The Night Ship is a book of two stories, with alternate chapters focusing on two young characters, separated by 350 years. Despite this difference in historical setting, their lives are similar in many ways. They are both stuck in a place they never wanted to be in with little to offer and no friends to help them pass the time. They are both in a somewhat hostile environment and are left to deal with daily life and whatever it can throw at them, finding things to entertain themselves and learning about the world they are growing up in and their place in it.
We are first introduced to Mayken, an excited and curious young girl in 1628 who has boarded the Batavia, a fine sea vessel of the time, in Holland. She is accompanied by her nursemaid, following the death of her mother, and is about to travel across the world to rejoin her father, with his marble mansion, red and white roses growing around the doorway, chestnut stallions and dapple mares. From her childish viewpoint, he appears to be a dashing, fairytale hero and from the outset, I was worried about how she would cope with the less grandiose reality once she arrived.
Her nursemaid suffering from seasickness, Mayken is left to explore the ship and find her own adventures. It is fascinating to see the other characters on the boat, from the dour preacher and his extensive family to the gruff and aggressive sea captains. Joining ranks with a mischievous cabin boy, she dresses in rags and goes to uncover the secrets of the Below World, filled with swarms of rats, sleeping soldiers, the gruesome ship's doctor and tales of Bullebak, a scary eel-like monster that slithers around the ship, searching out its next victim.
Gil's story, on the other hand, is set in 1989. His mother has also died and he is sent to a tiny fishing island off the Australian coast where his reclusive and irritable grandfather will look after him. Left to his own devices, he gets to know the team of researchers digging up the remains in and around the coral reef that surrounds the island, as well as the few local families. There have been many shipwrecks over the years, including ... the Batavia.
Both Mayken and Gil find themselves as hopeful, young innocents, trying to survive in a hostile world, faced with the worst of human nature. The adults surrounding them should be looking out for them but mainly tend to fail in their duty of care, worrying more about saving themselves than helping out anyone else. What makes the story even more heartbreaking is that the shipwreck of the Batavia is a historical fact. Mayken's tale may not be completely true but many of the characters on board the ship and their actions after the shipwreck are and details are given in the epilogue. Gil is a pure invention but it doesn't make his story any less heart-rending.
star rating : 5/5
RRP : £12.99
- Publisher : Canongate Books; Main edition (11 Aug. 2022)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1838856501
- ISBN-13 : 978-1838856502
Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.
Oh I hadn't realised Jess Kidd had released a new book. I've read all of her other novels. This one sounds a little different but I'll have to read it now.
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