Williwaw: A Novel - Softcover

Vidal, Gore

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226855856 ISBN 13: 9780226855851

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2003

Synopsis

A gripping tale of men struggling against nature and themselves, Williwaw was Gore Vidal's first novel, written at nineteen when he was first mate of the U.S. Army freight supply ship stationed in the Aleutian Islands. Here he writes of a ship caught plying the lethal, frigid Arctic waters during storm season. Tensions run high among the edgy crew and uneasy passengers even before the cruel wind that gives the book its title suddenly sweeps down from the mountains. Vividly drawn characters and a compelling murder plot combine to make Williwaw a classic war novel.

About this title

About the Author

Gore Vidal was born in 1925 and raised in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, Vidal enlisted in the army and served in the Aleutian Islands. Among Vidal's other works of fiction areBurr, Myra Breckenridge, and Lincoln. He won the National Book Award in 1993 for his essay collectionUnited States. For Broadway, he wrote the prize-winning play The Best Man (1960, revived 2000).

Review

Vidal's episodic structure rachets up the tension; his prose is sparse and elemental. There are calms, too, as incantory as a shipping forecast in this brief, unforgettable voyage. * GUARDIAN * He had spent the two years in the Aleutian Islands crewing on US Army freight-supplying ships, an experience he distilled into a novel in nascent possession of the wit, elegantly uncluttered writing and keen intellect that have come to characterise his long career. * THE TIMES *

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0226855856
• ISBN 13: 9780226855851
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 222