Book Review: The Wager, by David Grann

I’ve been picking up more non-fiction lately in my TBR furnishing. Perhaps it comes from the desire to balance out the reading material—fantasy and horror and young adult novels set in liminal worlds can leave me seeking the grounding nature of a history book or the contemporary voice of an autobiography. Maybe more non-fiction is getting good marketing, or tackling more topics that catch the interests of fiction readers.

Really, though, I think I know why it’s happening. I want to be transported. I’ve read some narrative non-fiction, and I want more. Portals into other places, windows into other people’s thoughts, and the resurrection of other times command every ounce of my attention. There is nothing better than the feeling of a book you can’t put down, especially if it’s your vehicle to another reality.

A couple of years ago I read Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. I had recently joined Book of the Month upon my sister’s recommendation, and the title caught my eye. That month I delved into the history of the Osage people of Oklahoma and the brutal treatment they received in the early 20th century. The topic, the time period, the location were all things I knew nothing about, but I was riveted by Grann’s ability to bring you into the world of his book. I’ve thought about KOTFM often ever since, frequently recommending it, and I look forward to seeing the film coming out later this year. (A digression: Book of the Month, to my mind, doesn’t offer enough non-fiction, because when they do it’s incredible narrative works like this, or absorbing memoirs, or thought provoking social studies, and then you’re left waiting months until the next non-fiction feature.) As soon as I saw that Grann had a new book coming out—The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder—I knew I would have to get it.

Well. This one's going straight to the Favorites shelf.

Grann is a master of non-fiction storytelling. Even though The Wager reads like a novel and will appeal to general audiences for its pacing and detail, the examination of naval society and scrutiny of imperialism will also appeal to more specialized or academic readers. The telling of what these men did in a survival situation is unflinching and stays true to the contemporary accounts--allowing the reader to mull over the moral implications from their own modern perspective--yet still captures the real, documented, emotional toil of life on the sea and the trauma of shipwreck.

A++, will read again.

I finished The Wager in one weekend. It’s one of the rare books where I did not want to reach the end because it was that pleasing to read. I might have to do a round-up later of my favorite narrative non-fiction. To some people’s taste, it will favor true crime as subject matter—again, I don’t know whether it’s the people who are drawn to writing true crime, or if it’s some connection between my brain and the subject matter, but I find many to be perfect examples of transporting, all-consuming readability. The Wager is about a crime but also about 18th century British society, pre-Nelson navy, a survival story, toxic relationships between people, and far-remote territories; a lot of subjects that interest me. I went into this book knowing I was going to like it—I came out absolutely in love with it.