438 Days

438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An incredible account of an almost unbelievable story.

I used to wonder how such a seemingly monotonous event (being stranded in the open ocean) could cover anything more than 50 pages without being boring, but now I know it is possible.

We are brought into the relevant part of the story early on. And though it (rightly) takes up most of the book, I didn’t feel bored once at any point.

There were times I felt like I could vividly imagine myself in his situation and occasionally felt flashes of terror, which must be nothing compared to what he felt.

For someone to survive such a tortuous event, it feels like this should be required reading for anyone who feels disillusioned in their own life.