CASTAWAYS

Action takes a back seat to psychodrama in these six original sea tales. Hausman embroiders old yarns and historical incidents into studies of how being a sole survivor of disaster, or alone on a long journey, can affect both mind and spirit. Two castaways populate the shadowy jungles around them with imaginary, semi-human beasts; another takes up residence on a lonely outcropping in the Scilly Isles near the place where her husband and child drowned; a know-it-all young man modeled on real-life sailor Joshua Slocum returns much changed from a solo voyage around the world; a Caribbean fisherman escapes drowning so often that he becomes known as “The Man Who Would Not Go Bottom.” Though there are some remarkable exploits here, they seem remote—seldom more than set-ups for the author’s explorations of his characters’ inner landscapes. Readers hoping for the chills of Duppy Talk (1999) or the high adventure of Hausman’s “Tom Cringle” stories will be disappointed, but those with a taste for introspective writing may be willing to give this a try. (source notes) (Short stories. 12+)