STARRED Book Review: An Ocean Life

Reviewed by Peter Hassebroek

Balanced storytelling and evocative descriptions elevate a seemingly implausible premise to a convincing, palpably absorbing adventure.

The stresses of entrepreneurialism are encroaching on Mark Forster’s home life. To assuage his wife and two daughters, Mark takes the family to Hawaii for a week of snorkeling and poolside relaxation. If on his own, Mark would spend the entire time scuba diving. He does pack his gear but promises to limit it to early morning trips to maximize family time.

Two days in, Mark rises early to join a scuba tour group. He isn’t enamored with its participants, particularly a younger man on a scooter with propellers. Once in the water, however, the tranquil sea life allows him to disregard the others. He shares his observations, enhanced by an almost encyclopedic level of knowledge about diving, the ocean, and its inhabitants. The real payoff comes with a tense, up-close encounter:

“Its rows of gills were fully open, giving me a ringside seat to gaze into its massive maw. Bloody hell, it was so silent. We watched with great interest as it turned and made a few passes before swimming onward.”

Only the great white doesn’t swim onward. Instead, Mark finds himself isolated, as if primed to become the shark’s prey. A disorientating hit from what he assumes is the shark, but could be the scooter, dislodges his equipment prior to losing consciousness.

When he comes to, he sees his tour boat ready to return, but it ignores him. In fact those divers are not the ones from his tour and they, along with others in the area, avoid Mark. He’s confused until realizing all they see a great white shark, but not the man inside looking out.

Abandoned, there’s nothing Mark can do but coordinate with his host. The first order of business is adapting to the complications of his new anatomy. For instance:

“My arms were now pectoral fins, which explained why I could not see them. I could control them, and they affected my orientation in the water, but I lost the fine dexterity I associated with individual finger movement. Now, it felt like I was wearing mittens all the time.”

He learns to rely on his host’s instincts for hunting and other basic survival while asserting his human will and wit to steer it to discover what’s going on, then what can be done about it. The detail in which all this is put forth earns the suspension of disbelief that makes his long passage through the Pacific Ocean, on a quest for answers and solutions, such an enjoyable read.

He struggles to ensure he and his host—with an instinctive will of its own—keep moving in his preferred direction while contending with threats along the way. Never mind the emotional toll of separation from his family. This odyssey mixes adventure and observational tour as Mark encounters sea life and sea vessels, with the episodes ranging from humorous to harrowing, from compelling to informative. Each whets one’s appetite for the next. 

Alas, there is always the fear of a letdown in how such a drama concludes, let alone is explained, especially with such a tough act to follow. But the resolutions are satisfying and, like everything else in the novel, clearly articulated.

An Ocean Life challenges one’s suspension of disbelief, then rewards it with an exciting firsthand experience that exceeds its humble title. Mark is a tour guide sharing an experience rather than merely imparting facts. The reader truly shares his wonder at seeing and experiencing things otherwise inaccessible to humans.

Thank you for reading Peter Hassebroek’s book review of An Ocean Life by T.R. Cotwell! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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