There is a long time that I suggested you had more title under "Reading". Technical news are not so much for a few weeks, I take this opportunity to introduce you a great novel discovered thanks to the wise advice of an old friend living in Concarneau. I thank him here warmly.
Through the story of the young Basile Houareau, forcibly embarked at 14 years aboard La Diane, Royal frigate armed with 36 Guns, the author portrays life aboard a warship in the campaign from Iroise Sea to Caribbean. We are in 1781, and the war against the English, along the coasts of America, rages.
In this adventure, Conducted in a hectic manner, a mystery connects the young Basil, native of Audierne, to the intrepid Commander Louis Rouget, Chevalier de Selcy, who took command of La Diane in circumstances not all in his honor.
Basile will discover the terrible life of a boy in a crew of tough guys, The horror of the fighting, but also love, and thus pass over the months of childhood to a man's life.
It is a long time since I have read a book written in such perfect French, describing in a meticulous and terribly realistic way the daily life of these sailors embarked for the war, while keeping the reader on the edge of their seats, from the first page to the last, until the final revelation of the mystery of La Diane.
A moment of jubilant reading, informative and entertaining.
All the more surprising as this is Nicolas Grondin's first novel, autodidact, bookseller, editor, and now a talented storyteller. Published by The New Authors – Prisma Press, 2010.
[November update 2012] A sequel has been published, subtitled "From the West Indies to the Mascarenes", fin 2012.
Thank you very much for this review that makes me blush.
Just a detail, It's not exactly my first novel, I have already been rampant at the Black River, but it is indeed my first "maritime" novel, A passion that comes from childhood.
Thanks again.