Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Titanic: The Long Night by Diane Hoh

Plot: This is a story of two young women from completely different circumstances aboard the famous Titanic on her maiden voyage. Katie is Irish, with flaming red hair contrasting with her sweet temper. Her parents saved money for a long time to get her on this ship to America, where she hopes to become a singer. Elizabeth is traveling with her wealthy and controlling parents, and is determined to spend the entire trip convincing her mother and father that she will not marry the man they chose, and she wishes to go to college in America. Both women fall in love and share that tragic night at sea as the Titanic proves it is not truly "unsinkable".

Comments: I liked the writing in this book, and a few of the main characters. Katie was my favorite, partly because she was one of the third class passengers and therefore more of an underdog, and partly because she was independent and clever. I didn't like Elizabeth as much because she threw tantrums (or at least pouted and sulked) and wasn't very proactive. She tried convincing her parents that she would never marry Alan, a man they picked for her and whom she didn't even like, but when they wouldn't listen, she would immediately pick a fight. Instead of remaining cool and collected, Elizabeth would only prove to her parents that she was yet a spoiled child, unable to care for herself. I understand that she had no money and couldn't think of a way to go to college without her parents' support, but I didn't admire the way she tried to win them over.

I thought Katie was rather slow to pick up on what Paddy was mentioning; Paddy, a ladies' man and heartbreaker, liked Katie, but he thought she belonged to his older brother, Brian. He was continually hinting about it, but Katie just didn't get it (she liked Paddy back). That got a bit annoying after a while.

I was amazed at how much of the book was devoted to the night the Titanic sank. Yes, the title is about that historical night, but it still surprised me. It certainly took a long time for the ship to sink. I was also surprised at how many passengers - especially the first class - didn't believe the ship was sinking or were conveniently blocking the truth out of their minds. Though I suppose it wouldn't have done much good otherwise, since there were nowhere near enough lifeboats. That fact always saddens me; to think that so many people that lost their lives that night could have been saved, if only the Titanic had the correct amount of lifeboats. The builders claimed it was unsinkable, and it was certainly an impressive ship, and apparently no one had the caution to prepare for the worst.

Rating: I rate this book a seven out of ten. It was a good story, nice historical fiction, and I wonder how it compares to the truth, like with the descriptions of the ship, crew, and conditions for the different classes.

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