Amazon.ca
Genre: Non-fiction, memoir
Pages: 320
ISBN: 978-1939710-857
Format: Hardcover
Publication date: 2018
Publisher: Orange Frazer Press
Type: Non-Fiction, memoir, travel
*I received a free hardcover copy in exchange for an honest review. No compensation has been given and I write this book review willingly. A big thanks to Alexander Watson, author of River Queens!*
Introduction:
I was kindly approached and offered a hardcover copy of River Queens by the author, Alexander Watson. He was lucky this year I discovered a love for memoirs and mostly travel memoirs, otherwise I wouldn't have picked it up. But his story, what of two men sailing the coasts of America in a boat no less, intrigued me.
I can tell you it also didn't disappoint. Reading this book brought me great pleasure as well as smiles and laughter. I hope my review entices you to give this fun ride a try.
Let's sail!
The Blurb:
The river—any river—is another planet, with its own language, rules, and culture. River Queens is a story of the unlikeliest of fellows (and a dog) coming to the river—and what happens to them once they arrive. At first glance, it seems to be a how-to manual for any adventuresome (but perhaps foolhardy) type who’s ever thought of restoring a wooden yacht and sailing it halfway across the country. Second glance, however, shows that it’s a classic travel narrative in which two intrepid (but perhaps foolhardy) explorers head out to tour what is usually called “a distant, alien world.”
To Alexander Watson and his partner, Dale Harris, the river is as exotic as any foreign locale they’d previously traversed. There is danger, of course—unpredictable nature, lurking water hazards, quickly rising human squalls—but the initial difficulty is language: can they become fluent in the argot of harbormasters, helmsmen, navigators, and the various deck hands, skippers, and swabbies?
The Positive Sides:
The most striking point of *River Queens* is how the author's voice flows and it's beautiful. It's charming, and it feels natural, like I'm right beside him and his partner during the purchase of the boat and their adventures. He's honest and raw but not mean. I often found myself thinking similar thoughts as I read his story.
There's something equally important: Watson reflects the people's speech singularities so well you can hear them in your mind and picture them easily! It might be hard to read sometimes due to some people talking really loosely, but it's amazing to see he reproduces these ways of talking so faithfully. I felt as I was meeting them myself. Besides their speeches, Watson puts the people he encounters (good and bad) on the forefront of his adventures, including his partner Dale and himself, too. It was beautiful to read and except for Frances Mayes's memoirs about Italy, I never felt so attached to real people in a book.
Moreover, learning about boats was interesting and informative. The author would tell us about the hull, how to see if there's leakage, water charges and more. Plus, he even included a glossary at the end! Priceless.
Speaking of him and Dale, I really enjoy their conversations, which makes the reading much more amusing (it even made me laugh out loud!) and so much more natural. It also shows how close they are and how well they know each other, which is adorable (and quite funny, too). The care they put into their boat (a wooden one, mind you as it's very important here) and each other. It was lovely.
The intertwined chapters of Alexander and his mother were a good addition. It explains a lot of things about how he thinks and acts. Mostly the "don't let things or events slip you by" mantra she said to him (paraphrased here by yours truly), which is something I stand by.
Something stood out personally: I see myself in him so much! I mean, Watson's got quite the flaming temper, just like I do (though he's got better comebacks, darn!) and it makes him even more charming and lovable to me.
As for their adventures: what a nice ride! All those places, all the small disasters that happened, the great descriptions and encounters they have! All keep you along for the ride. It was great to see America explored from the perspective of two men (and a sweet dog) aboard their own boat. Seriously, I loved it!
Last, I particularly enjoyed the short chapters and the formatting and layout. One chapter is even divided such as "Sightseeing: (what they saw and did)", then it's "Cooking: (how they found and cooked food)", and so on. It's visually interesting and a nice change of pace.
The Negative Sides:
All books have flaws and despite River Queens's great points, I've found a few that could be improved.
For starters, the transitions are slightly brusque, which confused me. I needed to read a few sentences twice. But it's not extremely bad nor is it overflowing with such brusque transitions. It's just annoying when it happens.
What's the biggest bad point? Well, this book is advertised as a travel memoir (I'm not saying it's wrong here), but it took about 50 pages of closing the deal for ownership of the boat and repairing it. Afterwards, it took the same number of pages before they finally set sail (it's at about 107 pages). In my opinion, a third of the book is a bit too long of an introduction to what the blurb seemed to say was a discovery of America's coasts from two men in a saucy boat (with a beautiful dalmatian, too!)
In Conclusion:
What do I take out from this read? Amazing voice, strikingly natural dialogues (it's like hearing your neighbour talking!), and an amusing experience on the whole!
It was always a pleasure to pick up this book and resume reading, falling into Watson and Dale's boat world and meeting these new people. I recommend this book to anyone interested in travel, memoirs, true stories, exploration, and those who just want to have a genuinely good time! I give River Queens: Saucy boat, stout mates, spotted dog, America a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 for how lovely, entertaining and engrossing this book is.
As a note, I will keep this book in my own bookshelf as I will surely reread it down my lifetime. It was worthwhile and I know I'll want to share the author's story again by reading it. Such a great journey and personality!
If you want to learn more about the author, you can visit his Web site, you can also follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest (you can see pictures of his boat, Betty Jane!) Amazon author page and Goodreads. You can visit his publisher, Orange FrazerPress. You can also add River Queens to your bookshelves on Goodreads and LibraryThing.
Ad Librum Aeternam 