Although this novel concerns a true historic incident, about a ship named Batavia that was shipwrecked, after listening to one third of the book, the foul language, forced attempt at eroticism and attempt to be “woke” in a time when “woke” did not exist, was a bit hard to take. I was forced to stop after spending far too many hours trying to appreciate the story.
First of all, one part takes place in 1628 and concerns a young girl, Mayken, traveling with her nursemaid to her father’s home, in a place with the same name as the boat, Batavia, after her mother’s death. She dresses as a boy and curses like one, in order to pass as a male to get into certain parts of the boat and participate and witness certain activities. The other part takes place in 1989 and concerns a young boy, Gil, on his way to Batavia in search of Mayken’s ghost who is supposedly still wandering there. His mother has recently died, as well. He is traveling with his grandfather. He dresses up as a girl, and likes make-up. Both main characters are 9-year-olds who like tall tales which are graphic and often brutal in nature. Both are traveling on the water. Both children have sad backgrounds.
The story is imaginative, and has been lauded in the publishing world, however, the crude language, exploitation of sex in the dialogue and lack of character of the protagonists, turned off this reader. I could not finish it. I do not know what is happening to literature, but it seems to be disappearing in an attempt to indoctrinate the reader with current politically correct messages that consist of dysfunctional behavior and guilt-ridden themes. It seems to be failing at that for many of us who prefer well written, carefully thought out plots and interesting, likeable characters who are not trying to shock us, but rather to entertain or educate us with meaningful information.