Log of the S.S. the Mrs Unguentine

The Book of Genesis as follows Revelations. There are no resets. This is the greatest argument for and against marriage in literature, depending on who you married. Such a slim, meditative, and ethereal work. It's got touches of Kesey, Vonnegut, and Denis Johnson in its readability and depth, though it's measured in terms of pace for only a 100 page book. It's influence can only be biblical through a post-modern lens: Absurd and tragic. I read this book twice in a row and will read it again.

Wonderful masterpiece in just over 100 pages. To think that this book was out of print makes me nauseous, what other wonderful great novels are we missing out on. This novel is a great achievement, a perfect allegory, along the lines of the magic realism, of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, of every marriage on earth, where "being on the same boat" suddenly acquires a new, frightening, wonderful, inexplicably uncommunicable beauty and pain.

This neglected masterpiece needs to be returned to print immediately. It is one of the greatest novels of the past half century. Prose this exquisite and sad and funny deserves a wide, ecstatic readership. This is a sea-tale about the deep loneliness between intimates and how that very loneliness can result in an even more powerful bond.

Found this little gem in the 70's in a pile of books "on sale"... I read and re read Unguentine at least 10 times in the course of 35 years... then we had a house fire.. and of all the things we lost our books were the worst esp. The ones like the log of the ss mrs. Unguentine..treasure this gem..

Weird but interesting.

Sometimes you want to read a book that's just interesting and fun. Well, here it is.I don't know about the "masterpiece" raves. We do meander a bit and Mrs. Unguentine, our narrator, is not terribly engaging or particularly insightful. But, if you approach this as more of an exercise in the art of being subtly interesting or as an experiment in form and style, or if you take it as a meditation on marriage and coupling, or on the limits and bonds of intimacy, well it has its rewards.Anyway, if you have to spend time trapped on a boat, this better than doing so with some kid and a tiger.

'Log of the S.S. The Mrs Urguentine'... Do you need any more cues? It's frankly clear from the start that we are dealing with 'cult' stuff.Written in 1972, this short piece of fiction (little over 100 pages, plus a 5-pages afterword to help you put things in perspective) can be enjoyed in one gulp.It chronicles the adventures of Mr. Unguentine, his wife (who is to remain namelesse throughout the novel) and their uncanny marriage, living aboard a quasi-magical barge complete with a glass-dome, a forest, animals and a maze-like feel.This smells in many ways of magical realism and, while it feels much more post-modern than anything Marquez wrote, it still brings him to mind from time to time.Mr. Unguentine is a surreal character. He took to living on a barge, far from any form of civilization and took his wife with him (almost adbucted her, I'd say). Their relationship borders on the master-slave paradigm, although Mr. Uguentine is capable, from time to time, to show love in his own peculiar ways.In a way, this novel belongs to the 'what if?' literary genre. What if two adult people were to live for 40 years in absolute isolation, on a floating barge full of clever (impossible?) inventions? What sort of disturbed/alienated relationship would they develop? Throw in some magical realism and you get the basic, yet deeply original, recipe for this novel.For those who have adventurous tastes in all-things lit., this might prove to be a deeply satisfying, albeit quick, read.

I wrote a review of this during lunch and lost it completely. So here goes it. Again. David insisted that I read this book before sending it to him. So last night, I babysat an insomnia and read the book like a slow lightning bolt. This book deserves my nod.To barge on a barge, the story begins with the sardonic, melodious voice of Mrs Unguentine, whose abusive, inebriated husband invents lavished nautical things such as a colossal dome on a barge and a fake, really fake, Amazon to pass their 40 years voyage at sea staying quite clear of land and civilization. Poor (sweet) potentially obese Ungentine endures forty years of the tendered, reticent, violent blows of her brilliant, mildly deranged marriage.An eccentric meditation on the perverse connubial life of a modern Adam and Eve. The narrative flows intensely and fluidly. An extraordinary invention. Too bad the book got submerged or blanched out by the political upheavals (Vietnam war, the Munich Massacre) of the 70s and I haven't been exposed to it until now.

Interesting Read. This is one of two books I've read from Stanley Crawford. This guy knows words and that adds so much to reading.