Dolphins Under My Bed
Sandra Clayton
ISBN 978-1-58736-816-5
Reviewed by Jen Cardwell for Reader Views (06/08)
Sailing the World from Home
4 Stars
Sandra Clayton’s husband told her one day that he would like for them to sell their house in England and live on a sail boat for their retirement. Although she was quite skeptical at the beginning, eventually she acquiesced and the result is “Dolphins Under My Bed,” their story as adapted from the diaries that Sandra kept while on the journey.
In “Dolphins Under My Bed” we follow the Claytons from their initial forays into sailing around the North Atlantic, to their decision to sail to the Mediterranean, to their actual trip down the coast of France, Spain, and Portugal. Sandra creates a separate chapter for each leg of the journey, so that their adventures in every port are described.
I found Sandra’s prose easy and fun to read. She described the sights around her, and her experiences on the boat, extremely well. If I was able to really concentrate, I could almost see what she was describing. I also appreciated that she did not assume that the reader knew all of the sailing terms with which she became familiar on her travels. Clayton both attempts to describe the terms the first time or two she uses them and provides a glossary in the back of the book so that the reader can refer to the back at any time in order to remember what on earth the ‘boom’ is.
“Dolphins Under My Bed” is a book that is appropriate for a wide audience. People who might particularly relate are those who sail, those who travel often to smaller, more out of the way locations, and those hoping to do something incredibly interesting in their retirement. This is not to say that these are the only people who would enjoy this book. I, personally, fall into none of these categories and yet I very much enjoyed the book. Anyone who has dreamed of travelling, or who is simply interested to see an intimate picture of culture in a variety of places is likely to enjoy “Dolphins Under My Bed.” This is a book that can be read by a teenager with wanderlust and her grandfather who has enjoyed sailing and be completely appropriate for both of them. There are no sex and language issues, so that the book could be given to anyone capable of reading it without worry.
The only other thing I could have wanted would have been to learn how long the Claytons stayed on their boat after that first year, and what else happened to them. Perhaps a sequel?
This book sounds so wonderful. There really is nothing like a journey at sea. I will have to look this one up at the library. I’d love to read about their trip to the Mediterranean. I also like the fact that the book is open to all who want to take this kind of journey – if only in the imagination. Great review!
I actually got a response from Sandra and this is what she said…
“Many thanks for your review and for recognising so much of what I tried to achieve. Yes there is a sequel. Something Of The Turtle, being published next year, it takes us as far as Madeira, off the NW coast of Africa, ready for an Atlantic crossing. I’m working on a third book, which takes us to the Caribbean, Bahamas, USA and Canada. We lived on the boat full time for 6 years. Currently we spend our summers sailing Northern Europe’s inland waterways and our winters are spent in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah.”
Just to clarify, b/c it seems it could be either way, this is nonfiction right?
Yup, memoir.
Oooh, sounds like a lovely read. So nice that you got a response from the author giving you some idea of what comes next!
A few years ago I read a dozen books in a row about sailing experiences. Reading your review echoed them all in my mind and makes me want to read another one. This will be first on the list. Thanks for the review.
That sounds wonderful. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up.
[…] Home « Dolphins Under My Bed – Book Review […]
[…] book sounds interesting. After all, I really enjoyed that book about the woman and her husband who decided to live on a sailboat for a year, so maybe this book about living on a bus for a year will be […]