The Night Ship

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I think it might have been a case of "it's not you, it's me".... because it is an engaging story and it's well written. I seem to be in a bit of that dreaded reading slump and finding it almost impossible to concentrate. I think I've just read too many novels in a row and I need some nonfiction.

The characters were incredibly written, especially Mayken, a child aboard the Batavia. The tale is told alternating between 1629 and 1989, but this is the part that baffles me. Maybe I didn’t quite understand the book properly, but I don’t understand how the fate of the children involved in the two different timelines were connected. Gil (the child in 1989) had an interest in the Batavia when he saw the divers, but he was living a completely different storyline, and that wasn’t his focus. But again, maybe that’s me just not quite gripping this storyline entirely.

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There are many books around at the moment featuring children as narrators and protagonists. But Kidd has created such delightful characters – both very different but also similar in key ways – that it is a joy to spend time with them. And what Kidd does well in The Night Ship is to give a child’s view of the world that also provides insight into the interactions of the adults around them in a way that allows the reader to understand what is going on. While there is a large body of both true and fictional works centred around the Batavia, The Night Ship provides new insights into both that benighted voyage and the isolated islands on which the survivors found themselves. The Dutch trading ship Batavia ran aground and sank near a small coral island off the coast of north-western Australia en route to its namesake port in 1629. The small group of islands was practically devoid of food and water, and human nature being what it is, the survivors descended into a tribal, murderous bacchanal before help could arrive. Plenty of books have been written about the Batavia and the events following its grounding. There has not been as much written about the modern history of the Abrolhos Islands, but Emily Brugman’s recent debut The Islands provides an insight into to the lives of the families who established the crayfishing industry there. In The Night Ship Jess Kidd connects these two stories across hundreds of years.

Because Imke looks as if she might cry and Mayken loves her, she reaches out her hand and strokes the tops of the old woman’s missing fingers.Loss is central to both Mayken and Gil’s experience; for starters, each child has lost their mother. Discuss some of their major (and minor) losses throughout the novel and how these may have shaped them as characters. A: I hope that readers will feel that I’ve brought the story alive and created an immersive world for them. This is what I love to get from a book when I read. I’m also hoping that they will go on to discover the Batavia’s incredible story for themselves, as there are so many fascinating resources out there. Mayken hangs over the side of the bunk to see Imke’s reaction but the old woman is asleep. Pelgrom extracts his hand from Imke’s and wipes it on the blanket. He glances up at Mayken. “What?” The Batavia heads out to meet the stormy Noord Zee with her cargo of wealth and wharf rats and souls. Pelgrom rummages in the corner of the dim cabin. The cabin is shared by five clerks and it’s half the size of Mayken’s. The clerks are presently busy in the Great Cabin, writing lists for the undermerchant.

I was intrigued to read that Jess Kidd had turned her hand to writing historical fiction with a story based on an actual event. I wondered if she would still be able to introduce her usual magic when writing about hard facts. Of course she does and does it beautifully too. Gil’s new life, like Mayken’s is one without many - if any - friends. Those they turn to tend to be adults who either try to make them see how it is ‘their fault’ - they are too different, too unusual, and not acceptable to be a friend, where others try to encourage them to not listen to ‘those’ people who would try to make them change. Each child has parental figures who step in at different times in their journeys (for example, Imke, Holdfast, Dutch and Silvia). How would you describe these stand-in parents? In what ways were these adults important for Mayken and Gil? The frustration of the wait builds to the excitement of the leaving, now that her final treasure has been loaded. Twelve coin chests of considerable weight and ridiculous worth have been rowed to the ship under guard, hoisted under guard, lugged by six men apiece into the Great Cabin in the stern, and set down with a guard to watch over them at all hours. Memorable moments and scenes. The hunt for Bullebak/Bunyip, The Raggedy Tree, The swimming contest, and all things Enkidu. Mayken’s relationship s were so very touching. Imke with her gift of prophecy and the game she played with Mayken guessing how Imke lost her fingers. My favorite character was Holdfast, his interactions with Mayken, and the tales he told.

Pelgrom is to thank for the distraction of the listening hole. Him and his borrowed carpenter’s tool. Pelgrom the shipworm. Yes, the two protagonists in the story, Mayken and Gil, are connected despite being three centuries apart. Sometimes Gil imagines he hears the voice of the dead Dutch girl in the wind. He knows such things as ghosts don't exist. Not if their bones are treated with respect!

The narrative alternates between Mayken and Gil with chapters switching between the two. This structure works particularly well, especially towards the ending as both characters are facing life threatening dilemmas. Kidd shortens the chapters, which gives the impression of speed and ratchets up the tension, as both characters approach a climactic ending. Jess Kidd evokes both being aboard the Batavia and life among the seasonal fishing community on Beacon Island through all five senses. What descriptions made these settings come alive for you? Were there any parts of Kidd’s sea voyage that felt familiar, or some that felt new? THE AUTHOR: Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. A: I was searching for a story and a friend came to me and said, “You have to write about the Batavia.” I had never heard of the ship, but as soon as I started researching, I was hooked. I was both daunted and reassured to find that there hadn’t been a great deal of fiction written about the Batavia. I had previously written historical novels, but this would be the first time I would take real people and their lives for the basis of a story.I was particularly interested in reading this because I recently read The Islands by Australian author Emily Brugman, a historical fiction novel about the Finnish immigrants who came to the Abrolhos to fish for crayfish, so I was aware of this area already.