The Boat, By Nam Le
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.These seven stories are excellent examples of the kind of literature that emerges from creative writing courses. I don't mean that pejoratively. Nam Le writes through the characters, he lets them drive the plot and not vice versa, he shows and doesn't tell, he uses concrete images, he handles time-shifts with aplomb, and there are no spurious happy endings.
Le takes in an impressive range of character and setting: the title story is a harrowing account of what it's like to be 10 days adrift in a boat designed for 15 passengers with 200 refugees on board. The descriptions are painfully vivid, and the account of a child's death is one of the most moving things I have read in a long while. "Cartagena" tells of a 14-year-old Colombian hitman who is asked to take out his best friend. In "Meeting Elise", an ageing New York artist hopes to meet his estranged daughter, whom he hasn't seen for 17 years, on the same day that he's diagnosed with cancer.
Sometimes Le tries a bit too hard for the arresting word: trees that are "spastic with colour", a street that closes "like a wound". But overall, the word-choice is spot-on, and the prose is densely textured.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments