel, perhaps one of the reasons it was listed for the advanced level. It is a classical example of one of Golding's favourite narrative techniques, i.e. to isolate his characters allowing only their actions to affect their lives directly.
Golding at his best is excellent and this is one of his best.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Impenetrable ***SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW***
Well this just wasn't for me. I have never read any other William Golding novels and I freely admit that I write this review in complete ignorance of him both as a person and a... Read more
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This was Golding's third published novel, coming after the publication of Lord of the Flies. The reading public were well prepared for another survival story, which Pincher Martin... Read more
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