The Death Ship

A cult masterpiece and darkly comic tale of survival on the high seas by an enigmatic bestselling author believed to have inspired Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 A Penguin Classic Stateless and stranded after he loses his passport, sailor Gerald Gales flees arrest and persecution across Europe, until he finally finds work on the Yorikke, a decrepit “death ship” bound for destruction. Condemned to stoke the furnaces, Gales must navigate a labyrinth of surreal rules and the brutal realities of life at sea if he is to make it out alive. First published in 1926 and thought to bear the traces of the mysterious author B. Traven’s own experience of migrating to Mexico, The Death Ship is a darkly absurd, raging tale about what it takes to survive when life is cheap. Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.