The Pirate's Daughter

By Robert Girardi

Book Overview

Wilson Lander suffers from the Dread, the constant feeling that something terrible is always lurking, and lives a life devoid of risk or excitement. That is, until he meets Cricket, a woman emblazoned with wild desire, a sailor ripened by the sea, and the prisoner of a hidden existence. Throwing caution to the wind for the first time in his life, Wilson decides to follow Cricket on a boat trip around the world.

But soon their adventure turns dangerous and Cricket's heart grows darker by the minute. As Wilson tries in vain to save Cricket from herself, he finds that the only person worth fighting for is himself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385319525
• ISBN13: 9780385319522
• Release Date: September 1997
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

I hated this book . . . but I loved it at the same time

Maybe due to simple youth and inexperience, this book made me horribly sad. I cried for about an hour at the end. I felt especially bad for Cricket. She was a bad person, but it was the only life she had ever known, and she wanted to escape from it, but needed to wait so she could escape without looking back. I felt sad for Wilson too. I mean, he was the good guy and he did what he thought was right and it was right, obviously, but to just forget? It seems so sad. Anyway, the writing style was pretty good, easy to follow, unlike some older classics that can't say anything straight out, and with a really clever blend of reality and fiction. The characters were believable, and though it was a really sad, brutal story, I got snapped at three times in one class today for surreptitiously picking up this book to read.

Adventure at its best

Fantastic! I've had this sitting on my shelf to read for a few years now and finally got around to it. And I'm so glad that I did. Girardi spins a tale worthy of a sailor. Its got mystery, suspense, love, lust, greed, action, adventure - what more could you possibly want? From the first page, I was hooked and had a hard time slowing down to absorb all the details. I truly didn't want this novel to end. Grab a copy and enjoy.

Wouldn't this make a great movie?

When I first started reading this book, I thought that it was written more like a short story. The succint sentences and short chapters led me to think that the book was about to end. But as I got to the Second part of the novella, I was engrossed in the lust, mystery and passion between the two lovers. By the time they reached Quatre sables I could not put the book down! This book, recommended by a friend will be recommended to others because it instils in you the sense that the human spirit is not at all easily quashed.

An extremely creative tale.

The twists in the plot are so important that you should not read detailed reviews (like the Kirkus one on this web page)before reading The Pirate's Daughter. This book is full of surprising twists and turns. Very unpredictable. Unconventional. An incredibly creative work. I can't think of another book like it. Full of adventure, adventure moreover that puts you in moral dilemmas--very provoking and definitely not "escapism" or mere entertainment. It is seemingly an improbable tale--who believes in pirates these days?--but I actually recall news reports of piracy in the south seas even today. This may be a "guy" book--a male's fantasy of being conned/abducted by an irresistably sensual woman into a world-class adventure. On the other hand, maybe this could be a female fantasy too? I like the way characters in an episode in the beginning, in New York, tie in with events in Afria in the end of the book. Nothing is disconnected. The book is tight. The only thing about the book that made me uneasy was its characterization of West Africa which, having travelled there myself, seemed stereotypically negative and uninformed. There are many Africas, and this is definitely one of them (the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone come to mind), but it's not the one I like to think about.

Modern-day piracy mixed with an aura of the 16th century

I've never heard about pirates with a notebook connected by wire to databases around the world when they are about to make their victims "jump the plank" the old fashioned way! But, .... I can imagine it after reading this book! The author manage to mix the modern-day life and technology together with the feeling of the old era centuries ago when the black-eyed pirates sailed the seven seas! I'm already looking for Mr. Girardis next book. With this kind of writing it has to be great!!!!