Ship of Fools Audiobook

" How Porter avoided suicide is beyond me. Her picture of the human race is devastatingly and bleakly accurate. As you read you begin to say, "Yes, people do behave this way." The descriptions of German paranoia on the cusp of Germany's downhill slide into Nazism are perfect. It has been a dream of mine to take a trans-Atlantic cruise to Europe. After reading this book I still would like to take that trip but would be sure to have plenty of writing material and a tape recorder with me. "

" Porter is a satirist at heart here, and while her characters are colorful, there's not much of a plot, other than the construct of a voyage. At 500+ pages I wanted to disemark as much as the rest of the passengers, and found myself wondering if that's what she intended, in part. At any rate, read her short stories instead. "

" I liked it because I like stories about sea voyages, but not a very happy book. "

" I didn't really like this book but kept reading anyway because of Porter's relentless character detail and her staunch refusal to add any redeeming qualities to her characters as the book progressed. The Fellini-esque setting and portrayals also drew me along. (If there were a movie version, costume design would be great fun.) Anyway, I trudged through resolutely until just before the end, when I simply couldn't take any more. I give it three stars, though, for stellar writing and (painfully) astute observation of human failings. "

" As you start Ship of Fools you understand it's a book about people you don't want to meet; as you read Ship of Fools you realize these are people you already know, although hopefully not intimately: bigots, poseurs, liars....The story isn't so much a story as a series of scenes succeeding one another as choppily as the waves breaking against the titular ship, so the pace contrasts sharply with the idea of a smoothly flowing ocean voyage. That's a nice bit of irony. I like this novel but I don't love it the way I do Porter's short stories. The precision with which she presents her observations of human nature lends itself better to the carefully cut, perfectly polished gems that comprise short fiction. "

" I could not get into this book. So I did not finish it. Maybe I need to read it at another time when I am not in the mood for something with a faster pace. I just kept thinkging "when do we get on the boat?". "

" A group of characters on a ship sailing from Mexico to Germany traces the rise of fascism and Nazism. As one can imagine, many passengers are anti-Semitic and fearful of others, considered by many to be a great satire. Required reading as part of my Law and Literature class at FSU College of Law. "

" One of those chance matches to recently read Der Fuehrer. Both books were chosen at random but the scaffolding effect makes Ship of Fools so much more powerful a read. "

" This book was difficult to stomach at times; it is a montage of characters, all of whom are described with such merciless realism, that it is easy to hate them all. "

" finally read porter's masterwork novel. amazing! there isn't really much of a story arc and the action that does happen never builds into any sort of crescendo, but the interweaving of characters is wonderful to get caught up in. "

" I lost track of the characters a few times. I think a few could have stood to be removed altogether and the rest expanded. Interesting read though. "

" Brilliant character development and insight on human nature. Wow! "

" I put this book down 3/4 of the way through about 3 years ago. Porter does such an excellent job of creating characters that it only took one page before I was right back where I left off! "

" Great writing, memorable cast of characters, sharp humor. Porter presents an unrelentingly bleak view of human nature. Maybe this view would be hard to refute, maybe we are all deluded by ourselves. But whew! that was a long voyage. "

" I found this book slow to read and never learned to care about any of the characters. It read like a screen play, but never really engaged my attention. "

" Lots of details and less story line. Kinda' hard to read! Never finished, sad to say! "

" It was really interesting, so many plot lines though, I felt like I should have taken notes of everyone's relationships. Might have added to my experience if I could have remembered all that was disclosed. Overall, it was good! "

" My favorite ever. Though John Steinbeck and Truman Capote may cry foul. "

" I would love to read this again. "

" I liked it because I like stories about sea voyages, but not a very happy book. "

" It started out slow, but I'd heard it was very good so I stuck it out and was pretty well rewarded. Not the pleasantest story, but an interesting one, well told. "

" This book could not be more aptly titled. Everyone on the boat is, in fact, a fool. I just wished that some of them had been more engaging fools. "

" finally read porter's masterwork novel. amazing! there isn't really much of a story arc and the action that does happen never builds into any sort of crescendo, but the interweaving of characters is wonderful to get caught up in. "

" This truly is a masterpiece. The writing is so exceptional that you find yourself pausing and rereading a sentence. "

" One of those chance matches to recently read Der Fuehrer. Both books were chosen at random but the scaffolding effect makes Ship of Fools so much more powerful a read. "