Book Review: 438 Days

438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Johnathan Franklin

We’ve made it to September, and with only four months left, what a year it has been. That’s why I decided to have a little fun with this month’s theme, so welcome to Survival September! We’ll be celebrating some of the best survival stories (mostly nonfiction); hopefully we’ll be able to discuss them through a more positive lens than the one on the world today. That’s what I love about this blog: I want it to be a place where reality and escape come together in harmony.

Today, I wanted to start with a nonfiction piece I read this year and was fascinated by. Let’s jump right in:

On November 17, 2012, Salvador Alvarenga and his 23-year-old co-worker, Ezequiel, were swept off the course of their fishing trip in a violent storm that sent Alvarenga on a 438 day journey afloat on the open ocean. With nothing but his small boat, Alvarenga faced the death of his companion and had to learn to live entirely off fish, birds, and turtles caught by hand and eaten raw. His fourteen month journey is recounted in this gripping biography of a seven thousand mile journey full of solitude and perseverance.

My Overall Impression:

Honestly, when I first heard about this book, I was way excited and I think it might have set me up for failure a little bit. I was so into hearing a hard-core survival story, which isn’t exactly what I got. Of course, as with any biography like this (it’s more of a memoir, really), you have to wade through a few chapters of introductory information, which I wasn’t really that interested in. Honestly, the second third of the book was the best, by far, but I learned so much, and overall I did enjoy this book. I would recommend it to someone looking for a good survival story and likes books about fishing and the ocean.

That was another problem I had with the story: I’m not that into weather patterns on the ocean, current patterns, or commercial fishing, which play major roles in this story. I want to mention this, because it was a fabulous story and if you like that stuff you would absolutely love this book. I’m just not into it, which kind of dampened my opinion on the book, itself. There were a lot of things I wasn’t intrigued by that I had to wade through. But let’s have a breakdown of the likes and dislikes:

What I Liked:

• I loved the actual parts about Alvarenga’s survival. I was so fascinated by how he managed to find and nab his meals.
• I loved the little survival information that was shared throughout (I had no idea that drinking sea turtle blood was probably the best thing he could have done, because it was helping to restore the elements his body needed badly).
• The portions talking about the death of his coworker were extremely powerful, heart breaking, and reflective.

What Wasn’t My Favorite:

• There was a lot of background information about weather, currents, and fishing, which I didn’t enjoy so much.
• It felt like it took me a long time to understand Alvarenga and learn about who he was as a person. There was a lot of background, but I just felt like I didn’t know him at the beginning and could compare that to his personality at the end to see how he changed. I like to track that kind of thing, but it was difficult to do with this novel.

Who Would I Recommend It To:

• Anyone who loves a great survival story.
• People who love reading about fishing, weather, and open ocean survival.
• There was a lot of really cool information about sharks (I was totally intrigued by that), so if you like action and sharks, this is a yes.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I would give this story 3 stars. It was mostly interesting (there were a few parts I really had to push through) and I think there are definitely people who would love this story. The writing is beautiful as well, so it has nice literary value as well as story merit.

You can grab your copy here.

Have you read 438 Days? What were your thoughts/feelings? If you haven’t, does it sound like one you’d like to pick up? What kind of survival stories do you like? Let me know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow my blog for more book reviews and survival stories!

Happy reading,

Kj