Honolulu Lite
Patrick O'Brian, who died at age 85 last week in Dublin, was probably the best writer you have never heard of. O’Brian civilized
the sea taleYou might say he wrote sailing novels but that would be like saying Pablo Picasso drew pictures. O'Brian brought the Royal Navy of Admiral Nelson's day alive in a staggering series of books centered on two fictional characters, Capt. Jack Aubrey and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin. At the time of his death, O'Brian was working on the 21st installment of the Aubrey/Maturin series, which the New York Times called the best historical novels ever written.
Many who dipped a toe into the series found themselves swept overboard, eagerly awaiting each successive book and seasoning their daily speech with sea talk like, "Make a lane, matey, make a lane," "God rot your vitals, you infernal lubber" and the ever-popular drinking man's chorus "The bottle stands by you, sir!"
I joined the Cult of O'Brian in 1994 after the series was well underway. He wrote the first Aubrey/Maturin novel "Master and Commander" in 1960 to the collective yawn of the British public. But he became a hit in America. He counted actor Charleton Heston among his fans.
The vivid detail of the Aubrey/Maturin series makes the more famous Horatio Hornblower novels seem like crude sketches. O'Brian's depth of knowledge about life in the early 19th century was amazing, right down to what people ate. When lucky, his characters gorged on bizarrely-named puddings like Boiled Baby and Spotted Dog. When stores ran out, they lived on weevil-infested biscuits and millers (rats).
HIS books also found an American audience because at a time when no one seemed to be at moral helm of the country O'Brians characters acted with dignity, bravery and honor.
In "Wine Dark Sea," after the crew survives a prodigious number of life-threatening incidents in the South Pacific, Maturin asks Aubrey if he ever considered just going home.
"Yes, it often occurs to me, but then my innate nobility of character cries out, 'Hey, Jack Aubrey: you mind your duty, dy're me there?' Do you know about duty, Stephen?
I believe I have heard it well spoken of.
Well, it exists."
In 1995, when O'Brian went to New York for a book signing, I convinced this paper's managing editor that it was absolutely imperative for me to interview O'Brian, although his books had nothing to do with Hawaii. Basically, I wanted to be able to tell my grandkids that I actually talked to the man.
I interviewed him by phone after being warned by his publisher not to actually ask any questions because O'Brian believed question and answer is not a civilized form of conversation. Hah. O'Brian had tons of questions. He was interested in everything about Hawaii, asking me things like, "The macadamia nut, what kind of tree does it grow on?" and "In Hawaii, do they have many inland streams?"
He also was sensitive to the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, having spent a lot of time in Catalonia, and Ireland, where sovereignty struggles have been going on for ages. "I perfectly understand the resistance of the Hawaiians," he said. "Very few people like to have their homelands invaded. There's an awful lot to be said for people just staying at home."
O'Brian eventually will be considered one of the literary giants of our time. But for now, a devoted handful of infernal lubbers will break out the Port and drink to his memory. Thankfully, he left many behind.
Charles Memminger, winner of
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
awards in 1994 and 1992, writes "Honolulu Lite"
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Write to him at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, 96802
or send E-mail to charley@nomayo.com or
71224.113@compuserve.com.
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