4★
“Mayken loves the sailors instantly. The daring of them, their speed along the ropes, the heights they climb to!”

Mayken is the child, a young Dutch child, nine years old. Her mother has died, so she is sailing aboard the ‘Batavia’ with her nursemaid, Imke, bound for Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia), where her father lives. Half of the book is her story, a fictionalised account of the true voyage in 1628.

Imke is badly seasick, but Mayken loves everything, to the point of deciding she will be a sailor when she grows up. She studies the crew as they work and describes how she will one day write her own ship’s log.

“Today the waves are big and the ship jumps into them, the lion on the bowsprit dips his great paw right in! I practise spitting and swearing when Imke’s asleep. I can spit quite far. I would make a great sailor. We have been eleven days at sea.”

The other half of the book belongs to Gil, an Australian boy, also nine, sent in 1989 to live with his late mother’s father, a cray fisherman, on one of the small islands off the coast of Western Australia. He doesn’t know who his father is, and he’s unhappy with his gruff grandfather.

The Abrolhos Islands are a mix of coral reefs and small islands without a permanent population. Fishers, divers, and scientists stay in small shacks or dwellings only during the season, but retreat to the mainland otherwise. There are tourists and day-trippers from Geraldton during the holidays.

I was particularly interested in reading this because I recently read The Islands by Australian author Emily Brugman, a historical fiction novel about the Finnish immigrants who came to the Abrolhos to fish for crayfish, so I was aware of this area already.

The history of Mayken’s ‘Batavia’ voyage and the violent, blood-thirsty brutality of the crew are well known, making the islands a popular place for visitors to search for artefacts. This gives an opportunity for Mayken’s and Gil’s stories to parallel each other as he finds items that we know she used.

They are very different children. Mayken is seems younger to me, fearless, and noisy the way some little kids are – always questioning, whistling, making sounds. Gil seems a bit older, fearful, and silent. What they have in common is a horror of being hunted by monsters, terrifying ones that slither up from the briny deep to attack the unwary.

The author makes general comparisons at first, and as she reveals more of their lives, the similarities are almost word for word.

About the stars. Gil first.

“Dutch shines his torch to illuminate their burrows. He talks about the stars and points out constellations. Gil pays no attention. He would rather the stars stayed wild and not become something else he has to know about.”

Then Mayken, from high in the rigging where an old sailor has taken her.
“‘There are more stars up here.’

‘There are the same number, only you can see them better. That one there—’

‘Don’t name them! Let them be wild and not something I have to learn about.’”

The tragedy of the story is well-known, but the author has made it personal and human, adding descriptive passages that add to the experiences of the children. This one is the old sailor teaching Mayken.

“Holdfast looks up at the sky. ‘Close your eyes and listen to the song of the ship.’

Mayken closes her eyes and listens, to the billow of canvas and the rasp of rope and the plash of water on the hull. The ship creaks, heeling as her massive sails fill with wind. And beyond this, the ship’s own song in the accent of the forest she is made from – a whole forest of trees! In the ship’s song is the memory of branches and leaves tasting the wind. The heartbeat of the slow-growing oak, the rushing pine.

Mayken opens her eyes.

‘Did you hear it?’

Mayken nods.

‘She will keep us safe, though there’ll be storms and shipworms outside and in. To the ‘Batavia’ we must cling.’”

That’s a lovely thought, although we know what happens to timber on sharp reefs.

Kidd has made much of the settings and the characters, tying them together around the ‘Batavia’ tragedy. She has put the actual crew and passengers into the story, and made it all too real. A good, if sad, read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Canongate Books for the copy for review.

This is a link to my review of The Islands by Emily Brugman. I think these books go well together.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4539181084

Another recent book about this area is The Brink, by Holden Sheppard, which I just read and reviewed here. It's a modern story of young school-leavers "holidaying" on one of the islands.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4693762005

*A big thank-you to Jess Kidd, Canongate, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Another winner for me from the author I have been following for some time now!
The tale of tragic story of the Batavia and its links to modern times make the main plot. The two main protagonists, a girl called Mayken who boarded the ship in 1629 to join her father in the colony, and a boy, Gil, who in 1989 lives on a small island not far from the shipwreck, supplement each other and althought their stories are different they do have a lot in common, both being motherless and having the curiosity about life and having to conquer obstacles life prepares for them.
I am not a big fan of dualtime storylines but I liked it in this book, it is natural and rooting for both Mayken and Gil was authentic on my part.
I think Ms Kidd's latest novel differes from her previous ones, but to me it is a signal she can write in whatever manner she chooses.

Based on real-life events, The Night Ship is a poignant duel time-lined story of two children separated by hundreds of years. In 1629, Mayken, a young dutch girl on-route to her father aboard the ill-fated ship The Batavia. In 1989, Gil, a young Australian boy sent to live on the remote fisherman’s Beacon Island with his Grandfather. Both children are 9 years old, both motherless and both believe they are being hunted by something otherworldly.

For those who have not heard the story of The Batavia, it set sail from Amsterdam on her way to The Dutch West Indies. While off the coast of Australia, The Batavia sank and those who survived made land on what they called Batavias Graveyard (now Beacon Island). Needless to say, as supplies ran out, mutiny and murder pursued and less than eighty survivors remained when the rescue party arrived.

The book is a seamless weaving together of both contemporary (yes I’m old enough to consider 1989 contemporary) and historical fiction. While Mayken’s story is fast paced and filled with Jess Kidds quintessential super natural feel of ghost and myth, Gils story is slow and lonely and sad, the two 9 year old children forging a connection across centuries.

The descriptive prose is so gorgeous
“Mayken is made of pale skin and small white teeth and fine fair hair and linen and lace and wool and leather. There are treasures sown into the seams of her clothing, small and valuable, like her.” ……
but also lightly peppered with humour, not to lighten the mood of what at length is a story of grief, abandonment and loss, but to make it all the more painful. It’s obvious that huge amounts of research have gone in to the writing and the result is a rich dark tale filled with lore and superstition. Without doubt, it’s a sad story, difficult to read, but harder to put down.

I enjoyed this atmospheric, somewhat sinister tale of 2 young girls set in dual time lines, it is dark at times and maybe a little slow for me to start with but I enjoyed getting to know the characters on the ship and finding out the story of these 2 girls, it’s the first book I have read by this author and I would definitely look out for her others in future. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early copy.

The Night Ship weaves together the story of two children, centuries apart in a way that is absolutely stunning. Jumping between the two time periods both clarifies both story lines and also creates a really pleasant narrative pace that kept me interested in the story the whole time. I will confess that I preferred the story set in the 1980s.

I also think the supernatural elements of this book were handled really nicely and leaving them somewhat ambiguous worked really well to span the two time periods.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to those who like historical fiction and mild horror. Such a pleasure to read!

In The Night Ship, Jess Kidd weaves together the tales of Mayken, a young girl aboard the Batavia headed for the Dutch East Indies in 1629, and Gil, a nine year old sent to live with his Grandfather on an island off the Western Coast of Australia in 1989.Both are recently motherless and both are newly thrust into an alien environment, faced with unique challenges and rumours of monsters haunting their surroundings.

Mayken is a wonderfully precocious child who just wants to learn how to spit and become a sailor when she grows up. Accompanied by her nursemaid Imke she’d rather roam the Below World of the ship than sit and sew with the other fine young ladies on board. When Imke becomes increasingly unwell, Mayken believes her to be a victim of the eel-like monster Bullebek who is living down in the ship’s hold.

Gil is a quiet boy who has had a particularly traumatic past. He becomes unwittingly embroiled in the feud between his grandfather and the Zanetti family, causing more pain and suffering along the way. Accompanied by his best friend, Enkido the tortoise, he explores the Island and learns more about the famous shipwreck just off the coast; including the ghost of Little May, a girl who was a victim of the Batavia disaster.

The real life tale of what happened to the people on board the Batavia is horrific enough but Jess Kidd manages to make it even more insidious and disturbing. She evokes such an oppressive atmosphere on board the ship that you can feel the terror slowly rising to the surface. Her beautiful writing wonderfully juxtaposes with the horror of the words themselves.

This is a gorgeous book about grief, love, being different and the acceptance of those differences. It’s also a story about loyalty, friendship and sacrifice and the realisation that sometimes the monsters in our lives are sadly not make believe.

I absolutely loved this.
It was written brilliantly.
I would recommend ti friends and family.
I wish i could read for first time again

This is a masterpiece of a book which I am certain many people will enjoy. I couldn't read it as quickly as I wanted but it's a skilfully written page turner.

The book is partly based on the real life Batavia ship wreck and mutiny off the Australian coast. One half of the story focuses on Mayken, a young girl who boards the ship Batavia in 1629 to travel to her father in a far off country having recently lost her mother. But suspicion, intrigue and mysterious creatures make the voyage far from simple and ultimately lead to disaster.

The other half of the book tells the story of Gil, a young boy who is mourning his mother and gets sent to his irritable and unfriendly grandfather who lives on a tiny fishing island off the coast of Australia. Gil discovers the story of the shipwreck but he remains lonely and in the small island community, he can't escape or recover from his past.

As I said, this book has been masterfully written. I am in awe of the author's imagination and the level of her research. How she intertwines two stories that are centuries apart is amazing. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Told in dual time lines, 1628 and 1989, this is a retelling of the sinking of the ship, Batavia, en route to the Spice Islands. On board is a young girl, Mayken van der Heuvel , who is going to meet her absent father, and her nursemaid, Imie. The ship carries silver coin in order to purchase spices, and a crew of sailors, fee paying passengers and a large contingent of soldiers, the latter to keep all on board safe from pirates.
1989, nine year old Gil is on Beacon Island. He has been sent to live with his distant grandfather, following the death of his mother. There are scientists on the island, who are investigating an old shipwreck, and the island is meant to be haunted by a young girl.
Both stories collide after a 300 year interval. Mayken and the ship Batavia, are consumed by greed and self interest, the survival of the strongest and fittest. Evil is in abundance, Mayken believes the serpent like monster, Bullebak is to blame for events that befall the ship.
Gil has different monsters, loneliness, abandonment, a trauma concerning a loved pet, and prejudice against Gil, who wants his life to follow a different path that is considered normal for a boy. Gil’s monster is the Bunyip , but Gil is supposed to have a special understanding of the spirit world, he believes if the bones of the young girl are found, she may rest in peace.
The story is a slow burner, there is a fair bit of repetition throughout. The misery and hardship of life at sea is conveyed very well. The flow of the narrative is stilted at times, too much information shoe horned into the novel. Gil is a strongly written character whose plight arouses sympathy with the reader, as he struggles to connect with his grandfather, avoid bullies and wonders how to follow his dreams of a different life.
A four star read. My thanks to the publishers, Cannongate, and Netgalley for my digital copy, in exchange for my honest review.

A great story, so captivating and a great use of dual timelines.
A little slow to start, but the last third I was completely gripped and would love to read more of Kidd’s work.

The Night Ship is a wonderfully heartbreaking book with a dual time line, following nine-year-old Dutch girl Mayken in the 17th century and nine-year-old Australian boy Gil in the 20th century. The two storylines interact and echo, with each child having recently lost their mother and being haunted by a bullying (imagined?) monster.

A recommended read for lovers of historical fiction.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

The story follows two children, Mayken and Gil, who live in two different times, 1629 and 1989. Mayken is aboard Batavia as she journeys to live with her father she has never met and Gil is relocated to a remote island to live with his grandfather after the death of his mother. This is based on a true story of the shipwrecked Batavia.
At first, I found this quite difficult to get into, there are many new words or phrases that I had to look up and I found myself confused easily but once I got to about 80 pages in, I settled more into the storyline and characters. There are many characters within the story, both of Mayken’s time and Gil’s. They all have their own part to play in the story. I found I was my drawn to Gil’s story than Mayken’s as Gil’s story seemed to tie together much overall even though both storylines are covered alternately chapter by chapter. The descriptions and accounts of the goings on during Batavia’s sailing are very well written, both disturbing and grim, and really give you an insight to the conditions on board those ships during the time period. I’ve given the book 4 stars as I hoped there would be much more of a connection between the characters than there was.
An atmospheric, cleverly composed story encapsulating true historical events, folklore and drama!

This story gripped me from the first chapter and I could not put it down.

I loved the switching between the two timelines and this kept me hooked throughout as I wanted to know what happened next to each character and I really enjoyed the little snippets referencing the past in the more modern timeline.

I really enjoy the way in which Jess Kidd blends magical realism into her novels and I also loved that this was based on a true story and it made me want to know more.

In 1629 Mayken is looking for a monster aboard the Batavia. In 1989, Gil is battling his own monsters. Captivating historical fiction, from the perspective of two children, a great read.

A haunting historical tale following the fate of the crew and passengers of the Batavia, a fine wooden ship leaving Holland for a five month journey in the 1600's. On board, young Mayken with her nursemaid being transported to meet her father for the first time following the death of her Mother. Three hundred years later, Gil traces her footsteps around the island where the passengers and crew were shipwrecked. This is a story of the resilience of the human spirit, the corruption of power and the depths of depravity that can be reached. Excellent writing.

What a joy to return to the writing of Jess Kidd. I have read everything she has written and this book did not disappoint. Perhaps a little darker than her previous novels ‘The Night Ship’ pulls you into the worlds of Mayken and Gil, two nine year old children living 300 years apart. Mayken is sailing to join her father following the death of her mother. The descriptions of life on board ship and the increasing tensions between passengers and crew as the long voyage progresses pull you in until you can almost hear the wind and the waves. This section of the book with its hidden ‘monster’ on board is even more disturbing as it is based on true events. Gil also grieving the loss of his mother in terrible circumstances is sent to live with his grand father on a remote island off the coast of Australia. A small fishing community where grievances run high Gils story overlaps with Mayken with stories of the ghost of a young girl and the monstrous bunyip. The tale of a boy dealing with grief and coming to terms with his identity in an apparently uncaring world ( thank god for the tortoise) pulled at my heart strings. My only criticism would be that there were times when I felt that the two timelines were a little disconnected but that didn’t stop me giving the novel a strong 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

In “The Night Ship” we meet two children, separated by over 300 years but joined by the events surrounding a shipwrecking. Mayken is a fearless girl who, having lost her mother, is heading by sea (with her nursemaid) to meet her father. Life on board ship is difficult and boring, and she eventually ventures further and further below decks, where she meets various characters and learns of a “monster” on board. This supernatural eeriness is a common thread throughout the book, and adds a haunting air to the sinister tale.

In the 1980s, we meet Gil in Western Australia, who has also recently lost his mother and been sent to stay with family under difficult circumstances. We go back and forth between the lives of the two children, seeing their parallels and sharing their stories.

This is a very dark story, and one that left me somewhat unsettled. Many of the characters are intriguing, but we don’t get to know all of them as deeply as I would have wanted, and sometimes the pacing wasn’t quite right. However, the book as a whole certainly left an impression on me, which is always the sign of a good writer, and the sense of atmosphere that the author managed to generate was impressive.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

Another fantastic book by Kidd. Well written, great storyline and characters. This took me away to the scene and I enjoyed every minute!

Oh my god, this book totally lived up to my expectations. I could not put it down. At all. The plot, the characters, the settings, I just loved everything about it!

A well written dual point of view story of a true occurrence that unfolds in 1628 and 1989. The 2 main characters are children born in two different time periods living completely different lives that just happened to unfold on the same desolate island after circumstances find them either stranded or sent there. Its a heartbreaking tale that is full of tragedy and I could not put it down!