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| First Written | 1969 |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Origin | UK |
| Publisher | Norton |
| My Copy | cheap paperback |
| First Read | April 17, 2022 |
Master and Commander
I went into this only knowing that Aubrey & Maturin were the pair who will have a lot of adventures together in later books, and a vaaaague memory of the Russel Crowe movie existing. But I was really surprised that Jack Aubrey, the titular commander who must spark enough fandom to take up a dozen more books, was such a ... doofus?
Noted on April 28, 2022
The first of the beloved series. I was kind of into it? Lukewarm, really. The faux 18th-century language felt pretty forced for a while, but I did like ALL the nautical battle stuff. That's great, surprisingly.
Noted on April 28, 2022
I have never yet known a man admit that he was either rich or asleep: perhaps the poor man and the wakeful man have some great moral advantage.
Quoted on April 28, 2022
It is a great while since I felt the grind of bone under my saw,' he added, smiling with anticipation.
Quoted on April 28, 2022
Merriment, roaring high spirits before this: then some chance concatenation, of some hidden predilection (or rather inherent bias) working through, and the man is in the road he cannot leave but must go on, making it deeper and deeper (a groove, or channel), until he is lost in his mere character - persona - no longer human, but an accretion of qualities belonging to this character. James Dillon was a delightful being. Now he is closing in. It is odd - will I say heart-breaking? - how cheerfulness goes: gaiety of mind, natural free-springing joy. Authority is its great enemy - the assumption of authority. I know few men over fifty that seem to me entirely human; virtually none who has long exercised authority.
Quoted on April 26, 2022