Simple Courage
by Frank Delaney
Published by Random House
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Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart
In all fairness, I only read the first 100 pages (of the 320-page sea tale) of Frank Delaney's new book, Simple Courage. (It was sent by publisher Random House as a special excerpt booklet.)
Delaney dug the story out from marine archives. In 1951, the freighter named Flying Enterprise, gets caught between two rogue, solid waves of water, each towering more than 60 feet. It's a The Perfect Storm scenario. As the ship cracks, begins to list, and appears doomed to sink, Captain Kurt Carlsen must somehow get his 10 passengers and his crew safely off. Unlike the Titanic, the Flying Enterprise's SOS calls were heeded by at least a half-dozen other ships.
The weather conditions prevent Carlsen from using the ship's lifeboats and the passengers and crew are forced to jump into the water to be rescued by the waiting ships. Everyone gets off but Carlsen who vows to stay with ship no matter the outcome.
It's all over by page 100. I don't know how the rest of the story turns out, but back copy suggests that it's the story of Carlsen and his efforts.
I didn't like the first 100 pages of Simple Courage; it took me almost two weeks to plow through it. There was no sense of urgency, no immediacy. The story got lost in the minutia of the cargo load, wind gust levels and whatnot. There's nothing compelling about the story.
Armchair Interviews says: This book is simply laid out in a here's-what-happened style that may not entertain you.