In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

I have never read Moby Dick, and to enjoy Nathaniel’s Philbrick account of the fate of the Essex whaleship and its crew you don’t really need to.

In the Heart of the Sea is a fact-brimming narrative of the fascinating and gruesome true story which eventually inspired Herman Melville to pen his entry in to the literary canon.

Harpoons on display at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford

At the time, the news of Captain Pollard and his crew’s fate shocked whaling ports and the story quickly became one of the most notorious maritime legends of history.

In the comfort of my own home, surrounded by the festive treats Christmas had to offer, I found Philbrick’s rendition both harrowing and incredible. In fact, I did feel a little guilty devouring pages which eventually revealed the crew’s gradual starvation in between my bouts of assorted chocolates, mincepies, turkey and whateverIcouldstuffinmygob binges, but in my defence the book is really really good.

In 238 pages Nathaniel Philbrick manages to pack in a thoroughly researched history, not only what happened to the Essex but of the character of the crew, the extreme perils of their work, the community they grew up in and the legacy they left behind.

Philbrick begins with an in-depth chapter on Nantucket, the home port of the doomed whaleship. This small island off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was the centre of the whale-oil industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Those with sway in this tight-knit Quaker community were descended from the whalers-dynasty. Philbrick litters the passages with interesting and funny facts about the nature of these townspeople. For instance the young Nantucket women formed secret clubs, scheming marriage alliances with whaling men they would not see for years on end.

When a whaling ship set sail on its voyage it was an occasion for the whole settlement. Omens, folklore and superstitions often foreshadowed the outcome of the expedition for many. The departure was a moment of pride for the Nantucket families and a display of sailing prowess. When the town waved goodbye to the Essex in August, 1819, little did they know they were saying goodbye for the last time.

Even if you do not particularly enjoy non-fiction I can guarantee you will find this particular seafaring yarn captivating and you may even remember some interesting whaling facts for next Christmas.

Slade House by David Mitchell

To quote one character in David Mitchell’s latest offering, “Tonight feels like a board game co-designed by M.C. Escher on a bender and Stephen King in a fever”.*

Slade House, the published result of Twitter serialisation, is the tale of evening which occurs every nine years; a guest is invited to Slade House, for what purpose they are unsure.

I haven’t read Bone Clocks, so any relation this book has to the plot went over my head. However, as a contained short story, published on the approach to Halloween, Slade House is both a satisfying chilling and hilarious read. Plus, it served as a nice break from the 800 page whoopers I have been tasking myself with this year.

The mystery of the house I will leave unspoiled. What I will say is that there were parts which filled me with a slight unease. What I’ve always enjoyed in horror, is not what is finally revealed to be behind the door but the slow intake of breath the character makes before turning the door handle. Mitchell delivers expertly in this regard. He also delivers an eclectic group of voices with such fantastic clarity it makes me wonder if he has several personalities rattling around in his brain. He probably does.

The book starts with the grammar, worries and funny observations of a young English boy. Statements containing juvenile classics such as “poo” and “willy” had me unashamedly laughing and then pointing out to others so they could laugh too.

Slade House also has moments of poetry. On page 142 Mitchell makes the “unloved flats of the sixties”, “gasworks” and the “tarmac-grey clouds” hanging over them sound like verse.

With decades of architecture, hairstyles, music and politics to play with, David Mitchell has fun with Slade House and also creates something which may be later serve as an ode to the 21^st century psyche.

*How he can fit such range and imagination in 140 characters is slightly baffling.