In the summer of 1931, a cruise ship sails from Mexico on its way to Bremerhaven, Germany. Among its many diverse passengers are a Spanish noblewoman, a drunken German lawyer, an American divorcee, a pair of Mexican Catholic priests, a number of Germans returning to their homeland from Mexico, and a corrupt, avaricious company of Spanish singers and dancers who scheme to defraud the other passengers of their money. In the mingling and meeting of these varied personalities on board the ship of fools, a drama of good and evil ...
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In the summer of 1931, a cruise ship sails from Mexico on its way to Bremerhaven, Germany. Among its many diverse passengers are a Spanish noblewoman, a drunken German lawyer, an American divorcee, a pair of Mexican Catholic priests, a number of Germans returning to their homeland from Mexico, and a corrupt, avaricious company of Spanish singers and dancers who scheme to defraud the other passengers of their money. In the mingling and meeting of these varied personalities on board the ship of fools, a drama of good and evil takes place from which no one will emerge unchanged. Rich in incident, passion, and treachery, the novel's themes of nationalism, cultural and ethnic pride, and basic human frailty are as relevant today as they were when the novel first appeared in 1945.
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Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $2.50, good condition, Sold by nelsonsbooks rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Chazy, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet Book.
Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $3.28, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet Book.
Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $3.28, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet Book.
Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $3.28, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet Book.
Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $3.50, good condition, Sold by Dunaway Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Saint Louis, MO, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet.
Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $3.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet.
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Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $5.80, good condition, Sold by red rover do over rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from luxemburg, WI, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet Book.
Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $5.83, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet Book.
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Good. Good condition. (Allegory, Utopia, Drama) A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $6.61, very good condition, Sold by Napa Bookmine rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Napa, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1963 by Signet.
Add this copy of Ship of Fools to cart. $97.94, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2063 by Signet.
SHIP OF FOOLS tells the story of a group of German nationals on a boat from Veracruz to Germany. Jews by the boatload were attempting to escape from an atrocious and repressive regime. What the passengers did not realize is that the shipboard lifestyle reflected a macrocosm of pain that is to be experienced in the rest of the world. We meet dozens of characters, some more skillfully developed than others, including a young American couple through whose eyes we get to see the whole tragedy unfolding. The novel is not plot driven but an observed portrait. Porter focuses on the telling of details of each personality and the result is a sometimes funny, often touching, and ultimately stinging examination of the insularity, hypocrisies, and pretensions of shipboard passengers en route from Mexico to Germany on the eve of World War II. Porter's cast of characters are primarily German, but a handful of Spanish, Mexican, Swiss, and American characters giving the novel an international perspective. The characters tend to adopt reactionary postures toward and make assumptions about their fellow travelers based on both class and nationality; consequently, they tend to regard each other in a stereotypical light but even as they fail to understand the truths behind the stereotypes, Porter highlights their lack of comprehension in a frequently comic but extremely disconcerting manner, demonstrating that her characters are at sea in more ways than one. Because of certain symbolism this is not a novel to read quickly or casually. It requires time to develop clearly in the mind, so readers are advised to approach it with ample time in which to enjoy this superior work.
