Having conquered the English Channel in their narrowboat (Narrow
Dog to Carcassonne<\i>, 2008), the plucky septuagenarian
Terry Darlington, his long-suffering wife Monica and their whippet
Jim sail the southern portion of the Atlantic Intracoastal
Waterway.The author narrates in a tumbling patchwork of memories,
anecdotes, snatches of poetry and minimally punctuated dialogue.
The alien spectacle of their narrowboat - 60 feet long and less
than seven feet wide - drew crowds of onlookers everywhere they
stopped, from the Chesapeake Bay to the charming port of Savannah,
Ga. Accompanying the pair was Jim, the narrow dog of the title, who
valiantly endured what must have been an uncomfortable nine months
- and 1,150 miles - spent aboard the Phyllis May<\i>. Both
dog and owner share a flair for melodrama, and Darlington's
woe-is-me absurdity maintains a reliable comic effect. He is
sarcastic and romantic in equal measure, and sharp enough to draw
humor from every port of call. For the reader, the joys of their
journey are not found in marvels of nature or maritime details -
though there are plenty - but in the pair's irreverent reactions to
their seemingly endless hurdles and triumphs. The actual time the
Darlingtons spent sailing was minimal; most of their adventures
involved being stranded in one seaside town after another, awaiting
boat repairs, medical attention or better weather before chugging
along. Considering the prodigious outpouring of support and
hospitality they encountered on the trip, Darlington can be a bit
harsh on the quirky Southern communities they visited - though his
chief complaint, besides the state of American lager (fair enough),
seemed to be that Jim was not allowed in the bars. One wonders what
watery passage they will be tempted to navigate next.Witty and
disarming. (Kirkus Reviews)
Having survived their voyage to Carcassonne, you might expect
pensioners Terry and Monica Darlington and their whippet, Jim, to
retire to a comfortable corner of their favourite pub. But no, they
looked to the New World for an extraordinary new adventure...
No-one had ever sailed an English narrowboat in the US before, for
reasons that became abundantly clear during the 9-month voyage of
the Phyllis May - including 30-mile sea crossings, blasting heat,
tornadoes, hurricanes and all manner of intimidating wildlife. But
the real danger came from the locals: the Good Ole Boys and Girls
of the Deep South. Colonels, bums, captains, planters, heroes,
drunks, gongoozlers, dancing dicks and beautiful spies - they all
want to meet the Brits on the narrow painted boat and their thin
dog and take them home and party them to death. Beautifully
written, lovingly observed, and very funny, Narrow Dog to Indian
River takes you on a dangerous, surprising and always entertaining
journey as a thousand miles of the little-known South-East Seaboard
unfold at six miles an hour- the golden marshes of the Carolinas,
the incomparable cities of Charleston and Savannah, and the lost
arcadias of Georgia and Florida.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
