"Good thoughts have much to do with good rowing. It isn't enough for the muscles of a crew to work in unison, their hearts and minds must also be as one."
-George Yeoman Pocock
This book was selected for our Page Turners book club after being recommended by a couple of members. I had only the tiniest bit of knowledge about the sport of rowing, only what I knew from watching the Olympics on TV. I really fought against liking the book for a good portion, telling myself I had no background for enjoying it. The author describes his writing as narrative nonfiction and I found it pretty biographical, as well. Brown spends much of the beginning in introducing the main characters, the "boys in the boat," as well as their coaches. It was somewhat tedious but absolutely necessary to making the story come alive. Brown says in his bio on Litlovers, "My primary interest as a writer is in bringing compelling historical events to life as vividly and accurately as I can." He certainly accomplished that in The Boys in the Boat.
The quote above is one of several excellent ones which begin each chapter. Pocock was the ultimate builder of rowing shells at the time of the story, the 1930's. He must have been very brilliant and perceptive, as well. His advice and counseling was invaluable to the "boys," particularly Joe Rantz, the central character. Another quote of Pocock's that struck me: "Men as fit as you, when your everyday strength is gone, can draw on a mysterious reservoir of power far greater. Then it is that you can reach for the stars. That is the way champions are made." This seems to describe the way in which the "boys" prevailed against great odds.
It was surprising to me that the book became a page-turner toward the end. After all, the reader knows from the beginning what will happen. After I finished reading the narrative of the Olympic gold-medal race in 1936, I was exhausted! I was amazed to learn there is so much more than physical strength involved in the sport of rowing and I didn't really know the importance of the coxswain and the stroke, two crucial positions in the boat. I can't wait until the next summer Olympics to watch rowing events! I will appreciate it SO much more.
I found it interesting that distance-runner Louis Zamperini is mentioned in chapter 16. He is the hero written about in Unbroken, one of our previous Page Turner selections. Also Jesse Owens is involved in the same Olympics as the "boys." I was fascinated, and horrified, by the references to Hitler's preparation for the Berlin games, especially the secreting away of the evidence of his cruelties.
In the end, though I fought against liking the book, I really did so I gave it a 5 rating. Anyone with some foreknowledge of rowing should LOVE it!
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When our group met we had a lively discussion of The Boys in the Boat. In fact one participant said he liked the book better after we talked about it. (That often happens to me.) The average rating was 4.1 with no one giving a mark below 3. Several said the book "grew on them"; I could totally agree. One member emailed me later: "Thanks for forcing me to read The Boys in the Boat. That Daniel Brown did a great job researching and constructing it. He won me over when I was dreading having to read 300 pages about sports."
Some interesting aspects of our meeting:
One lady was going to Venice, FL after the meeting to meet a friend and hear a live presentation by the author, Daniel James Brown. What a happy coincidence!
One of our snacks was celery "shells" stuffed with cream cheese or peanut butter with a raisin "crew."
Another person had accidentally read the YA version of the book and later read the adult one. She informed us of things that were left out of the youth edition, among them the Nazi Germany references. We were surprised and disagreed with that editorial decision. Students get precious little history these days, as it is.
Only one person in the group of 16 had some experience with rowing and even she said she learned some things. The rest of us agreed that we learned so much and were impressed with the mental and physical strength, perseverance and teamwork of this underdog crew of rowers. I think most of us would recommend the book.
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