BookkooB : The Nutmeg of Consolation - Patrick O'Brian : Compare Book Prices

	title:	The Nutmeg of Consolation
	author:	Patrick O'Brian
	format:	Paperback
	publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
	released:	July 10, 1997
	isbn:	0006499295
	isbn-13:	9780006499299

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Book Details / Review - supplied by Amazon UK
Shipwrecked! When Captain Aubrey and his crew run aground on a remote island, they labour to construct a seaworthy schooner from the wreckage (taking breaks, of course, to play cricket). Their subsequent adventures lead them to the dreaded penal colony at Botany Bay, and then, as always, back to sea.

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Customer Reviews
An agreeable history lesson - Rated The Nutmeg of Consolation is a welcome return to form by O'Brian after 'The Thirteen Gun salute' which I still consider to be the weakest instalment of the entire Aubrey/Maturin series. The latter part of this latest book especially, set in the infamous penal colony of Botany Bay, is surely an object lesson in writing historical fiction. The reader is delivered a sizeable & shockingly accurate history lesson almost unnoticed, such is the skill, power & emotional intensity of the narrative. Dr Maturin, one of the two principal characters, takes centre stage here. Appalled & saddened by the systematic abuse of both convicts & aboriginees, he allows his somewhat irascible nature to get the better of him with, at least for the reader, thrilling & satisfying results. He also comes to the aid of an old shipmate in as moving & poignant an episode as I've ever read. But, as usual, there are lighter moments to the story & the whole thing adds up to one of O'brian's very best of this series & one of my favourites. Quite convincing - Rated The richness and complexity of this tome of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series is well brought out by this unabridged reading from Graham Roberts. On the whole, he succeeds in the difficult task of - literally - giving all the characters a plausible and distinctive voice. My reservation lies with Stephen Maturin's voice: it seems to me both overly Irish for a man of such cosmopolitan antecedents and unecessarily squeaky for a man of such gravitas. I think that Robert Hardy's readings - available, unfortunately only as abridged versions - are more successful in creating the Stephen Maturin that Patrick O'Brian intended. Having said that, this unabridged version is a most enjoyable reading.

Customer Reviews

An agreeable history lesson - Rated 5/5
The Nutmeg of Consolation is a welcome return to form by O'Brian after 'The Thirteen Gun salute' which I still consider to be the weakest instalment of the entire Aubrey/Maturin series. The latter part of this latest book especially, set in the infamous penal colony of Botany Bay, is surely an object lesson in writing historical fiction. The reader is delivered a sizeable & shockingly accurate history lesson almost unnoticed, such is the skill, power & emotional intensity of the narrative. Dr Maturin, one of the two principal characters, takes centre stage here. Appalled & saddened by the systematic abuse of both convicts & aboriginees, he allows his somewhat irascible nature to get the better of him with, at least for the reader, thrilling & satisfying results. He also comes to the aid of an old shipmate in as moving & poignant an episode as I've ever read. But, as usual, there are lighter moments to the story & the whole thing adds up to one of O'brian's very best of this series & one of my favourites.

Quite convincing - Rated 3/5
The richness and complexity of this tome of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series is well brought out by this unabridged reading from Graham Roberts. On the whole, he succeeds in the difficult task of - literally - giving all the characters a plausible and distinctive voice. My reservation lies with Stephen Maturin's voice: it seems to me both overly Irish for a man of such cosmopolitan antecedents and unecessarily squeaky for a man of such gravitas. I think that Robert Hardy's readings - available, unfortunately only as abridged versions - are more successful in creating the Stephen Maturin that Patrick O'Brian intended. Having said that, this unabridged version is a most enjoyable reading.