Ian McGuire, The North Water ***

Behold the man.
He shuffles out of Clappison's courtyard onto Sykes Street and snuffs the complex air—turpentine, fishmeal, mustard, black lead, the usual grave, morning-piss stink of just-emptied night jars.

The North Water is an adventure tale that leans heavily on its grimy atmosphere. The author takes particular pleasure in describing scents and bodily functions, as shown by the very first sentences quoted above. The story involves a ragtag collection of miscreants headed into the North Sea on what is ostensibly a whaling expedition but may involve insurance fraud as well. One of the harpooners is a sociopath; the surgeon is a disgraced veteran of India; the captain sunk his previous ship by colliding with an iceberg.

The pull quotes on the cover come from Hilary Mantel, Martin Amis, and Colm Toibin, all suggesting a British book (correct) with literary pretensions (not really). The North Water is a well-told adventure, but it doesn't address literary themes beyond the typical action movie question of whether goodness can ever compete with evil.