Jamrach’s Menagerie
(2011) is set in 1830s London, England, by the dockyards, where sailors come
and go. The narrator is Jaffy Brown, now in his fifties, reflecting on the
voyage that made him a man. He always knew he’d be a sailor. His mother said
his father was a sailor.
Jaffy is eight-years
old when he sees a tiger in a menagerie and tries to pat it. The tiger strikes
him down, he survives, becomes known for his bravery, and lands a job at
Jamrach’s menagerie. Charles Jamrach is a naturalist and importer of exotic
animals, birds, and shells to sell to zoos and individuals. As cleaner of manure
from the animal enclosures, Jaffy works alongside Tim Linver – ‘older, bigger
than me, different as could be, straight goldy-haired, pretty and girl-like of
face.’ Tim has a sister; the lovely Ishbel.
Jamrach makes Jaffy go
to school so he can read, and write, and draw. At 15 years of age, Tim and
Jaffy set sail on a whale ship for the East Indies (Indonesia) – to the island
of Java – to find and bring back a dragon for Jamrach’s menagerie: ‘three years
and come back a man, come back changed.’
On the voyage he sees
flying fish, sea birds, and a pod of sperm whales. On Pulau Lomblen he is
smitten with the young women, the volcanoes, and the colours ‘on the edge of
the world.’ Then he sees the dragon … ‘a kind of lizard … the muscles in those
arms, the skin like ancient armour.’ And so the men set about to catch the
Komodo dragon – the largest lizard in the world. But then they had to get it
from the island to the boat, and from the boat to the whale ship, and all the
way back to England: ‘Catching it was only the beginning; making it live was
the thing.’
Not only did Jaffy
have to keep the dragon alive, but he also had to survive years at sea. ‘That
voyage was the making of me’ he says. But at what price? The sea voyage home
was eventful and harrowing.
Set at the time
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) wrote his theory of evolution, the novel Jamrach’s
Menagerie depicts the historical and social norms of the times, the interest in
menageries, and the lengths people go to – such as the ends of the earth – to
find exotic creatures. But it is also the adventure of a young boy as he
transitions to manhood.
Reviewers have said
this novel is a combination of Herman Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’ meets the writings
of Charles Dickens, or of the same ilk as Yann Martel’s ‘Life of Pi.’ High
praise – and well deserved high praise. The writing is superb; well-paced,
intriguing, exciting, enthralling, descriptive, and evocative.
Martina Nicolls is the
author of several books including a children’s poetry book on the Komodo
dragon, The Komodo Verses: Dragon Poems (2012).
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