Ahab's Wife
By Sena Jeter Naslund
reviewed by Saf Krauss

Ahab's Wife will gain the reputation as one of the best pieces of literature to come out of the 21st Century. Through Sena Jeter Naslund's skill and command of the English language, and her sense of adventure, a storyline is developed around the feared Captain Ahab of Moby Dick. This master storyteller shows us contrasts and comparisons between Captain Ahab and the main character, Una, who later becomes his wife.

Una Spencer, narrator and heroine in the story, takes us back in a time to when women were not encouraged to take flight and explore their imagination. But doesn't stop her. Una's passion is to know and experience the outside world.

The Star Gazer

The beginning events happen quickly. While visiting her mother in Kentucky, Una goes into labor with her first child, Ahab's son. Her mother braves a winter storm to fetch the doctor but never returns. In the meantime, while Una is in and out of sleep, a runaway slave enters the house and hides. After bounty hunters have come and gone, Una and the slave meet and develop an immediate trusting bond. The slave delivers Una's baby, but the little boy does not survive. The loss of her baby and the beginning of the slave girl's freedom sends Una back to the start of "her story," The Star-Gazer.

Brought up by a compassionate mother and a zealot father, Una is not content to follow her father's strict hand. To keep Una safe, her mother sends her off to live with her aunt's family on an island where they manage a lighthouse. It is there that she is allowed to question the world around her and she begins to develop a liberal attitude about life, her role as a female and the quest for adventure.

The Adventures

After four years on the island, Una dares to disguise herself as a boy and is hired as a cabin boy on a whaler ship. This first adventure takes her on a journey of secrets. After many experiences and struggles to continue, the girl develops into a worldly woman and Una, stronger, finds her life has come full circle. She chooses to live on the small island of Nantucket, near the water where her identity began and ends. The irony is that she finds contentment with Ishmael, the last survivor of Captain Ahab's ship, the Pequod.

This is a magnificent novel of a woman's courage to explore, the humiliation she endures, and the adventure, spirituality and love she owns. Look for it at your independent bookstore. Happy Reading…

OTHER BOOKS BY SENA JETER NASLUND:
Sherlock in Love
The Animal Way to Love
Ice Skating at the North Pole
The Disobedience of Water