The Open Boat and Other Stories • Stephen Crane

When a new title appears in the mare Classics series that I value so highly, I can hardly resist. Even if I don’t know the author — or perhaps especially then, since the mare Classics also include quite a few very big names. So Stephen Crane must be a true insider’s tip, and whether that’s really the case, you’ll find out in this post.

Stephen Crane died of tuberculosis at just 28, yet in his adventurous life he seems to have been quite productive. He became known for the novel The Red Badge of Courage (1895), which vividly depicts the experiences of a soldier in the American Civil War. In 1898 Crane settled in southern England, where he came into contact with Henry James and other literary greats.

In early 1897 he set out on a journey to Cuba — aboard a filibuster, a “privateer” vessel that covertly carried arms to support Cuba’s independence movement against Spanish colonial rule. During the voyage, he suffered shipwreck with the Commodore and drifted for some time in a small lifeboat. That account, and a report of the Commodore’s sinking, make up the first two stories in this book. Another story covers an entire filibuster run, showing how the weapons were finally delivered and the hardships the crew endured.

Overall, the collection is quite varied. There are short pieces — for example about New York’s little pleasure island, Coney Island — a ghost story about a woman said to appear again and again on a beach, a scene outside a winter homeless shelter, and a comical tale of a Laurel-and-Hardy-like duo who get swept away from a bathing platform. Lastly, there’s also a story about the Greco–Turkish War of 1897, which Crane witnessed as a war correspondent.

My feelings about the individual stories are somewhat mixed. On the one hand, I liked the variety and found his manner of writing entertaining. On the other, some pieces felt more like observational fragments of a given situation, with only slight narrative weight — more like brief film scenes that never quite belonged to a full film. Others, by contrast, felt much more complete, such as the opening shipwreck tales. Often the linguistic qualities couldn’t compensate for the lack of substance; I frequently missed a punchline or a final twist. So the book didn’t grip me the way some other novella collections have.

Literarily, Crane is counted among the Realists and Naturalists, and that’s clearly evident in his texts. He describes events soberly and neutrally, refrains from judging or over-explaining, and simply presents the situation. He usually writes about ordinary people facing a harsh life or a trial. Stylistically the prose is pleasant and fluid: clear, short sentences and scene-setting descriptions that quickly immerse you in the tableaux he sketches.

The book was once again edited and translated by Lucien Deprijck — a sure mark of quality. I’ve already read two books by this translator that I still remember very fondly. In the afterword he offers an informative overview of the author and his work.

Visually, the book fits seamlessly into my mare Classics collection. Housed once more in a handsome slipcase, the linen-bound volume feels high-quality and carefully produced. The palette of grays and blues looks elegant, set off perfectly by the red — almost orange — ribbon bookmark. In short: it’s a joy to hold in your hands, just as I’ve come to expect from all the volumes in the mare Classics line.

Conclusion: With Stephen Crane’s stories, mare has added another distinctly maritime volume to its classics series. Ranging from gripping shipwreck narratives to vignette-like descriptions of various places and situations, the book provides solid entertainment in pleasantly readable prose. For me, however, too many of the individual stories were unspectacular, offering too little that was new or outstanding. The quality of the production and the translation, on the other hand, is once again convincing, so you get an engaging, beautifully made book — just not quite on the level of the major highlights among the mare Classics, such as A Life by Guy de Maupassant or Dangerous Work: Diary of an Arctic Adventure by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Book information: The Open Boat and Other Stories • Stephen Crane • mare Verlag • 240 pages • ISBN 9783866482630