
THE SURFACING is set largely on board a ship in the 1850s, searching for Franklin`s lost expedition. It`s a challenging & dangerous endeavour in a very male world
- that is until Morgan, the second-in-command of the Impetus, realises there is a pregnant stowaway on board & that he is the father. It is too late to turn back, the ice is closing in, & the child will have to be born into the vast & icy wilderness of the Arctic. The men, especially the ship`s doctor, De Haven, & the second in comm&, Lieutenant Morgan, have doubts about the judgement of their captain, & soon their own vessel becomes trapped in the remote Arctic. THE SURFACING is in places quite literally breathtaking. It is a powerful novel of isolation & impasse, resilience & resistance, exploring the battle between man & an unforgiving environment, & the struggle between the sexes. The power of ambition, what drives human beings to take outrageous physical risks, the nature of courage, & of love
- in an unforgettable setting, often bleak, sometimes beautiful, always conveyed in brilliant, keenly pared prose. And in addition to Kitty & Morgan & the rest of the crew, the ice itself forms an extraordinary character in its own right
- sometimes shifting, sometimes stubborn, mostly treacherous.