4 out of 4 stars
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Five Weeks to Jamaica by Doug Oudin is a book in the fiction section. It traces the journey of the passengers from the coast of Mexico to Jamaica, aboard the cruise ship, Explorer.
Five weeks of non-stop fun and adventuring at the sea? Definitely yes! Kurt Decker, his girlfriend Madison, his brother Larry and their friend, Marcos, thought they were getting a good deal when they bought their passage aboard the luxury cruise ship bound for Jamaica, for five hundred dollars each. However, their vacation seemed doomed even before they set sail. Some of their fellow passengers opted out of the tour, when they saw that the ship definitely did not qualify as a ‘luxury’ cruise ship, along with some other issues. Despite their disappointment, Kurt and his group elect to go ahead with the tour. Thus begins their journey on the ‘ship of fools’, where the ship’s inhabitants slowly become a close group of friends, as they bond over their discomfort, troubles, romances, joy, and the breathtaking wonders of the ocean.
The book is written in third person, covering the individual stories of the passengers which are effortlessly intertwined with central theme of their tumultuous but exciting journey across the ocean. The author has penned down a story with rich and colorful descriptions, which leave a strong visual imprint on the reader’s mind. Such as this description of the sunset aboard the ship, “Ahead of the ship, the undulating surface of the sea absorbed the rainbow colors of the sky, turning the glistening surface into a surreal stratum of brilliance. Where the sea met the sky, colors danced about like the interior of a kaleidoscope.” The vivid detailing of the journey makes the story come alive for the readers, and gives a very realistic feel to the tale.
The author has sketched well-developed characters for the readers. The characters display the complex human emotions fairly well. The emotional turmoil faced by some of the characters and their ensuing troubled romances, are captured nicely by the author. There is an air of believability about the characters, especially how they slowly come to trust each other and overcome their inhibitions. The struggles of the group and their determination to enjoy the trip, despite the troubles, dangers and a few mishaps, have been portrayed very well by the author.
My only complaint is that after four-fifths of the story is over, the story loses steam. Though there are a couple of major twists in the last one-fifth part of the book, the length of the book could have been tacked without altering those plot twists.
This book will appeal to all the readers who love the sea. It will also appeal to those readers who love travelling, if not the ocean (like me). I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars, for its believable characters and wondrous scenes.
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Five Weeks to Jamaica
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