Chris Nicholson's Writing Weblog
November 22, 2004 • Monday
This weekend I finished reading the book Selkirk's Island, by London writer Diana Souhami. The book chronicles the story of Alexander Selkirk, the Scottish ocean navigator who was marooned on an island off the coast of Chile from 1704 to 1709. Selkirk's tale of survival was the basis of Daniel Defoe's classic literary figure Robinson Crusoe.
Selkirk's Island was published in 2001. I bought a copy of the book soon thereafter, but just got around to reading it this month. (I do that often — buy a book because I know I'll want to read it in the future.) I found Souhami's story-telling strategy somewhat quizzical. I read the paperback version of the book, of which the story consumes 222 pages. The main character isn't even mentioned until page 48; he's marooned on page 85; he's rescued on page 133. His time on the island, the crux of interest in his life story, accounts for less than 50 pages of text, less than 25 percent of the book.
Brevity of crisis aside, Selkirk's Island is a thorough report on the life of a man whose ordeal arguably helped shape modern fiction. The book is an intriguing read, especially for those interested in history, 18th-century seafaring life, or classic literature.
On another note, the newest class of Rhodes Scholars has been announced. I'm not on the list.
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