The Night Ship by Jess Kidd

Synopsis
1628. Embarking on a journey in search of her father, a young girl called Mayken boards the Batavia, the most impressive sea vessel of the age. During the long voyage, this curious and resourceful child must find her place in the ship’s busy world, and she soon uncovers shadowy secrets above and below deck. As tensions spiral, the fate of the ship and all on board becomes increasingly uncertain.

1. Gil, a boy mourning the death of his mother, is placed in the care of his irritable and reclusive grandfather. Their home is a shack on a tiny fishing island off the Australian coast, notable only for its reefs and wrecked boats. This is no place for a child struggling with a dark past and Gil’s actions soon get him noticed by the wrong people.

My Review

I have heard a lot of praise for Jess Kidd’s writing over the years so thought I’d start with her latest novel The Night Ship. This book has a split timeline, and the central characters are two children who find themselves being away from home to start a new life. In 1628 Mayken finds herself on the Batavia, with her guardian, travelling to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (present day Jakarta) where she will join her father. In 1989 Gil is taken to live with his grandfather on the small Island of Beacon Island, a place where only four families live, and fishing is all that takes place there. Beacon Island is also the place where the Batavia lies after becoming shipwrecked on it’s way to Batavia, and a group of archeologists are looking for items on the ship. There maybe three hundred years between Mayken and Gil, but Jess Kidd weaves a story of two children, displaced and trying to find their way in this new world, whilst also holding on to the magical and mythical tales of their childhood.

The Night Ship is one of the most beautifully written and constructed books I have read in a while. Jess Kidd captures the essence of her characters and exquisitly brings to life the true of the Batavia, her time at sea and the circumstances that saw it shipwrecked. Her attention to detail, both physical and sensory is wonderful, and made me feel I was part of this story. In 1628 the Batavia is huge ship, teaming with life, full of wonder and in Mayken’s eyes open for adventure. Her friendship with a steward, Jan Pelgrom, may not be such a good idea, but throught him she discovers the lower decks and all that goes on there. She is witness to the Ships Surgeon and his duties, the cruelty to some of the younger cabin boys and the hierarchy , where solders are kept in the lowest decks, all packed in together, with no sunlight, little food and unfortunately more prone to sickness. Maykren’s eyes are innocent and yet full of wonder and I loved seeing all of this from her pont of view. The one part of this world she clung to was the story that the Bulleback, a creature of Folklore is trapped in the lower decks, looking to kill her guardian, who is sick. This creature haunts her dreams, and she fears it is out to kill the passengers. However, it is the ships crew who are more of danger, who after the shipwreck carry out some shocking scenes that are murderous and difficult to read at times.

It is intersting that in 1989 Gil is also haunted by a mythical creature, this time the Bunyip, a preditor that hunts for women and children. Like Mayken, this mythical creature haunts Gil’s dreams, as a symptom of their fears at their new situations and feelings of being alone. Whilst Mayken is on the ship with hundreds of others, Gil finds himself on a small Island, where he is the only child on an Island of four families who make their living from fishing. Gil is gieving for his mother when he finds himself living with his Grandfather who he barely knows, and is obviously unhappy that he is there. Like Mayken, Gil finds himself exploring his new home, especially a shrine to a ghost of a young girl who died in the shipwreck. The weaving of their two stories over alternative chapters make this such a compelling book to read.

I absolutley loved the amount of historical detail that Jess Kidd included on this book, and found myself looking up the story of the Batavia and it’s passengers and crew. It is quite a shocking story, of an environment where there were tensions between those in charge, that followed onto the Islands where those who survived the shipwreck took refuge.

I enjoyed this book tremendously, the perfect weaving of the two plot lines, and the wonderful style of Jess Kidd’s writing. Through the innocent eyes of childhood she takes us on a story of adventure, where tensions arrise that the young protagonists don’t fully understand but have a huge impact on their lives. Beautiful and breathtaking, this is an amazing read.