Book Review: Williwaw

At the age of 19, I was finally taking the actual in-car driving test for my license just before my sophomore year of college. When Gore Vidal was nineteen, he served as a first mate of a U.S. Army freight ship in the Aleutian Islands and writing his first novel, Williwaw.

The novel tells of an Army vessel transporting a few officers across the Arctic Sea. With snow and cold winds howling along the passage and flaring tensions between crewmen who've been in close quarters far too long, the ship attempts to make the Big Harbor of the Aleutians in a few days time. Until a strong Arctic with -- a williwaw in the native language -- swoops down from the mountains, relentlessly pounding the ship, its crew and passengers to the breaking point.

A great story filled with vividly drawn, tense characters, pointing out the distinctions of those military men constantly in the thick of action compared to those sitting behind desks deciding which base to close or what troops to send where. It also proves to be very satisfying for those of us who enjoy a good man vs. nature story. But Vidal takes the tale one step further, adding a crewman's death under mysterious circumstances at one point during the storm, that moves the story into the realm of human nature. How much can a person endure before cracking - both physically because of the relentless wind and mentally because of a mutual dislike of one another? How does the crew handle the death and the aftermath?

Not exactly what I would expect from the mind of a 19 year old

Williwaw is a surprising debut novel from one of the masters of fiction. HIghly recommended.