Title: tCOFFINSGenre: tThriller/Fantasy?Author: tRodman PhilbrickISBN: t0-312-87273-9The BookI came upon this book on the "sale" table of the Coles bookstore here in Toronto. The brief summary/preview of the novel on the flap caught my interest. A quick read of the first page immediately grabbed me and heightened my interest.The book starts with an “editor's note”, witnessed or signed by the author, about a set of journals belonging to Dr. Davis Bentwood, the story's main character, before proceeding to the story, thereby lending a "true story narrative" edge to the novel. Along with these journals are a “true” log of a ship – in the days of slave trading, the captain of a ship kept 2 sets of logs, the “straight” one for the port authorities to peruse and the second one contained the real events and numbers pertaining to the ship’s cargo.The main story is a first person account of Dr. Bentwood. Although the first death in the Coffin family has already occurred at the start of the novel, the flashbacks (for instance, Dr. Bentwood’s reminiscence of how met Jebediah Coffin, and his description of his journey to White Harbor) are so well written in that they are brief, and yet giving the reader the whole picture without dragging the story line. You get drawn to it because you know right away that it is an underlying story and it is what motivates you to read more.Although the novel is set in the nineteenth century, the dialogue is easy to comprehend, and not as tedious as period stories tend to be, thereby creating a continuous flow to the story as you read it.As well, the infusion of historical events and notable historical figures of the time, gives a credible effect of reality to the drama and its characters, not panning the morality of such events or historical figures. It does, however, give you enough to rouse your interest in such historical events, especially that of abolition, the slave trading and even the suffragist movement of the time. Enough interest that made me research on the internet and print out 7 hours of double-sided flight reading materials on Frederick Douglass, Joshua Chamberlain and the abolition, and gave me better understanding of this part of the American history.The AuthorRodman Philbrick has used his family’s history of sea faring to full use in this novel. He has written other novels, including the more notable “Freak the Mighty” which had been made into a film called “The Mighty”. For more information on the author, check his website: www.RodmanPhilbrick.com, or Google his name.
