The Stranger in the Lifeboat
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher: Sphere
ISBN: 9780751584530
For fans of mysteries, thrillers and crime fiction, this book may not be their cup of tea, but there is mention of a mystery at the heart of this novel which might appeal to them. And Mitch Albom’s writing has that particular appeal that will keep them reading. The book opens with nine people adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion as they struggle for survival at sea.
Three days have passed. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. And they rescue him.
“Thank the Lord we found you,” a woman passenger says.
“I am the Lord,” the man whispers.
So starts the inspirational novel about a disaster and an answered prayer by the author of Tuesday with Morrie.
The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is later discovered - a year later - when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat.
It falls to the island’s chief inspector, Jarty LeFleur, a man battling his own demons, to solve the mystery of what’s really happened.
Benji was a crew member aboard the luxury ship, Galaxy that sank in the North Atlantic. And of those in the lifeboat, half were guests of the mega-wealthy owner, Jason Lambert (including Lambert himself) and the others were hired help.
Lambert is a greedy capitalist who thinks only of himself and his lost ship and mocks Benji as “scribble boy,” but the main character is a young stranger pulled out of the water.
When the stranger whispers “I am the Lord” in reply, imagine the others’ scepticism - if he's not lying, then why doesn't he save them? Why doesn’t he answer their prayers?
“I always answer people’s prayers,” the man who says he's Lord replies, “but sometimes the answer is no.”
Meanwhile, the ship’s disappearance is big news as searchers scour the vast ocean in vain. The lost survivors are surrounded by water and dying of thirst.
Out of desperation, one person succumbs to temptation and drinks ocean water - and pays for the mistake. Another becomes shark food. The Lord says that for him to help, everyone must accept him first, and Lambert, for one, is having none of it.
The storyline and characters aren’t deep, but they’re still entertaining. A disaffected crew member might or might not have sunk the ship with limpet mines. And whether the raft’s occupants survive seems beside the point - does a higher power exist that may pluck believers like Benji safely from the sea? Or is faith an illusion of the desperate? Lord knows.
Details about those on board and some information about the voyage itself is interspersed throughout the book via news stories and interviews before and after the sinking of the luxurious yacht.
Benji shares details of the survivors and everything we learn (about what happens in the lifeboat), we see through his eyes and are shaped by his experiences. It’s written in second person as he’s writing in a notebook to a woman called Annabelle.
The book itself is beautifully written. Albom’s phrasing and his sentences are often enchanting and poignant. Individually, the words are just words. However, he combines them in such a way that they become profound.
Ultimately, this is a strangely beguiling book. On one level, it’s the story of those who’ve survived a shipwreck. On another, it’s about faith being tested. And it’s also a reminder that those we love will always live on in our hearts and minds, even when they are no longer with us.
