The Last Voyage of the Karluk

In 1913 Newfoundlander Robert Bartlett captained the KARLUK on a doomed voyage to the Canadian Arctic; the ship was soon trapped in early ice and later sank. Bartlett led 21 men, an Inuit woman with her two small daughters, 29 dogs, and a cat across the ice to the coast of Siberia, before traveling 700 miles to seek help. Frank Holden's stoic voice is well suited to this grim story, and his Newfoundland accent is an obvious asset. A highlight of this production is the scratchy record of Chopin's FUNERAL MARCH, which provides historical ambiance and a dark mood as Holden reads the account of the sinking of the KARLUK. A.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

September 5, 2005
In this tale of Arctic exploration, narrator Frank Holden turns in a masterful performance as Robert Bartlett, captain of the ill-fated Karluk
, which sank off the Siberian coast in 1914. From the Newfoundland accent to the fortitude of a polar adventurer, Holden inhabits his subject. Some, including expedition leader Vilhjalmar Stefansson, later blamed Bartlett for the disaster that left 11 dead and dozens stranded on Russia's Wrangell Island. Defending his competency, Bartlett delivers painfully detailed accounts of food stores and physical conditions, especially during his 700-mile trek for help across the frozen ocean and Siberian coast. Holden handles this subtle defensive posturing with aplomb, keeping the tone even and matter-of-fact. Holden manages to render fresh Bartlett's descriptions of igloo building, dogsledding and polar bear hunting. Rattling adds nice atmospherics, too—the crunching of ice and snow bookends the tale. Bartlett played Chopin's Funeral Waltz
as the ice claimed his ship, and the music accompanies Holden's recounting of the event. The narration soars as the typically reserved Bartlett reunites with his rescued crew, an emotional breathiness imbuing Holden's voice. Based on the 1916 book.