Every Man For Himself by Beryl Bainbridge (1996)

Although Every Man For Himself culminates in the sinking of the Titanic, it is not so much a fictionalized history of that event as it is a social history of the wealthy and privileged passengers and the personal history of the protagonist as he tries to find his place in life. The book is divided into five sections, the action in each one taking place during one day of the short-lived voyage. Thus, only the last chapter narrates the actual sinking.

As narrated by the fictional nephew of the real-life owner of the ship, J. Pierpont Morgan, the large cast of characters includes many who were actual famous upper-crust passengers --Guggenheims, Vanderbilts, Astors--and many who are products of the author's imagination. The young Morgan recounts the amusements of the rich and famous--the formal dinners, the concerts, the rounds of tennis, the flirtations, the clever and sarcastic conversations--all the while as he is feeling somewhat set apart because he cannot quite match their detachment and self-absorption. While he struggles with vague ideas about right and wrong and social injustices, he is influenced by a cynical fellow passenger, who tells him, "Have you not yet learnt that it's every man for himself?"

That statement, given in a different context, of course foreshadows the happenings of the last section, when passengers and crew react to the disaster. Through these events, narrated at breakneck speed reflecting the frantic pace of the action, young Morgan reveals his true character by his instinctive conduct.

All along, as the story progresses, Bainbridge cleverly slips into the narrative the many possible causes for the sinking, such as the disappearance of all the binoculars, the excessive speed demanded because the captain was ordered to make record time in the crossing, the ignoring of the warnings about icebergs, the fire in a coal bunker which was known about at the time the voyage began. Insinuated blame is cast on J. Pierpont Morgan, because he knew about the fire and cancelled his own ticket just prior to the departure.

I am totally impressed by this novel. Its tone is ironic without being cynical or sarcastic. It is often quite humorous. It is subtle, so that it becomes much more than just the action story of a tragedy or an indictment of the upper class. Its prose is precise, with never a word more or less than is needed. It is short, literally a one-day read, but it is just long enough.

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This novel won England's Whitbread Award in 1996 and was nominated for the Booker. Bainbridge is a writer I am going to further investigate. Her The Bottle Factory Outing is also excellent.