The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic

The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices From the Titanic by Allan Wolf. Published by Candlewick Press, 2011.

April 14, 1912. The day the Titanic sank. Multiple viewpoints create a vivid account of the disaster. There are many famous books and movies of the sinking with famous people such as John Astor and Molly Brown. This book has 24 narrators, including some unusual perspectives such as a rat, the coroner, and the iceberg.

The individual narrators each have unique voices. Captain E. J. Smith is full of pride that he has such a prestigious assignment as the culmination of his career. The violinist Jock Hume is annoyed that he is not allowed to improvise and share his music with everyone. Another narrator is telegraph operator Harold Bribe, whose increasingly frantic messages foretold the magnitude of the looming disaster. An unusual narrator is the iceberg. It is a cold, dispassionate presence inserted between many of the entries.

The Undertaker, who dealt with the bodies as they were retrieved from the water had a very overwhelming job- try to identify the body and determine cause of death. Each time he was brought a new body, I found myself hoping that it wouldn’t be one of the other narrators who I had grown to care about through the book. Statistically, I knew they were unlikely to survive. The plight of the refugees and the extremely high loss of life among the third class passengers were especially poignant.

This historical fiction with multiple narrators will appeal to a wide audience.  Recommended grades 8 and up.

Visit author Alan Wolf's website