John Fernald

Before the United States entered World War II, it traded fifty all-but-obsolete WWI-era destroyers to the British in exchange for bases in the Caribbean. This slim book is the story of one of them, which goes (in the book) by the name Portchester. It is nominally fiction, and the author insists that the characters are wholly invented, but since the book was published in 1942 and the author served in escort vessels for the North Atlantic convoys, it seems likely that it's more of a fictionalized memoir about his old ship and shipmates.

The idea that it is, at heart, a memoir helps to explain the structure: There's no large-scale arc to the plot, and the few action scenes are staged matter-of-factly. It is a testimony to the fact that many (perhaps most) of those who serve in wartime spend most of their time doing routine things -- dangerous perhaps, necessary certainly, but still routine. Fernald captures that routine, and (by evoking its details and rhythms with precision) makes it fascinating.

Destroyer from America won't make any fan of WWII maritime fiction forget Nicholas Monsarrat's The Cruel Sea, the classic novel of the "small ships" that escorted the convoys (also based on the author's wartime service), but it's a fair match for (though a bit less polished than) Monsarrat's lesser works, like "Heavy Rescue" and "HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbor." It didn't change my life (nor did they) but I'm glad I read it.… (mehr)