Naomi J. WilliamsRezensionen

An epic voyage, undertaken with the grandest of ambitions.

I had no previous knowledge of the Lapérouse expedition before I read this book and I did not read about it on the internet until I just had a couple of pages left of the book to read. Two frigates left Brest in 1785 with two hundred men on board in a brave attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Every chapter in Landfalls is told from a different point of view. Both from the crew, natives, and other Europeans they encountered on their journey.

I had some problem with the story I must admit. Mostly because I had no previous knowledge of the journey and also with the shifting between the characters. So it took a while for me to really get into the story, and some characters left a bigger impression on me than others did. I especially liked the chapters with the captains Lapérouse and de Langle point of view.

One of my favorite part of the book was when they reached Alaska and everything that happened there. It was then I really started to enjoy the book. I think the chapter with the native girl in Alaska, her point of view was just so amazing to read. Just think how it must have been, never seen Europeans before. Amazing.

Also, the last part of the book, the mystery of what happened to the shop was just so fascinating to read about.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants to know more about the Lapérouse expedition or like to read historical fiction.

Thank you Piatkus for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

An epic voyage, undertaken with the grandest of ambitions.

I had no previous knowledge of the Lapérouse expedition before I read this book and I did not read about it on the internet until I just had a couple of pages left of the book to read. Two frigates left Brest in 1785 with two hundred men on board in a brave attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Every chapter in Landfalls is told from a different point of view. Both from the crew, natives, and other Europeans they encountered on their journey.

I had some problem with the story I must admit. Mostly because I had no previous knowledge of the journey and also with the shifting between the characters. So it took a while for me to really get into the story, and some characters left a bigger impression on me than others did. I especially liked the chapters with the captains Lapérouse and de Langle point of view.

One of my favorite part of the book was when they reached Alaska and everything that happened there. It was then I really started to enjoy the book. I think the chapter with the native girl in Alaska, her point of view was just so amazing to read. Just think how it must have been, never seen Europeans before. Amazing.

Also, the last part of the book, the mystery of what happened to the shop was just so fascinating to read about.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants to know more about the Lapérouse expedition or like to read historical fiction.

Thank you Piatkus for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Excellent historical novel. Rating of 4.999995

Landfalls is a novel of serious literary intent and for that I respected it even if everything the author attempted didn't quite work for me.

The author's approach to this story is unique in that she tries to get into the hearts and minds of individuals experiencing extreme circumstances, and to answer: what motivates these men? what are their goals and aspirations and weaknesses as individuals? These are Williams's burning questions--to know these people, not to write a rousing disaster story.

In some ways I was uncomfortable with her choices. Her attention to the small details in the beginning of the novel for instance didn't fascinate me even though I can appreciate how critical the pre-voyage preparations would be for any explorer of these times, since they needed in to anticipate everything that might go wrong, while at the same time having very little information about dangers they will face.

I was also uncomfortable with the semantic choices Williams made for dialogue because at times the choices made people sound like cliche' movie characters, for example:

"It is humble, this house," Sabatero said in heavily accented but comprehensible French..."well, you have been at sea a long time...any house looks good, yes?"

And I wasn't comfortable at all with the Snow Men chapter. Told from a non-European point of view, suddenly the syntax and sentence structure gets very simplified--it had more than a bit of "me-Tonto" feeling for me and I was disappointed that Williams's editor didn't do more to help her avoid this clunker. Even though I believe this chapter was previously published as a short story I found it very troubling here, perhaps because of its stark semantic contrast with the chapters told from European points of view.

It's an ambitious and thoughtful novel, however, and I'm glad to have read it.

Il mare, il viaggio, il tempo

Scelto (lo confesso) per la irresistibile copertina con tanto di fregata e colori alla James Abbott McNeill Whistler, letto qualcosa della biografia dell'autrice, spulciato qua e là fra i capitoli e....oplà!... rapito e portato nel mio covo. Penserete la solita storia di mare.....eeeeh no! Dalla vera missione di mare, quella di ripercorrere il viaggio d’esplorazione del leggendario capitano inglese James Cook, che il governo francese affidò a a Jean-François de Galaup, conte di La Pérouse, si dipanano mille rivoli. E' qui che la formazione della scrittrice fondata sulla scrittura creativa mostra la sua forza e la sua originalità. Parte della spedizione continua via terra, parte atraversa altri mari, le voci si moltiplicano, ora i francesi, ora gli ufficiali, gli uomini di scienza, le guide russe, i nativi delle isole, le missioni religiose, in un affresco culminante nella scomparsa delle due navi e nella parte conclusiva affidata alla ricerca della verità e alle domande e alla sofferenza di chi attendeva un ritorno che non è mai avvenuto. Toccanti molti capitoli dove i diversi punti di vista concorrono a una verità che non esiste, ma è soltanto una sommatoria di quegli sguardi parziali oppure la dimensione temporale di un viaggio, così diversa da quella dei giorni nostri. E poi la vita in mare, le difficoltà del contingente, i legami temporanei e quelli lontani, le idiosincrasie e le responsabilità, i dubbi e i dilemmi, le gerarchie e i poteri in una miscellanea affascinante, visionaria, emozionante e misteriosa. Originale e piacevolmente non classificabile, bisogna ricordarselo che è frutto di un'americana non di origini europee, il che, senza voler essere snob, è un gran complimento.

I first read this book in 2015 and adored it, and I was delighted when my book club selected it to read last month. Rereading it reminded me of what is so fabulous about this book, and I think it might be edging into one of my top ten all time favorite books. (!)

As with all the books I adore, I feel like I can't adequately explain why I loved it so and what about it was so compelling. In this case, it's everything -- the premise, the characters, the narrative style -- and this reread had me once again breathless in awe.

Williams recounts the late 18th century voyage of the Astrolabe and Boussole, two French frigates tasked with further global exploration, scientific inquiry, and cartographic correction. Each chapter follows a different crew member, and details the dramatic and tragic journey of the two ships.

I hesitate to say too much about what happened (don't google before reading) because much of my pleasure derived from learning about the voyage as I read. Williams beautiful articulates each character and every chapter is infused with tragic humanity; we're given hints of the fate to come, and can only watch everything unfold.

Though focused on the French sailors, Williams still includes point of view from the indigenous communities the expedition met as well as women, which I greatly appreciated. While it's obvious she has keen sympathy for the French expedition, she doesn't make light of their hubris and colonialism, nor does she exoticize the indigenous populations the expedition meets (no cafe au lait skin comparisons!).

The narrative style changes depending on the character, but even though we shift points of view, there is still rich emotional resonance in every offering. I teared up more than once -- I actually miss some of these characters! -- and I still feel breathless awe at Williams' skill in evoking emotion, place, and era so efficiently.

I first read this book at the beach in 2015, cracking up my wife and mother because I kept gasping aloud every few pages; later that year, my brother -- who has pretty divergent reading tastes -- called me to recommend this book, having loved it himself. Regardless of whether you're a fan of historical fiction or not, if you enjoy books of very human foible and weakness, hope and aspiration, consider this novel -- I think you'll find it compelling.

I was really attracted to this book. From the beautiful cover to the promising description (“grounded in historical fact . . . refracted through a powerful imagination”), Landfalls appeared to me a definite win. Then it went nowhere for me. That is to say, it was incredibly dry, which is ironic considering that this is a novel at sea, but—a ha!—'tis not a novel at sea at all, but a collection of stories that occur when the sea voyager is docked, a fact that should be obvious by the blatant title but wasn't clear to me until the third chapter or so. That sentence feels like it needs several exclamation points, doesn't it? Okay, let's go back. ...wasn't clear to me until the third chapter or so!(!!)!! Doesn't have the same effect now, does it? Okay, moving on.

So reading Landfalls had its ups and downs. Many of these stories didn't resonate with me. Some really did. But I think the book's greatest flaw is its very concept, that of focusing only on the landfalls of the Lapérouse expedition. Seafaring voyages are made by what happens at sea, not on land. On land, the characters are not stretched in the same way. The reader doesn't really get to know these characters and how they have interacted and grown together. The characters are put at sea together and more than six months pass before their first landing. What happens in all this time? How have these men grown? How have they rallied together? How have they struggled with one another? These are the stories I want. Instead, what we're offered are the men's time cavorting with Spanish dignitaries and locals. Indeed, these moments are important too, but I feel like I'm missing a big chunk of the story. Frankly, for the most part, I had trouble differentiating the characters because I never really got to know them on the voyage. I felt like I was locked away in the hold of the ship, then, upon reaching land, I was released and allowed to follow whatever crewmember I wanted until the ship again disembarked. Then, the process was repeated over and again. By the end, I felt unsure of where I was in the world and who I'd spent all that time with.

As I stated earlier, there are definitely some strong moments in this novel. A few of the stories—particularly those where members of the crew interact with locals of a very different culture—are simply amazing. Throughout the book, the writing is flawless. Indeed, Williams is an exceptionally talented author. As a whole, however, Landfalls didn't keep me interested enough. I was promised magic, but what I was given did not shine.

Prismatic account of the ill-fated scientific voyage of two eighteenth-century French ships. The tale emerges obliquely via a different character's voice in each chapter.

"Instead of an account of desperation, Williams is writing a series of stories about missed connections."
read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.gr/2015/11/landfalls-naomi-j-williams.html½

"Landfalls" has everything a good historical novel should have: basis in an actual event, remote places or cultures, and a narrative suitable for the time. Based on the actual French scientific and exploratory voyage in 1785, the voyage is lead by Monsieur Laperouse, a French officer who is in charge the Astrolabe along with his second in command, Monsieur de Langle, captain of the Boussole.

Each chapter is told from a viewpoint of different individuals on the voyage or affected by it. deMonneron is an engineer on the voyage, assigned to gather the best navigational devices of the time. deLamanon has the longest official title: physicist, geologist, botanist, and meteorologist and his ego is a match for the title. Laperouse, the leader of the exploration, is more comfortable on the seas than at social events which he is expected to attend due to his position. The first major stop of the voyage is in Concepcion, Chile where high French culture meets new world high culture. Laperouse, strong and brave on the ocean, becomes almost weak in the knees when a beautiful young woman takes his arm.

When the voyage reaches Alaska, the story is told from the viewpoint of a young native girl as she witnesses a tragic event which leaves 21 seamen dead. The unnamed speaker calls the sailors "Snow Men" thinking first that they are ghosts but soon realizing that they are real live men. Langle narrates the chapter of the same tragedy; two completely different viewpoints of the same event. Monsieur Lavaux, the voyage's surgeon narrates the chapter taking place on the North American coast where fog is heavy and Langle has been tasked with writing letters back to France explaining the deaths of the crew.

Chapter seven is made up of letters sent from Monterey, where the ships dock in order to get supplies. Six letters tell the same story of the wife of the Mayor, the priests working with the Indians, and the effect the French visitors have on the Spanish ruling this area. Set in Macao, almost a year after departure, Monsieur Lamartiniere, another naturalist, disobey the ship's orders and spends time on land in order to write a monograph of the parasites found in Alaska which he later reads to a beautiful woman who is "available" for pleasure. Laperouse must deal with these two educated, yet childish scientists. Almost two years later, the ships reach a Russian outpost and de Lesseps, the Russian translator, leaves the crew in order to take official papers back to France. The story of Lesseps is set in Russia and tells of the difficult journey to St. Petersburg accompanied by a Russian guide, Golikoff.

The final chapters tell of an encounter with natives on Maouna Island. The French have guns, but the natives manage to wound or kill them by throwing rocks. Langle is among those killed and Vaujuas is tasked with writing the report telling of the awful event. Glass beads were supposed to help establish friendly relations with the Indians. Botany Bay in New Holland is an island of resettled convicts. The ship's chaplain is mysteriously murdered and various characters tell what they know of that death.

The Solomon Islands chapter relates the story of a white man who has been stranded on the island. Vo is the only man left on the island from the two ships that had come before. Now he is the husband of Alu and the father of a baby.
The final chapter takes place in 1816 and is told by Laperouse's sister who wants to legally change the family's name due to the status Laperouse has gained since the loss of both ships. Finally, in 1929, relics are being displayed as items from Laperouse's lost voyage. Lesseps is the only one who actually returns to France from the voyage.

Loved this book which brings the characters alive. It is the story of the known vs. the unknown, the new world vs. the old world, and many of the personal conflicts between characters and within their hearts.