The Perfect Storm is a non-fiction novel written by Sebastian Junger. The writer writes his informed opinion of the story of what he had been told with the hopes of persuading the readers to believe what he believes. Even though it is based on an actual event, Junger writes basing on accounts of real people who are families and friends of the deceased and a few survivors. Junger sensationalizes the details of the tremendous storm to make the story more interesting through his descriptions of things and events and it is of good help to the readers. The perfect storm book is interesting at the same time sounds very incorrect with how the writer describes events. The tale of the perfect storm is very thrilling and it leaves people feeling that this was a storm of the century since there was no warning of the storm that why it was named, The Perfect Storm. This real life captivating story leaves the readers breathless with a sense of what it is like to be stuck, helpless, in the grip of a force beyond control.
Junger’s book the Perfect Storm ebbs amid good and annoying incorrect. He tries to write about what the men who died in the perfect storm went through and their final moments. He tried telling us how the survived on the boat but he could not gather any information fit to describe the final moments of the men aboard the Andrea Gail before their death. In his descriptions in the book, Junger does a good job in describing things that happened with the crew as is expected from any other writer. An example is how he describes a bad weather fax which Andrea Gail received; Junger says “like an inventory of things fishermen don’t want to hear” (Junger 98). The way he describes what was contained in the fax makes the story very interesting. Moreover, his good description can also be seen where he gives an illustration of a man who temporarily lost his memory after bailing out of a helicopter. Junger says “He is just a consciousness at night in the middle of the sea” (Junger 188). This description makes his narration very interesting.
However, Junger’s good descriptions are offset when he frequently shifts tenses. At times, Junger bases the tenses on whether he is telling the story or something related to the story but he fails to remain consistent with his narration by shifting tenses in mid sentences. An example is when he talks of Billy “If Billy attempts to come around that late in the storm, he’d make sure the decks were cleared and give her full power on the way around” (Junger 112).
In addition, Junger weakens his writing by his effort of using information he is not fully aware of predominantly the bible. He seems not to know much about the Christianity and this can be seen by his comments, yet he goes ahead quoting the bible several times. At one time, Junger quotes the bible inaccurately where he says Genesis 1:2 and says “whoever wrote that” (Junger 114). He is not even sure of the verse he is quoting and does not even know who wrote it. Furthermore, he uses bible verses while introducing chapters but when a reader looks at the verses used keenly, they are out of context and are not in line with what the writer is talking about. Junger uses bible verses yet he has no idea of what the bible says in the quoted verses and this depicts him as ignorant.
Despite its grammatical errors, Junger’s book The Perfect Storm is a book with good information. It is a good help to persons with interests in storms, fishing, oceans, rescuing people caught up in storms and even any other person who reads it. It tells of the pain of losing loved ones and never seeing them again. The book teaches fishers on how to go on with their lives in fishing and how to perfect it. The perfect storm book is honest as the writer talks of real life stories and situations in a boat even though it is fictitious.
In conclusion, Junger tried to write the perfect storm book with the hope of telling the reader on the last moments of the men who died at the sea. However, he tried to explain the happenings on the boat but could not give out their final moments on Andrea Gail. The book has its flaws but the writer was able to come up with a story which helped the people whose interests are in boats and how they can survive in the sea. He was able to come out with an outstanding story by gathering pieces of information from family and friends, and survivors of the perfect storm.
Work Cited
Junger, Sebastian. The Perfect Storm: The True Story of Men against the Sea. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. Print.
