The Birthday Boys
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
A brilliantly realized evocation of the thoughts and voices of Captain Scott and the four men with him, who suffered extraordinary hardships before finally dying during their 1912 attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole. 'A whole lost era of fantastic courage, determination, idealism, curiosity, boyish foolishness and class mores is brought brilliantly and touchingly back by Bainbridge's penetrating psychological acumen and her superb scene and action painting...A masterly achievement, not to be missed by anyone who cherishes a strong, meaningful story beautifully told' Publishers Weekly The Birthday Boys is one of Beryl Bainbridge's most acclaimed novels, telling the story of Scott's doomed expedition through the voices of five men on the voyage. As Scott, Petty Officer Taff Evans, ship's doctor Dr Edward Wilson, Lieutenant Henry Bowers and Captain Lawrence Oates step forward for their place in the narrative, the reader is gripped by the the characters themselves alongside the vividly evoked period.
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The style of this book was interesting, told from the perspective of five different members of Robert Scott's South Pole team. But there was not enough development in any of the perspectives to make me really care about the characters or the expedition. The descriptions of the atmosphere were vivid and horrifying. But I knew the team was doomed from the start, and there was nothing in the book to compel me to continue reading other than my own insistence on pushing through. There also wasn't enough context as to what was happening. The story jumped right in, and I had no clue what was happening of why. The best part was the end, and I'm impressed with Bainbridge's ability to imagine and believably depict the last stages of despair and madness in the crew.
