Customer Reviews (1)

Time Lifes Series of 22 books. Wrutten in the late 1970's
To get the best description I can offer of this outstanding series. of 22 indivdual books?Please read my summary of "The Achient Marieners" just one of the many outsanding books in the 22 book set.

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Product Description
This digital document is an article from Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, published by Bibliographical Society of Canada on March 22, 1996. The length of the article is 2511 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ecrits sur le Canada: memoires, journal, lettres.
Publication: Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1996
Publisher: Bibliographical Society of Canada
Volume: 34Issue: 1Page: 67-72

Article Type: Book Review

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Product Description

In this elegant, beautifully crafted novel of adventure, longing, and the corruption of paradise, internationally acclaimed critic and author Peter Brooks turns for the first time to the realm of historical fiction. World Elsewhere tells of the sea change of a young eighteenth-century French nobleman who embarks on a high-seas voyage that will alter dramatically his notions of humanity and civilization.

Based on actual historical events and contemporary diaries, the novel takes us from a Paris of gilded royalty, casual decadence, and love affairs on an odyssey to exotic lands and foreign cultures, leading eventually to the South Pacific. At the novel's center is Prince Charles of Nassau-Siegen, a young captain in the French army. His name gives him entry to the best houses in Paris, but he is without a fortune and given to romantic entanglements. To flee financial embarrassment and an impending romantic scandal, Charles joins the frigate Boudeuse, under the command of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, as it sets out on a voyage around the world -- headed first to the tip of South America and then into the open and uncharted waters of the South Pacific.

During his months at sea, Charles straggles with severe weather, a shipload of increasingly restive men, and his first challenging encounters with "primitive" peoples. But then the discovery of Tahiti brings both radical change and new challenges. Charles and his companions believe that they have stumbled upon a true earthly paradise: an island fringed with magnificent beaches, lush with exotic vegetation, inhabited by people who appear both physically and spiritually beautiful and who have put erotic love at the heart of existence.

But after an idyllic beginning to their stay on the island, the French explorers begin to sense that Tahiti may have a darker side: There are signs of bloody combat with other islands and hints of ritual human sacrifice. And after three native men are killed during a quarrel with some undisciplined French soldiers, the remaining Tahitians vanish into the mountains, leaving Charles and his shipmates fearful that the seemingly gentle islanders have now become their deadly enemies and that an attack is imminent. The sudden and frightening change in their situation brings new responsibilities for Charles as he struggles to reconcile his duties as a Frenchman and a soldier with his growing love for Ité, a young Tahitian woman. Though he becomes aware of how little he can ever hope truly to understand Tahiti, Charles begins to look for a way to stay behind when the French ships continue their voyage. Yet despite his love for Ité, he begins to see that his very presence may bring corruption to this paradise.

World Elsewhere is an enchanting fusion of adventure and romance. In the tradition of Shakespeare's The Tempest and Conrad's Heart of Darkness, it poignantly explores the complex issues of European colonialism, the blurring lines between civilization and savagery, and the bewitching power of idyllic love.Amazon.com Review
In his first novel, noted literary critic and Yale professorPeter Brooks forges torrid, bare-breasted fiction out of dryhistorical fact. Based on actual contemporary accounts, WorldElsewhere follows an impoverished French aristocrat as he voyagesto the South Seas as a member of the expedition that first discoversTahiti. Fleeing a life of civilized debauchery as well as romanticscandal and financial ruin, Prince Charles of Nassau-Siegen seeks fameand honor aboard the vessel Boudeuse. What he finds instead isa kind of earthly paradise where food falls from the trees, propertyis meaningless, and beautiful, golden-skinned women offer themselvesas freely as the air.

The Tahitians' native grace and spiritual ease calls into question allCharles's assumptions about culture, even as he develops a rapportwith a lovely island maiden named Ité. Naturally, there'strouble in paradise: Charles and his shipmates find evidence ofwarfare, even human sacrifice, and a scuffle with the explorers leavesthree natives dead. As the Boudeuse prepares to sail, Charlesmust decide whether to remain with his beloved Ité or return tothe land of history, property, and time.

As one might expect from a writer with Brooks's critical pedigree, thephilosophical issues at stake are never far from the surface. Hisship's officers, for instance, have a dismaying tendency to talk inchunks of lit-crit exposition: "'Jean-Jacques [Rousseau] isn't writingencomiums to the state of nature. It's the first, uncorrupted societythat interests him,' replied Commerson." Such passages aside, Brooksspins a colorful yarn that's more than mere theoreticalwindow-dressing. Prince Charles may be living out the quintessentialmale fantasy, English-professor-style, but he is a flesh-and-bloodhero whose foibles convince. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Is it just me?....
...or were other readers put off by the self-congratulatory, faux-humble erotic obsessions of the narrator?Did anyone else have trouble imaginingthat this viewpoint was other than an extension of the author'sfantasies...all the more icky since he's, like, 4 or 5 times the age of thefrolicing tahitian playmates in the book.I don't think I'm a prude andenjoy the racy scene as much as the next reader, but I thought this wasspookily voyeuristic, occasionally pedophiliac (is that a word?)

This isone of several books I read before a trip to Tahiti and there were aspectsI enjoyed.Bougainville's explorations seem to have been representedpretty faithfully, and gave me a wonderful historic foundation for our owntrip.The details were striking enough to stay in my mind even through allthe Mai-Tais - and I was certainly ready to forgive errors offirst-novel-itis (clumsy backstory opening, occasionally heavy narrativeetc.)

But I never did manage to get rid of the ick factor.

As a person who is half tahitian, I liked this book a lot.
This book shows the many misconceptions the European "discoverers" of Tahiti had-- althought the book may romanticize Tahiti a bit, I like it because it shows how little the European's realyunderstood it: this total incomprehension is the novel's theme, as Charles,the hero, must come to terms with the fact that he doesn't know much. Butthe author is sympathetic to his young heroes dawning awareness of his ownlimits, and the Tahitians are very realistically portrayed. Bravo--romantic and a fun read.

A sophisticated story of longing and loss
Fine novel. At worst, occasionally a little slow; I'm frankly baffled by the extreme negativity of a few of these reviews. It's an act of great courage for a literary critic to try his hand at a work of fiction: mostwho do so are pilloried. Peter Brooks deserved applause both for trying (weall dream of wirting novels, but most of us don't have the guts or thetalent) and for succeeding. Sure, this novel has flaws-- what first noveldoesn't? It isn't as good a novel as his works of criticism are, ascriticism-- but it's pretty damn good. I found it hard to put down once theTahiti bit began. Ritual murder, war, and romance are hard to beat ifyou're looking for summer reading. This novel is perhaps too ambitious:sometimes I thought Brooks should have either written a philosophical novelOR a straightforward adventure story, and at moments the dialogue wassomewaht flat. But on the whole, I thorougly recommend this!

moving and entertaining
I actually learned from this book: thought-provoking beyond the norm. And the last line almost made me cry. A poignant, thoughtful look at the collision between worlds: the hero's youthful naivete is touching.

great! adventure, romance, and philosophy
I loved this book: Peter Brooks is a fluent writer and the plot keeps the reader's interest throughout. The hero, Charles, is winningly naive; the narrative irony gentle (occasionally too gentle). Brooks' literarycriticism made me expect an excellent novel, and I was not disappointed.Bravo, and I look forward to more fiction from Brooks. ... Read more