UNDOUBTEDLY, there are countless books that tell stories about the ocean throughout the world. The tales can be fictitious, non-fiction, or even memoirs, but what’s most important is that these literary masterpieces not only honour the ocean’s beauty and wonder but also have the ability to captivate our minds and hearts.
Let’s take a look at five books, each of which has the potential to alter your perceptions of the sea and the natural world below.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and the Sea, one of Hemingway’s most memorable works, is indeed a timeless narrative of personal success after suffering a heartbreaking loss. This small work, which earned Hemingway the Nobel Prize in Literature, endures as a masterpiece of ocean literature.
Generations of readers have enjoyed the tale of a down-on-his-luck Cuban fisherman and his supreme ordeal: a relentless, painful battle with a gigantic marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.
Hemingway blends the perennial themes of courage in the face of adversity and personal triumph through suffering into a brilliant masterpiece of the twentieth century. This immensely famous story, which was published for the first time in 1952, contributed significantly to his earning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
Song for the Blue Ocean by Carl Safina
A research expedition to dangerous waters by Carl Safina, a marine scientist, fisherman and also a first-time author who founded the Living Oceans Programme at the Audubon Society, travels far and wide to confirm worries that something has gone terribly wrong in the oceans.
This epic autobiographical narrative depicts the author’s exploration of coastlines, islands, reefs, and the abyssal depths of the ocean. Safina takes readers on a global journey of discovery, digging for the truth about the changing oceans of the world while masterfully blending adventure, science, and political insight.
Deep by James Nestor
James Nestor, a journalist on assignment in Greece, witnessed something that baffled him: a man diving 300 feet below the ocean’s surface on a single breath of air and emerging four minutes later smiling and uninjured.
The man was a freediver, and his aquatic prowess prompted Nestor to investigate this obscure profession. In Deep, Nestor infiltrates a group of extreme athletes and renegades scientists who are redefining not only our understanding of the world and its creatures but also of human bodies’ capabilities and minds.
Along the journey, Nestor takes readers to the Atlantic’s maximum depths, almost 28,000 feet below the surface, and even discovers how whales communicate hundreds of kilometers away, among other interesting topics.
Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
This was a New York Times Notable Book of 2020, a notable recommendation by Entertainment Weekly, one of Good Morning America’s 20 Books We’re Excited About in 2020 and one of Vogue’s Best Books to Read This Winter.
The iconic debut novel Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin shows grief and obsession in the relationship between two sisters who never had a chance to meet each other in person.
The Caribbean island of Saint X is a sanctuary for wealthy vacationers in search of an escape, with its clear waters and verdant mountains. Apparently, a young woman disappeared at one of these resorts, and her sister will forever be connected to what transpired. Saint X examines the burgeoning economy in these so-called Caribbean paradises, as well as the conflict between native islanders and tourists.
A Foolish Voyage by Neil Hawkesford
Based on a true story of adventure aboard a small boat, the tale begins as a young man, disillusioned with his mundane life, purchases an 18-foot yacht, makes it his home, and sets sail in quest of adventure.
He sails alone to Falmouth along the south coast of England, serving as a delivery crew for yachts near a shipwreck on the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death) in Spain.
Onboard blazes in the Atlantic Ocean, he chooses to navigate the Bay of Biscay in his own little boat, and it doesn’t go well.
This book is not just about sailing, but also about life. It focuses on what occurs at the extremes of physical, emotional, and mental capabilities. It is essentially about how a personal tragedy led to a life-altering realization. The realization is that we all possess the endurance and passion necessary for attaining long-term goals.
