The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic

by Allan Wolf Narrated by Michael Page, Phil Gigante, Angela Dawe, Christopher Lane, Laural Merlington

Overview

Arrogance and innocence, hubris and hope-twenty-four haunting voices of the Titanic tragedy, as well as the iceberg itself, are evoked in a stunning tour de force.

Millionaire John Jacob Astor hopes to bring home his pregnant teen bride with a minimum of media scandal. A beautiful Lebanese refugee, on her way to family in Florida, discovers the first stirrings of love. And an ancient iceberg glides south, anticipating its fateful encounter. The voices in this remarkable re-creation of the Titanic disaster span classes and stations, from Margaret ("the unsinkable Molly") Brown to the captain who went down with his ship; from the lookout and wireless men to a young boy in search of dragons and a gambler in search of marks. Slipping in telegraphs, undertaker's reports, and other records, poet Allan Wolf offers a breathtaking, intimate glimpse at the lives behind the tragedy, told with clear-eyed compassion and astounding emotional power.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Wolf (Zane's Trace) constructs a richly textured novel in verse that recreates the Titanic's ill-fated journey, predominantly through the voices of her passengers. The speakers include John Jacob Astor, ("the unsinkable") Margaret Brown, Captain E.J. Smith, and little-known individuals whose stories Wolf draws from research and archival materials. A Lebanese refugee, traveling alone with her brother, finds first love; a tailor, accompanied by his two sons, anguishes over his broken marriage; and a gambler cons his way through the first-class passengers' pocketbooks. A ship rat speaks, as does the iceberg itself-a choice that could have become esoteric ("I am the ice. I have no need of wings./ I only need the hearts Titanic brings")-but earns its place within a composite that includes colloquial speech, introspective interior monologues, and rhyming poetry. Throughout, sequences flash forward to an undertaker's handling of the bodies ("Bodies scattered for miles, in every direction./ Bodies as far as my indifferent eyes can see"), assuring that the ending is never in question. But Wolf's carefully crafted characters evolve as the voyage slides to its icy conclusion; readers may be surprised by the potency of the final impact. Ages 14-up.
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From the Publisher

A masterpiece. Wolf leaves no emotion unplumbed, no area of research uninvestigated, and his voices are so authentic they hurt. Everyone should read it.
—Booklist (starred review)

Wolf constructs a richly textured novel in verse that recreates the Titanic's ill-fated journey, predominantly through the voices of her passengers... Wolf's carefully crafted characters evolve as the voyage slides to its icy conclusion; readers may be surprised by the potency of the final impact.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Twenty-four voices-of passengers, rats and even the iceberg-evoke the human tragedy of the ill-fated voyage. Wolf brings the history and, more importantly, the human scale of the event to life by giving voice to the players themselves . . . A lyrical, monumental work of fact and imagination that reads like an oral history revved up by the drama of the event.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Wolf's novel in verse gives voice, through first-person accounts, to a cross section of passengers and crew on the Titanic: how they boarded, why they're there, and how they face the disaster. . . . The themes of natural disaster, technology, social class, survival, and death all play out here.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

Wolf allows readers to experience the tragedy from all decks.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This is a well-detailed and historically accurate portrayal of the events and brings the feelings and emotions of the characters alive.
—Library Media Connection (highly recommended)

Moving... From their embarkation on the "great floating city . . . with its cargo of human hearts," the characters take turns relating their stories even as disaster engulfs them.
—The Wall Street Journal

The resulting record of the brief voyage gives readers an emotional punch. The strength of the effect is astonishing given that the ship sank nearly one hundred years ago and has been the stuff of legend ever since... Very enthusiastically recommended.
—Children's Literature

Exhaustively researched, The Watch That Ends the Night vividly limns the naivete, the disbelief, and finally the hopelessness of the ship’s crew and passengers.
—Poetry Foundation (book of the month)

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Talented poet, Allan Wolf, incorporates both accurate historical accounts and his own speculative research into his captivating novel in verse (Candlewick, 2011), an imagined account of the Titanic's ill fated voyage. With 24 personal narratives ranging in perspective from the ship's captain to a refugee in the third class to the iceberg itself, the story unfolds from preparations and boarding to evacuation attempts and the body collections by coroners. The ensemble narrators unfold another brilliant facet of this historical fiction gem, providing varied accents and nuances for each character. This phenomenal audio version of a stirring story should be part of all high school and public library collections.—Jessica Miller, West Springfield Public Library, MA

NOVEMBER 2011 - AudioFile

This production tells the story of the passengers on the TITANIC through interlinked poems from multiple perspectives. Five narrators help listeners keep the large cast straight as they create appropriate and distinct voices for each character. The range of accents (American, British, Norwegian, Irish, French, and Pakistani, to name a few), pitches, and tones makes the poetry and story accessible, and the way the production incorporates details like the chanting of a mail sorter and a periodic Morse Code sound effect adds verisimilitude. Dispatches from an undertaker who retrieves bodies after the accident are a continual reminder of where this story is headed, making the narrators’ jobs all the more important as they urge listeners to become invested in these characters. A weighty and compelling listen. A.F. 2012 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171613976
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	10/11/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

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