Rating: 
Summary: A Survival/Love Story
Review: "The African Queen" is a very decent classic which I enjoyed very much. Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnut are very developed, hilarious characters who give you an understanding of classes, religion, technology and love. The boat-handling information is very thorough. This classic is for almost any reader; I was very satasfied.
Rating: 
Summary: The devil is in the detail
Review: C S Forester knew his business. He knew a plausible method of turning an old river steamer into a torpedo, he knew the hellish consequences of losing a prop blade, of mooring in a mangrove swamp, of finding still water in a rapid.. And as he has proven so many times in the Hornblower novels, he knows the way of knaves and gentleman... This is a book for any age.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't Quite Work
Review: Forester's novel appears to be a fairly straightforward adventure tale, set in German Central Africa during WWI. Rose is the sister of an English missionary, who dies at the beginning of the novel after the Germans have driven off his "flock." She is picked up by Allnutt, a Cockney mechanic who works for a Belgian mine, running supplies up the river in the flat-bottomed "African Queen." He's basically a coward who will follow the path of least resistance, and so allows himself to be browbeat into a harebrained scheme by Rose. She intends to pilot the boat down river, through rapids that are generally agreed-upon to be unnavigable by a boat like the "African Queen," and onto a lake the Germans dominate thanks to a giant gunboat. There, they will rig some explosives Allnutt has on board and ram the ship, blowing it--and themselves--up, thus striking "a blow for England" and avenging Rose's brother's death. Depending on how you read it, this is either the stuff of great derring-do, or a critique on the futility of heroism in WWI. As an adventure tale, the characters are rather too flat. Allnutt is drawn as too pliable a character, especially for one who has somehow ended up running a boat in the middle of Africa. Rose somehow becomes an expert pilot in a matter of a week, managing to master the nuances of a creaky and unwieldy vessel in extreme poor conditions. Along the way she sheds her proper upbringing and godfearedness with rather unlikely alacrity (unless, that is, Forester was trying to say that such beliefs are rather ephemeral anyway). Their love affair more or less works in the context of the adventure they're on, but it's very hard to imagine it continuing in the outside world. The ending is somewhat more interesting, foreshadowing some of the bleakness of Pierre Boulle's novel Bridge on the River Kwai.
Rating:
Summary: Romantic Adventure Filled with Irony about Civilization
Review: I find it impossible to discuss this book without referring to the 1951 movie. The first 80 percent of the movie and the book are mostly similar. The endings are quite different. I slightly prefer the movie's improbable ending, although the endings of both have serious flaws. Reading the first 80 percent of the book is a joy after having seen the movie. If you are like me, you will see and hear the movie in your mind as you read the book. In the first 80 percent of the book, you will find more in the book than in the movie. C.S. Forester is able to tackle interesting themes in the book that were too delicate for Hollywood. Also, he employs an amazing mastery of the technical details in describing the African Queen's voyage down the Ulanga and Bora rivers into Lake Victoria. You will almost feel like you are reading science fiction from the time of H.G. Wells, as Allnut and Rose keep making something out of nothing. To me, the best part of the book is that the contrasts between the "civilized" conventions and the "natural" instincts are drawn in extreme and fine detail. It will make you re-examine how you think about what is the right thing to do in your own life, which is what good literature should do. To me, the weakness of the book is that the attitudes that The African Queen challenges are very far removed from our experience today. What was very scathing then now seems quaint. Somehow, the outrage behind the story is diffused into a dreamy period piece. Are there many women now of 33 who are so completely dominated by their brothers that they do not lead their own lives? Would many people today be inflamed by love of country to want to strike a personally fatal blow against the oppressor against all odds? Does the arrogance of colonialism seem believable, or just a silly notion to caricature? Ultimately, Rose's instant rise from docile creature to Wonder Woman does seem to strain credibility. It's inspiring fun, though, like any book about brave heroines who are undaunted by the odds and convention. After you read this book, think about where your assumptions about what you should be doing have not been re-examined by you in a while. What are you doing because someone else tells you it is a good idea? What should you be doing because you think it is a good idea? Take the initiative to do the right thing with full speed ahead!
Rating:
Summary: Romantic Adventure Filled with Irony about Civilization
Review: I find it impossible to discuss this book without referring to the 1951 movie. The first 80 percent of the movie and the book are mostly similar. The endings are quite different. I slightly prefer the movie's improbable ending, although the endings of both have serious flaws.
Reading the first 80 percent of the book is a joy after having seen the movie. If you are like me, you will see and hear the movie in your mind as you read the book. In the first 80 percent of the book, you will find more in the book than in the movie. C.S. Forester is able to tackle interesting themes in the book that were too delicate for Hollywood. Also, he employs an amazing mastery of the technical details in describing the African Queen's voyage down the Ulanga and Bora rivers into Lake Victoria. You will almost feel like you are reading science fiction from the time of H.G. Wells, as Allnut and Rose keep making something out of nothing. To me, the best part of the book is that the contrasts between the "civilized" conventions and the "natural" instincts are drawn in extreme and fine detail. It will make you re-examine how you think about what is the right thing to do in your own life, which is what good literature should do. To me, the weakness of the book is that the attitudes that The African Queen challenges are very far removed from our experience today. What was very scathing then now seems quaint. Somehow, the outrage behind the story is diffused into a dreamy period piece. Are there many women now of 33 who are so completely dominated by their brothers that they do not lead their own lives? Would many people today be inflamed by love of country to want to strike a personally fatal blow against the oppressor against all odds? Does the arrogance of colonialism seem believable, or just a silly notion to caricature? Ultimately, Rose's instant rise from docile creature to Wonder Woman does seem to strain credibility. It's inspiring fun, though, like any book about brave heroines who are undaunted by the odds and convention. After you read this book, think about where your assumptions about what you should be doing have not been re-examined by you in a while. What are you doing because someone else tells you it is a good idea? What should you be doing because you think it is a good idea? Take the initiative to do the right thing with full speed ahead!
Rating:
Summary: This book takes you there.
Review: Seen the movie, now read the book. This is an adventure tale about Charlie Allnutt and Rose Sayer set in WWI and was written by C.S.Forester in 1935. The book has been over shadowed by the 1951 film which starred Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. The book stands on its own as a classic and centres on the relationship between the unlikely match of Charlie and Rose with the war as a backdrop. Charlie is a gin loving engineer and Rose is a religious missionary who manages to convince Charlie to take his rickety old boat, The African Queen, down a treacherous river to destroy a German gunboat patrolling the lake at the end of the river. The inter play between the two characters is developed beautifully as they influence each other to form a formidable team. Forester may have meant it to be many things, but to me it is a great love story. Two people who shine in the presence of each other. The novel is relatively short and keeps the suspense and sense of adventure high throughout. The ending of the book turns out to be more realistic and poignant than the film and just by reading it you will appreciate the brilliance of Bogart and Hepburn even more.
Rating:
Summary: C. S. Forester Knows How to Tell Stories
Review: Some authors have the gift of putting words together in a way that entertains and enthralls the reader. C. S. Forester is one of the best. When Forester tells a story, the reader feels personally involved. We feel like we know the characters in a personal, intense way. If you have read Forester's Hornblower novels, you have read Forester at his best. The African Queen was made into a memorable movie starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. The book is more intense, darker, and far less triumphant than the movie. If you thrill to the successes of Horatio Hornblower in Forester's navel novels, you might find African Queen a little depressing at times. If you like depressing novels (and apparently many readers do) you might give this book five stars. The story is set during World War I and involves the attempt by a missionary lady and an alcoholic English boatman to travel down a river in Africa to do battle with the Germans. The interaction between the characters and the river creates a riveting story. Like Hemingway, "I recommend Forester..."
Rating:
Summary: C. S. Forester Knows How to Tell Stories
Review: Some authors have the gift of putting words together in a way that entertains and enthralls the reader. C. S. Forester is one of the best. When Forester tells a story, the reader feels personally involved. We feel like we know the characters in a personal, intense way. If you have read Forester's Hornblower novels, you have read Forester at his best. The African Queen was made into a memorable movie starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. The book is more intense, darker, and far less triumphant than the movie. If you thrill to the successes of Horatio Hornblower in Forester's navel novels, you might find African Queen a little depressing at times. If you like depressing novels (and apparently many readers do) you might give this book five stars. The story is set during World War I and involves the attempt by a missionary lady and an alcoholic English boatman to travel down a river in Africa to do battle with the Germans. The interaction between the characters and the river creates a riveting story. Like Hemingway, "I recommend Forester..."
Rating:
Summary: Forester is a great practical philosopher
Review: The lady has the will, and the cockney has the ingenuity. Between the two of them they conquer incredible obstacles.
Their great goal is to strike a blow for England in the war against Imperial Germany, but just as we might suppose, the efforts of two "very ordinary people" don't change the course of history. Nevertheless, it's an inspiring tale of courage, intelligence, and mutual respect. Each makes the other a better person.
Rating:
Summary: Forester is a great practical philosopher
Review: The lady has the will, and the cockney has the ingenuity. Between the two of them they conquer incredible obstacles. Their great goal is to strike a blow for England in the war against Imperial Germany, but just as we might suppose, the efforts of two "very ordinary people" don't change the course of history. Nevertheless, it's an inspiring tale of courage, intelligence, and mutual respect. Each makes the other a better person.
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