#dead wake

Recently Read: Dead Wake by Erik Larson

Up next, the March pick for On The Page bookclub. Our theme was History, and it could be real or fictional. I suggested Dead Wake, and it was picked!

Dead Wake - Erik Larson

In brief: The Lusitania was one of the greatest ocean liners and hosted the whole range of society—and her sinking during the First World War was a horrific tragedy. Here is the who, why, and how, of how that happened.

Thoughts: Another very solid history from Larson. Everything I expected was here—beautiful rendered scenes and characters, perspectives from everyone from passengers to reporters to U-Boat captains to cryptanalysts to Woodrow Wilson, humour, compassion, hints at the horrors to come—and all that was satisfying and enlightening and educational. I have a greater appreciation for the era now, and I learned more about WWI than I’d thought I would. I love how Larson connects people and events to give a sense of the period, what else was happening, and how people lived. It’s a large part of why I like his books so much.

However, I realized while reading that a large part of what hooked me into Larson’s other books was that I didn’t know what would happen. They focused on unique or at least largely unknown events, which let the suspense build for me. When were they going to catch Holmes? Was the ambassador going to crack under the strain? In Dead Wake, though, we know the ship’s going down, which made it a bit less of a page-turner for me even though it heightened the tragedy. So, so much could have been lessened, or even prevented, and yet….

Larson's a good writer. He does what he can to keep that suspense going and to heighten the impact of the sinking when it happens. Still, I wasn’t as caught up and, because I wasn’t, I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as his others. Maybe a half-point less? Three-quarters? I still liked it, though. It still delivered. I’m by no means turned off his books. I still recommend it.

Warnings: Expect near-death experiences, drowned bodies, and somewhat grizzly moments towards the end.