Carsten Jensen's debut novel has taken the world by storm. Already hailed in Europe as an instant classic, We, the Drowned is the story of the port town of Marstal, whose inhabitants have sailed the world's oceans aboard freight ships for centuries. Spanning over a hundred years, from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War, and from the barren rocks of Newfoundland to the lush plantations of Samoa, from the roughest bars in Tasmania, to the frozen coasts of northern Russia, We, the Drowned spins a magnificent tale of love, war, and adventure, a tale of the men who go to sea and the women they leave behind.

Ships are wrecked at sea and blown up during wars, they are places of terror and violence, yet they continue to lure each generation of Marstal men - fathers and sons - away. Strong, resilient, women raise families alone and sometimes take history into their own hands. There are cannibals here, shrunken heads, prophetic dreams, forbidden passions, cowards, heroes, devastating tragedies, and miraculous survivals; everything that a town like Marstal has actually experienced, and that makes We, the Drowned an unforgettable novel, destined to take its place among the greatest seafaring literature.

I read this novel about 2 years ago and it turned out to be in the top ten that year. So now I got this second copy to send as a belated Happy Birhtday to a very generous and warm bookcrosser.

Cheers and champagne toasts from snowy Stockholm. A little late, I know, but it took this book some time to arrive.

I wish you all the best and I hope that you enjoy this one!

Thank you so much for this book, Vilda! Reminds me of Dan Sleigh's Islands, David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet or Matthew Kneale's English Passengers, so I bet I'll enjoy it. It might take a while till I get round to read it, but definitely looking forward to it!

This is an amazing epic novel, it’s much more than just a book about the town of Marstal on the Danish island of Ærø, and its inhabitants. Protagonists are changing – mostly it’s about the fascinating characters Laurids Madsen and his son Albert Madsen, Klara Friis and her son Knud Erik Friis. There are reflections about history, about war, seafaring life, about men & women, all interwoven with a handful of Marstallers. But above all it’s a tale about humanity. And red distress signals… – told in the voice of the enigmatic „we“ – as in the title. Highly recommendable!
Reserved for Xana.

Given personally to Xana during the Brugge meet-up.
Happy reading!

With me now, a special request. Thanks ApoloniaX!

In the bookshelves inside Coffee & Friends.