Ship of Fools (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Katherine Anne Porter
- First Published: 1962
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: Voyages, Class conflict, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Middle classes, Marriage, Prejudices or antipathies, Alienation, Class consciousness, 1930’s, Obsession, Ethnic relations, Anti-Semitism, Ships, Human behavior, Nazism or Nazis, Germany or German people, Gypsies
- Locales: Oceans, Veracruz, Mexico, Bremerhaven, Germany
Porter explains in an introductory note that the novel’s title is taken from a 15th century German allegory, DAS NARRENSCHIFF, by Sebastian Brant. She read the book in 1932, soon after her first voyage to Europe. She wrote her novel over a period of years and finished it in 1962.
The passengers and crew of the ship Vera represent the whole spectrum of humanity, from good to evil. Many of the passengers, most of the crew, the ship’s doctor, and the Captain are German. Also traveling on the ship are several Latin passengers, including a zarzuela company, a few Americans, a...
[The entire page is 733 words long]
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