The Oceans and the Stars
A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel)
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4.5 • 168 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Mark Helprin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Winter’s Tale and A Soldier of the Great War, presents a fast-paced, beautifully written novel about the majesty of the sea; a life dedicated to duty, honor, and country; and the gift of falling in love.
A Navy captain near the end of a decorated career, Stephen Rensselaer is disciplined, intelligent, and determined to always do what’s right. In defending the development of a new variant of warship, he makes an enemy of the president of the United States, who assigns him to command the doomed line’s only prototype––Athena, Patrol Coastal 15––with the intent to humiliate a man who should have been an admiral.
Rather than resign, Rensselaer takes the new assignment in stride, and while supervising Athena’s fitting out in New Orleans, encounters a brilliant lawyer, Katy Farrar, with whom he falls in last-chance love. Soon thereafter, he is deployed on a mission that subjects his integrity, morality, and skill to the ultimate test, and ensures that Athena will live forever in the annals of the Navy.
As in the Odyssey, Katy is the force that keeps him alive and the beacon that lights the way home through seven battles, mutiny, and court martial. In classic literary form, an enthralling new novel that extolls the virtues of living by the laws of conscience, decency, and sacrifice, The Oceans and the Stars is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Customer Reviews
Extraordinary …
Remarkable , powerful, human …
Another Inspiring Read From Helprin
A little slow at the start, but stick with it. As usual, Helprin manages to create a moving story that is a joy to read both for the evocative language he uses and the big, moral quandaries he often poses in his stories. His love of the details transports you to other worlds without getting bogged down in them. My only slight criticism is his writing of Renssalaer’s love interest, Katy. A little too one-dimensional. I would have loved it if her character was more integral to the story. Otherwise, I’m a huge Helprin fan and this did not disappoint.
A good story
My initial reaction to the first pages and, indeed, section was not a positive one. Overly wrought descriptions of the two characters left me wondering why it hadn’t been edited down to something crisper. Something without run-on semantics as least.
But getting past that led into the meat of a very engaging story. Absolutely worth the read!