438 Days by Jonathan Franklin will feature on the Radio 2 Fact not Fiction Book Club on Friday 27 November.
The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK. Find out more about the non-fiction strand of the Radio 2 Book Club.
We have an exclusive extract available for you to read.
438 Days
On 17th November, 2012, Salvador Alvarenga left the coast of Mexico for a two-day fishing trip. A vicious storm killed his engine and the current dragged his boat out to sea. The storm picked up and carried him West, deeper into the heart of the Pacific Ocean. Alvarenga would not touch solid ground again for 14 months. When he was washed ashore on January 30th, 2014, he had drifted over 9,000 miles.
Three dozen cruise ships and container vessels passed nearby. Not one stopped for the stranded fisherman. He considered suicide on multiple occasions – including offering himself up to a pack of circling sharks. But Alvarenga developed a method of survival that kept his body and mind intact long enough for the Pacific Ocean to spit him up onto a remote palm-studded island. Crawling ashore, he was saved by a local couple living in their own private castaway paradise.
Based on dozens of hours of interviews with Alvarenga and his colleagues, search and rescue officials, the medical team that saved his life and the remote islanders who nursed him back to normality, this is an epic tale of survival and one man’s incredible story of beating the ultimate odds.
Selection panel review
Our reading panel from libraries and The Reading Agency really enjoyed 438 Days – here are some of their comments:
“I enjoyed the book. The descriptions of the men’s ordeal are really well written, and the story of the main protagonist is well set out before main part of the book unfolds. It’s a bit of a niche read but pretty unputdownable once you get into it.”
“I read this book in about two sittings, as once I got caught up in Alvarenga’s miraculous story I couldn’t wait to find out what happens. Harrowing and desperate in places, it is ultimately a hopeful story of survival and second chances. Highly recommended.”
About the author
Based in Santiago, Chile, Jonathan Franklin regularly reports for the Guardian, Washington Post, National Geographic and Esquire. He also works with the team at ‘Retro Report’ producing documentaries broadcast by the New York Times. Franklin’s previous books include 33 Men, the exclusive account of the Chilean miners trapped nearly a kilometre underground. 33 Men became a bestseller in the UK and US, and was translated into 19 languages.
A word from Jonathan
“Thank you for choosing 438 Days as a book to be shared with your many readers. 438 Days is both an easy read and a disturbing look at extreme suffering. The lessons lived by Salvador Alvarenga as he drifted for over a year is the kind of tale that reaches a wide audience. School children and grandparents alike can readily understand the challenges of surviving alone at sea, adrift for months.
I wrote this book with the hopes that it would be widely shared and read aloud. Schools can use it to teach English. Librarians can promote this book to reckless souls who love adventure but need a bit of a push to crack open a book.
I look forward to sharing this remarkable story with your legions of readers.”
Get involved
Tune in to the Radio 2 Arts Show on Friday 27 November to hear an interview with Jonathan Franklin talking about his book.
Have you read 438 Days? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter, using #438Days, and follow author Jonathan Franklin.
You can also post a review or add the book to your reading list.
Want to find out more? Take a look at the Radio 2 Book Club Twitter feed or find out more on the Radio 2 Book Club website.
