Date Finished:  6/23/2007
Pages:  269
Category:  memoir
Rated:  F
Cover:  paperback
From:  arc
Reason for Reading:  desire

Horrible.  Boring.  I felt St. John completely lacked passion in her writing.  It makes me wonder if she is this boring in person.  Don't waste your time.  It started out with an exciting murder, and then the excitement simply disappeared.  Maybe she should focus her writing on other people and not herself.  *yawn*

Book Description
The darker vision and sexual ambiguities of this erotic, ironic tale about a ménage a quatre in a New England university town foreshadow those of The World According to Garp; but this very trim and precise novel is a marked departure from the author's generally robust, boisterous style. Though Mr. Irving's cool eye spares none of his foursome, he writes with genuine compassion for the sexual tests and illusions they perpetrate on each other; but the sexual intrigue between them demonstrates how even the kind can be ungenerous, and even the well-intentioned, destructive.

My take
I was not really all that impressed.  In fact, it was quite boring.  Deals with infidelity (mutual) and the troubles it caused.  It also didn't help that it was riddled with punctuation errors and a several grammatical errors.  I'm glad the library had this one so I didn't shell out money for it.

From the Publisher

In seventeenth century England, a terrible accident forces orphaned Philip Marsham to flee London in fear for his life. Bred to the sea, he signs on with the "Rose of Devon," a dark frigate bound for the quiet shores of Newfoundland.

Philip's bold spirit and knowledge of the sea soon win him his captain's regard. But when the "Rose of Devon" is seized in midocean by a devious group of men plucked from a floating wreck, Philip is forced to accompany these "gentlemen of fortune" on their murderous expeditions. Like it or not, Philip Marsham is now a pirate—with only the hangman awaiting his return to England.

With its bloody battles, brutal buccaneers, and bold, spirited hero, this rousing tale will enthrall young listeners in search of seafaring adventure.