This is a good one, intelligent and questioning.
The Empress Alexandra sinks after an explosion, en-route from Liverpool to New York City. The story is told from the point of view of Grace, a young woman who ended up in one of the lifeboats and is now back in America, on trial for her life.
We hear about the trial and the ordeal in the overcrowded lifeboat (it apparently holds 40 people, but is dangerously overladen with 39) The author is asking what is acceptable (and lawful?) behaviour when you are trying to survive in a situation where some have to die for others to live.
Charlotte Rogan doesn't dictate the answers to the questions she is asking, she respects the reader and just asks us to think. In the same way there are small mysteries and gossips in the book, like why the ship sank and the motives and natures of the other people in the boat (and Grace herself, she is questionable and we hear everything from her subjective point of view.) Rogan never reveals the 'truth', we just hear rumours and have to make our own minds up. Really refreshing and enjoyable.
Thanks Virago for my copy!
I'm reading a couple of things at the moment - Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman which is a book of short stories (as a rule I love short stories) and The Shape of a Pocket by John Berger (as a rule he is interesting but vaguely annoying)
