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A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck
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18/99
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About This Book
**A Guardian, Observer & Waterstones Nonfiction Book of 2024** What begins as an eccentric English love story turns into one of the most dramatic adventures ever recorded... Maurice and Maralyn couldn't be more different. He is as cautious and awkward as she is charismatic and forceful. It seems an unlikely romance, but it works. Bored of 1970s suburban life, Maralyn has an sell the house, build a boat, leave England -- and its oil crisis, industrial strikes and inflation -- forever. It is hard work, turning dreams into reality, but finally they set sail for New Zealand. Then, halfway there, their beloved boat is struck by a whale and the pair are cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. On their tiny raft, their love is put to the test. When Maurice begins to withdraw into himself, it falls upon Maralyn to keep them both alive. Filled with danger, spirit, and tenderness, this is a book about human connection and the human condition; about how we survive -- not just at sea, but in life.
Reviews
"The result is a compelling book about a shipwreck, but also as thoughtful a tale about marriage, for better and worse, as you are likely to read."
"Few nonfiction books get a reader's adrenaline pumping quite like Sophie Elmhirst's A Marriage at Sea ..."
"A nimbly told story that should serve as a caution—but oddly, too, as inspiration—to would-be escapists."
"A fascinating narrative ..."
"The grisly details of survival are narrated by Elmhirst with vivid immediacy, and her handling of the lead-up and the aftermath are equally fascinating."
"A clear-eyed, insightful anatomy of a marriage."
"The first third of the book is action-packed ..."
"Elmhirst has created something remarkable of her own: a piece of lyrical narrative nonfiction ..."
"Elmhirst's book sails along briskly, enhancing a drama in which Maurice and Maralyn boosted each other's morale as their bodies declined ..."
"Elmhirst finds rich source material in Maralyn's diaries ..."
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