Every Man for Himself

Those looking for the drama in the sinking of the Titanic should look elsewhere, but those who love good writing and are interested in a modest coming-of-age story paired with a portrait of the self-centered, selfish, idle rich will enjoy this subtle and ironic novel. The ending -- which of course we all know -- is both understated and impossible to put down. Bainbridge tells the story through the eyes of Morgan, a young man who was raised since childhood as a nephew of J.P. Morgan but whose birth and earliest life were not quite as glittering, as his father vanished before his birth and his mother died.

At the very beginning of the book, despite the unsettling experience of having a stranger collapse with a heart attack into his arms, Morgan seems to be a typical rich young man with nothing to do but get drunk with his pals and go to dinner parties with their parents. Gradually, after he boards the Titanic for its maiden voyage, the reader sees that he has a more troubling past and even something of a mind of his own and a conscience to boot. He has had to work, despite the wealth that is his to spend, and has played a small role in the design of the ship (steerage bathroom fixtures) (J.P. Morgan was a part owner of the White Star line, which owned the Titanic), and he has even explored some socialist ideas in the past. On the ship, he hangs around with his pals, meets and learns from some interesting characters that he would not ordinarily meet (e.g., an ambitious Jewish dress designer, a mysterious and cynical man of the world, a singer apparently scorned by her lover), pines over an apparently cold woman who later turns out to have another side (Morgan is cautioned by the man of the world that he knows nothing about women), and takes an interest in continuing to work and be productive.

Very little happens in this novel until the iceberg intervenes, but Bainbridge brilliantly illustrates the self-indulgent lack of awareness of the upper classes as they idle away their time, their careless attitudes towards the people who serve them, and their complete disinterest in, if not distaste for, the passengers in steerage. The lackadaisical, if not criminal, attitude that resulted in the lack of enough lifeboats, the lack of attention to iceberg warnings and to a fire in the coal stores, and the emphasis on maintaining enough speed to achieve a maiden voyage record, is clear as well. Bainbridge's writing sparkles. Well before the ship starts sinking, it is a world of every man for himself.

Without fanfare, but completely compellingly, Bainbridge depicts the hours between the hitting of the iceberg and the disappearance of the Titanic below the waters of the North Atlantic. It is the high point of the book.

What, you say? Another novel about The Titanic? Yes, indeedy. But this one by British writer Bainbridge just didn't connect with me. The main characters were just a bunch of rich people going nowhere fast. SPOILER ALERT! The ship sinks. ( )

This is a fast-paced novel that mixes fact with fiction. A vivid and powerful read about Titanic.

Back Cover Blurb:
The sinking of the world's greatest luxury liner, the invincible and magnificent S.S. Titanic, has captured people's attention ever since that tragic April night in 1912 when 1,500 people lost their lives. And no one has better dramatized this memorable event than this author in her latest novel. ( )

A fairly uninspired recount of the sinking of the Titanic. I don't think I really number Beryl Bainbridge amongst my favourite authors. ( )

I've been sitting here staring at the blank cursor for ten minutes trying to come up with the right words to describe this novel. All I can think of is how on finishing this book I placed it on the kitchen table, closed my eyes, covered my ears and took deep breaths till I could calm myself down. It's that good. ( )