Publisher's Synopsis
With a seamless blend of literature and adventure, 'Motoo Eetee' marks the debut of an important new writer. Swimming for their lives from the senseless wreck of the American sealing ship Dove, four men escape -- Thomas, a headstrong young sailor; Harrison, the affable, inventive ship's carpenter; Mr Morgen, the Dove's pedestrian first mate; and the ageing Captain Tobit -- bungling, short-sighted, and fanatical. Bruised and naked, they find themselves cast away on an uncharted, uninhabited island in the far South Pacific where the bounty and beauty of all that surrounds them are at odds with the old structures of shipboard life. Within the new order dictated by nature and the struggle to secure the simplest food, clothing, and shelter, the old divisions between officers and men, especially between Thomas and Tobit, nevertheless grow deeper. Which voice prevails in the end -- nature or human habit -- is the essence of this book's gripping climax.
