Adding complexity is the authors use of multiple narrative voices to explore the issues. The principal characters are of course the ENGLISH PASSENGERS. They are the Rev. Geoffrey Wilson, Dr Thomas Potter and Timothy Renshaw. Again showing that this book is multi-layered, it is made very obvious to us what Rev. Wilson's and Dr Potter's quests are all about. Juxtaposed against this are the deeper, more personal voyages of two other characters - Peevay (half Tasmanian aborigine, half white) and Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley.
The books strength, it seems to me, is its ability to handle the weight of the subjects and the complexity of the various voices with great ease. Humor is the ever present breeze that keeps this one sailing along.
Though I really liked this novel, it did have what seemed to be a rushed ending. Almost like Kneale got to a point where he felt he had his characters explained/visualized enough, he then just briskly went through what was left of the story. Just as you got used to this style of understanding these people through their inner thoughts, he kind of stopped giving them and just went on with the story. The journal entries were no longer deep personal entries around events, now they were event entries with comments.
Still, this isn't a down fall, just that it's noticable. It is still well worth the reading.
English Passengers is like a musical score with several strands of story running together, interwoven, different voices coming one after the other. It is a work of genius and the only one bad thing about it is the title which put me off for ages. I can't think of a better one off-hand but there must be one somewhere. Beware if you are a budding writer - this book will make you think twice about writing a less interesting, less well-researched and gripping book. You have been warned!
In essence, the story is about an ill-fated voyage involving a Manx ship and crew trying to smuggle contraband brandy and tobacco into England, but end up being chartered to Tasmania by some Englishmen on an expedition to find the Garden of Eden. It is a crazy premise with fittingly crazy results. The story is by turns funny, touching, and just plain sad. The subplot of the book is the English colonization of Tasmania and the ill-treatment of the aboriginal Tasmanians. The author appears to have done his homework, as a large part of the book concerns the history of Tasmania and its people through the middle of the 19th Century. One of the main characters is a native Tasmanian, and while the creation of such a character is mostly the author's imagination (as there are no real native Tasmanians left), he creates a touching portrait of person facing the exinction of his people.
The middle of the book bogs down a little with some interesting side-stories that are not directly realated to the plot (hence 4 stars), but the end is worth the wait. I think Capt. Kewley is one of the most interesting fictional characters I have come across in a long time. Read this book--it will make you think.
