Hammond Innes – The White South.

December 12th, 2010 Posted in BOOKS FROM MY BOOKSHELVES, Books, DIARY, My Writing Life

The frost and snow, strange as it may seem, brought me more reading time – because I was not able to get out as much as I usually do.  I must add that another contributuing factor was that I had finished writing my new novel. Apart from checking it over and thinking of a new one I could devote some more time to reading. I turned to my bookshelves and enjoyed looking for a book to read, something that could give me a good read and relax my mind after the  concentration of completing my new novel.

Eventually, I plucked from the shelves The White South by Hammond Innes. It was published by Collins in 1949 – a first edition that I bought second hand for 75p in Peebles many years ago. I had bought it then to add to my growing collection of whaling books because this was a story of rivalry on a whaling expedition in the Antarctic.  Hammond Innes, with many books to his credit, was a superb story-teller who could hold the attention from the first word to the last. When disclosing factual information, as he does here about whaling from the enormous factory ships and whale catchers, he weaves the facts skilfully into the story so that the flow is never impeded. I enjoyed reading it again after all these years. Now what do I read next? I’ll have a nice time chosing the next one. Anyone else out there who enjoys chosing a book to read?

I have added some others to my bookshelves I must tell you about some other time.

  1. 4 Responses to “Hammond Innes – The White South.”

  2. By Judith Gilbert on Dec 15, 2010

    Choosing what book to read is one of life’s greatest pleasures; the tension, the decisions and then the wonderful apprehension of starting and meeting new people who will, for a short time, be friends.
    I once read ‘The Land God gave to Cain’ by Hammond Innes. I really enjoyed it at the time and you have made me want to revisit it.

  3. By Duncan on Jan 19, 2011

    Oh yes – The Land God Gave to Cain – one of the best books I have read. I recently re-read The Wreck of the Mary Deare which is also full of tension and I enjoyed it just as much second time round as the first. I haven’t read The White South but maybe now is the time to do so. Where do you all stand on the subject of reading a book and watching the film version? I always prefer to read the book before I see the film so I can build up my own picture of the characters. I found this to be very much the case with Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: I have read this twice and seen the film twice but I was always pleased to have read the book first. I am sure the same will apply with Jessica Blair novels when they hit the TV or big screen!

  4. By Bill on Jan 29, 2011

    Thanks for Comment, Duncan. I agree I’d rather read the book before the film.There always seems to be more in a book than the film. This is understandable given the time element. The film is not always your interpretation of the book, after all the film is somebody else’s interpretation and they may well have commercial boundaries in mind. It would be nice to think my novels were going to hit the screen – and interesting to see how they were interpreted

  5. By Judith Gilbert on Feb 7, 2011

    I find many of the films really don’t spend the time required of a novel. I find Jane Aire and Wuthering Heights wonderful books but abysmal films. You just can’t get into the depth of the characters.
    I really must return to Hammond Innes, you have wetted my appetite!

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