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    The Lifeboat: A Novel
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    The Lifeboat: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Lifeboat: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Lifeboat: A Novel

    Written by Charlotte Rogan

    Narrated by Rebecca Gibel

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life.

    In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying her and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize is over capacity. For any to live, some must die.

    As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace recollects the unorthodox way she and Henry met, and the new life of privilege she thought she'd found. Will she pay any price to keep it?

    The Lifeboat is a page-turning novel of hard choices and survival, narrated by a woman as unforgettable and complex as the events she describes.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateApr 3, 2012
    ISBN9781611134018
    Unavailable
    The Lifeboat: A Novel

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    Reviews for The Lifeboat

    3.5/5

    510 ratings78 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I liked it enough to finish. Not great but definitely entertaining enough. Easy read
    • 3/5
      This was on the recommended shelf at my favorite local bookstore, and it was a nice read. Probably more of a library read than one that I recommend buying, but definitely worth reading.

      We start out at Grace’s trial. We don’t know exactly what she is on trial for, but this tells us that she has clearly survived being on the titular lifeboat. We immediately jump back to when she and 39 others from the Empress Queen ship find themselves in a lifeboat just over a year after the Titanic sinks. Mostly women, but a few men and one child, this group is stuck together until that rescue ship comes along.

      It’s coming, right?

      Right?

      The book is interesting because it tells the story from a narrator who can’t possibly know everything, and it touches on very interesting philosophical questions. Basically, it’s like one big thought experiment. There is a lot going on for a bunch of people stuck on a small lifeboat, but at the same time we don’t get resolution to everything. I can’t figure out if this is brilliant storytelling (because do we every really know the full truth?) or lazy storytelling (because the author created this world, she can tell us the full truth if she wants). I devoured the first half, then somehow was distracted, but finished in on a flight maybe two weeks later. I think it’s worth a read if you come across it, but it isn’t a must read.
    • 4/5
      This takes place aboard an overloaded lifeboat afloat in the Atlantic at the start of WWI - you have the perfect setting for a bit of drama: absence of the sort of modern communications that we would take for granted nowadays, and a tense interplay between the characters as they realise their survival may depend on sacrificing one or more of their fellow passengers.The prologue makes it clear that the narrator Grace does survive the ordeal, however she is on trial as a result of events on the lifeboat as yet unknown, and as such there is no loss of tension. The writing throughout is elegant and expressive, and it is notable that the lifeboat scenario is just one of three major life challenges that Grace has to find a way through during the course of the novel, and the novel is as much an examination of the state of women's rights in the early 20th century as it is about the drama aboard a lifeboat.
    • 3/5
      This short book certainly held my attention throughout, and I liked the psychological examination of being trapped in a lifeboat after a shipwreck. Although I usually enjoy unreliable narrators and ambiguous endings, I thought there were a few too many unanswered questions at the end of this one for the story to be truly satisfying.
    • 4/5
      Quite an interesting book. I read it as an audiobook, to which its personal first-person narration is very well suited. I'd call it Life of Pi meets Titanic and that more or less covers it.
    • 4/5
      Very well written, good blend of mystery and atmosphere. It was true when it said you had to read it in one sitting.
    • 4/5
      A very thought provoking book in the vain of "Lord of the Flies". I was a little put off in the beginning by the pacing of the novel, but knew that because the shortness of the book things would have to pick up eventually. Maybe this was a short story stretched out into a novel?
      This would make a great book discussion choice.
    • 3/5
      Quick light read.
    • 3/5
      Audiobook.....so-so..........
    • 4/5
      It took a while to get into this book, but it did hold my attention as I read it over a weekend. I felt the characters should have been better developed and could not help but wonder who the other 20+ persons were on the lifeboat. I am not a swimmer or a sailor and have yet to take an ocean cruise, so this story might give me pause. I would recommend it and feel it would be a good choice for a book club discussion. I will check out the reading group guide that is available from the publisher.
    • 3/5
      A real downer. And yet a page turner. As the castaways die one by one, I keep hoping the rest will soon be rescued. Grace's trial for murder is an interesting twist.
    • 3/5
      The opening of The Lifeboat is definitely an attention-grabber. The prologue is set in the future with Grace Winter alive and somewhat safe. Although the reader knows she survived the harrowing events on the lifeboat, it's also very apparent that something serious went down on that boat. Why? Because she, and some other folks, are on trial for what happened in the boat. Now, you have to read the whole book to know what happened on Lifeboat 14.

      More than anything, The Lifeboat is about what people become when their survival is on the line. Just like in a dystopia, hardships bring out both the best and worst in people. Some will sacrifice themselves to save others; some destroy others to save themselves, perhaps even when it's unnecessary.

      All of the people on the lifeboat are victims of circumstance. They were on a ship and that ship sunk, leaving them stranded with limited resources on an overcrowded lifeboat, all alone and surrounded by people they don't know or trust. What is it acceptable to do to ensure one's survival in such a circumstance? Do crimes committed in the name of the survival of the group count when back in the real world?

      For me, The Lifeboat was a good, but not an outstanding read, largely because I could not connect to Grace's character. She is indecisive and reliant upon the strength of men. However, the ethical questions were certainly fascinating.
    • 2/5
      I can't exactly pinpoint what was such a turn off for me about this book. Survival stories are one of my favorite "genres", but maybe it was due to the fictional nature of this book that it didn't live up to my expectations. It was actually much more than a survival book. I think the author wanted the reader to also think about woman's rights, and the quandary one is faced when losing your life will save another. Is it right to sacrifice one life for another? And which ones are deemed worthy? In this case, the book did well to make you ponder this situation.

      The voice of the main character didn't seem very real to me. I never felt like I could really get into her head and pinpoint who she was. Some of the things brought up in the story seemed out of place or difficult to believe (not because it was fiction, but because the author described the character to be one way, and then they did something uncharacteristly that threw you off, without much explanation).

      There was also some dialogue from some female characters that a feminist would scoff at, but I understand that this was attempting to set the tone for how some women actually thought in the time period this book was set. It just rubbed me the wrong way how some of it was presented. It seemed that the stronger of the women were punished for being stronger, although many of the weak women were punished in other ways as well. The take-home message of this book is lost to me. But it was a short read, and I did make it to the end because the author did a great job in keeping you in suspense.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful book filled with layers. I'm sure I'll want to read it again. But this time, I couldn't put it down until I finished it.
    • 3/5
      Given all the hoopla around the Titanic anniversary, this was a well-timed release with a premise guaranteed to intrigue—a ship sinking in the Atlantic at the start of WWI and what happens to the survivors remaining in one lifeboat for weeks on end. It's Life of Pi with a touch of Steinbeck/Hitchcock and a dollop of the narrator from Gillespie and I. A short quick read, but one with many layers. In fact, I'm sort of surprised by it's low rating on Goodreads, given how ridiculously high people often rate things. It seems many people are going into it expecting a rollicking adventure, and not the dark, introspective text that this is. While I would have liked more resolution on some of the subplots, overall I was very intrigued and sped through this one.
    • 3/5
      So I liked the idea of this book, and it started off with a bang--right in the action of a sinking ocean liner. Gripping! And most of the activity within the lifeboat was pretty interesting. However what galled me finally was that I felt like most of not all of the characters were really generalized, almost charicatures of what people in 1914 would be like--I don't know they just felt kind of contrived. Then the action which took place during the trial, I felt, was pretty boring. Generally speaking the writing was good, and the story flowed but I think it was less interesting and cool than it promised to be.
    • 4/5
      Told from the point of view of Grace, one of a lifeboat all too full of survivors in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, this novel tells the riveting story of a microcosm of life in extremely dire straits. After the Titanic, before the Lusitania, this disaster underscores the personalities of the survivors in unimaginable ways. Grace describes the events from a prison cell while on trial for murder. The foreshadowing in her journal does not detract from hold on the reader, requiring us to find out just what transpired. We catch a glimpse of the worst, if not the best, of how different types of people will respond to extreme danger.
    • 4/5
      As in other reviews, I enjoyed the ethical dilemmas faced by the characters and trying to solve the mystery of Grace. While I mostly did not sympathize with her and her plight, I was intrigued at what made her tick. The book offered enough detail to compile theories, but did not solve all of the mysteries of the story. I typically prefer books that wrap up the plot completely, but enjoyed this one because of how it made me think and that it gave me permission to draw my own conclusions.
    • 4/5
      A lifeboat full of people, cast adrift provides the background for an interesting story about survival and what lengths people will go to to save themselves. The book is well written, in the tone of the age (1914) and skips along quite well. It is perhaps difficult to feel much sympathy with main character Grace, as she comes over as rather cold and calculating
    • 4/5
      In this story several years after the sinking of the Titanic, an explosion rocks a luxury liner and before its sinking, several lifeboats are launched. However, just as with the Titantic there is not enough space for all the passengers. The reader is thrown into a lifeboat with Grace Winter and 37 other passengers and one member of the crew and warned that time to get away from the sinking ship is vital. Grace watches as the ship sinks, not knowing whether another lifeboat has rescued her bridegroom or not.Fast forward to a court room where Grace and 2 others are on trial for murder. Startled the reader wonders what happened and they are treated to the recollections of the weeks that Grace spent in that lifeboat and the events that occurred prior to the rescue.
    • 3/5
      Grace Winter is a survivor. When the ship she and her new husband were on sank, she survived in an overcrowded lifeboat for weeks before rescue. The novel opens with Grace on trial for murder because of incidents which occurred on the lifeboat. The fascinating twist to this familiar plot is Grace herself. How reliable is she as a narrator? She seems to be straightforward in her remembrance of events, but she has convenient lapses of memory when she is specifically asked about certain events. Is she even the demure young bride she appears to be? Did she manipulate her groom into marrying her? Is she reading too much or too little into the actions of her fellow passengers? Why do some of the passengers revolt against the authority of the one crew member on board who knows seamanship? The narrator answers the questions, but does she really? Every time the reader is given an explanation of an event, there is a tiny caveat which, from another perspective, could be interpreted totally differently.This novel is a good story of a disaster at sea, but also much more. What is real? What is the truth? How far would a person go to survive? And is there guilt in survival?
    • 5/5
      good writing. great story. makes you think what would you do in thr same situation but thrn again there is no way to know and let's hope we will never have to face decisions like this. unusual story about the survivors of a shipwreck in 1914 shortly after the titanic. start of emanzipating women and thr men who judge them. for sure a book i recommend. pageturner.
    • 4/5
      The narrator is a young woman who survives for weeks after a shipwreck. What happened on the lifeboat, and why, is the story line. But the story is about Grace's memories and her justification for the events of those weeks. At the end, I still wasn't sure I knew who she was: an innocent or a gold digger? Well-paced, with interesting characters, and thought-provoking situations. My logical self would have liked to see all the ends wrapped up and open questions closed, but that's not what this book is about.
    • 4/5
      The premise of this story has been explored many times in many forms: take a group of people who do not know one another, put them in a life-threatening situation, and see what happens. There are many characters to follow in The Lifeboat, and it takes a while to get to know them. Usually the reader has a backdrop of information for why people behave as they do but Rogan deals with her little population in the context of how they reveal themselves by word and deed over three weeks. What interested me most are the complexities of memory. Grace, the narrator, peels this memory back layer by layer as she relives the events preceding the shipwreck and the subsequent time spent in the boat. I found myself drawn into her intense concentration as she tries to remember what actually happened. At the end of the book, I am still wondering about Grace: was she really what she seemed to be?
    • 4/5
      Mesmerizing tale of a group of people in an overcrowded lifeboat and the delicate balance of power as they struggle to survive. I believe I liked this more than I normally would have because I read it on a cruise boat.
    • 3/5
      Kind of a SHIP OF FOOLS by Katherine Anne Porter but this time was are in a lifeboat. It is a chilling story laden with meaning. Hard to put down.Grace, the narrator, appears on the first pages and right away, we know a few important plot points. We know that Grace survived on a lifeboat after her ship - like the Titanic two years prior - goes down. We also know that she is now on trial for a murder that took place during the ensuing ordeal. But here's what we don't know: how reliable is Grace as the tale-teller? Is she coldly capable of taking whatever actions are necessary to survive? Or is she simply a shell-shocked bystander, susceptible to the slightest suggestion?
    • 4/5
      This is a well-written book that tells an interesting tale about survival. The premise is intriguing and the diverse cast of characters helps to move the story along. But as the tale came to end, I couldn't help but feel that most of these characters remained one-dimensional.
    • 4/5
      Its only real connection to the war is that the characters wouldn't have been on the ill-fated ship in the first place if they hadn't been trying to escape the war. I would not have lasted long in the lifeboat. Or else I would have been the ringleader. Depends on my mood.
    • 4/5
      This one opens on the steps of a courthouse, and the reader immediately must shift the expectation away from a lifeboat drifting with survivors, to a landlocked scene. Here we meet 22 year old Grace Winter who appears to be on trial for her life. We soon discover that Grace is also a widow, a survivor, and a strong woman who gives us the story of how she and her fellow survivors endured life on the high seas. Grace and her husband Henry were sailing from England to America to escape the impending war. At the same time Grace was sailing toward a mother-in-law who was not going to approve of Henry's wife. When the ocean liner exploded, those who survived found themselves in severely overcrowded lifeboats adrift in the Atlantic Ocean with no compass and no idea where they were. In Grace's case, her husband was missing, and the boat she was pushed into was "captained" by John Hardie, the only member of the crew on the boat. Under his austere leadership, they managed to survive on limited rations of food and water, thinking that distress signals had been sent before the ship sank, and that they would be soon rescued.When the weather turned ugly, and the ocean became much more turbulent, it was obvious that the boat would sink unless the load was lightened. So began a battle amongst the castaways among themselves, and with themselves. Through the pages of Grace's diary which her defense lawyer and psychologist have asked her to write, we see the intense inner struggle she and many others go through. We are introduced to many of the participants in the drama, and develop favorites. The horror of the dilemma facing each passenger is presented starkly, and with gripping finality. In addition to relating the horrors of the lifeboat, Grace interweaves her personal story, causing the reader to ponder how much this background influences her decisions on the fateful journey. This novel is hypnotic and gut-wrenching. The story is a classic one, often used in ethics and morality classrooms to force people to examine moral choices and accept the inevitable. How Grace survives the ordeal, only to face a trial for murder is an underlying theme throughout. By opening at the end, Rogan lets us know that at least some passengers survived. It is the telling of the voyage and the rescue along the way that make it impossible to put this one down.I predict that this one is going to be one of the all-time top picks for book club discussions in the coming year. It is especially powerful as an audio book, and the narrator Rebecca Gibble gives an outstanding performance, mastering many accents and dialects to paint us vivid audio pictures.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderfullly compelling page-turner of a first novel. An ocean liner is shipwrecked, the lifeboaats are inadequate to the task, and thus the drama begins of who will live and who will die before the hoped-for rescue comes. As the endless days go by, the survivors in one lifeboat become less able to maintain their humanity.The narrator, Grace, tells the story; while she of course shades the truth in some areas, she doesn't hide or distort any facts. She speculatees a bit on the motives of others, but she is pretty straightforward about what happens.As a rule I don't like sea stories or survival tales, but this short novel is so well-written, and the character of Grace is so complex and real, that I was drawn in from the first page and couldn't wait to find out what happened.Recommended.