Today’s literary adventure takes us to the water via books set on a boat. Whether you prefer to stay on the shore or enjoy tooling around on any manner of watercraft, these novels are able to transport us to any number of destinations. And there are so many possibilities depending on the type of boat and novel. Choices range from small crafts like rowboats and kayaks all the way up to yachts and huge cruisers. Then there’s where the boats set sail from rivers to vast oceans. Add your genre of choice and readers will be transported to anything from moonlit sails to jaunty trips or potentially deadly escapes.
We’ve got something for everyone with today’s fiction titles, from adventure novels and thrillers to historical fiction and romance. Even horror and classics! But I know there are so many more books set on a boat to choose from. We’ll need a second list for nonfiction titles alone! I hope you’ll share your fiction favorites in the comments.
17 books set on a boat
Life of Pi
James Mustich picked this fantasy adventure novel as one of his 1,000 Books To Read Before You Die. It follows Piscene Patel, a teenage boy from India who survives a shipwreck and subsequently spends 227 days on a life raft with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Years later, Pi tells his own story, but a surprise at the end leaves the reader wondering if they really understand what happened on that raft. If you turn immediately back to page 1 and start reading again looking for clues, you're in good company. More info →
The Woman in Cabin 10
In this twisty thriller, a travel writer takes an assignment aboard an exclusive luxury cruise ship. Shortly after arriving, she wakes in the middle of the night to the sound of something heavy being thrown overboard. She's sure it's a body ... and yet no one is missing from the boat. She's compelled to figure out what really happened, which puts more than her own life in danger. Strongly reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. More info →
The Boat People
In this story based on a true 2010 event, a cargo ship carrying more than 500 refugees fleeing war-torn Sri Lanka docks on Canada's coast near Vancouver, thinking they’ve made it to safety after a long journey. After all, in the words of one character, "Canada has a reputation for being a soft touch." But government officials wonder if the ship holds members of a terrorist cell, and so all the occupants remain in detention until the national security crisis—whether real or imagined—is resolved. Bala uses three perspectives to great effect: a refugee, his lawyer, and a new adjudicator who feels woefully unprepared to make these potential life-or-death decisions. More info →
Migrations
In the near future, most wildlife has become extinct. Franny Stone arrives in Greenland to follow the last Arctic terns on their likely final migration to Antarctica. She finagles a spot on a fishing boat and develops a found family with the oddball crew. As they set sail, Franny learns there’s no hiding from her past—including a love affair and a crime. The story alternates between her current quest and her past history, exploring climate change, redemption, and the persistence of hope along the way. More info →
James
Everett's ingenious latest is a retelling of the Mark Twain novel, from Jim’s—or rather, James’s—point of view as he and Huck Finn raft down the Mississippi River. Completely brilliant, stunning on audio, and a book with staying power we'll still be reading and talking about in ten, fifty, or even a hundred years. I first read this on ebook and then revisited it via the audiobook narrated by Dominic Hoffman—and found it unquestionably worth reading twice. More info →
The Terror
Imagine you’re a crew member on the 1845 Franklin Expedition, searching for the legendary Northwest Passage. Now imagine your ship is fully surrounded by thick, unyielding ice. The men on board the HMS Terror feel trepidation at the thought of a second summer with their ship stuck in the Arctic Circle, hoping for a thaw that will allow them to continue on or go home. As time passes, their supplies dwindle, tensions rise, and the men realize that there’s something out there, a predator that they are unequipped to handle. Desperate, they take to walking across the ice as a last attempt at survival. At 700+ pages, this novel is full of suspense and icy chills. More info →
The River
I didn’t know a book could be both gorgeous and terrifying—but then I devoured this 2019 release in a day. When two college friends plan a long canoeing trip in northern Canada, they anticipate a peaceful yet memorable summer escape filled with whitewater paddling, fly fishing, and campfire cooking. The first hint of danger is a whiff of smoke, from an encroaching forest fire. The next comes from a man, seemingly in shock, who reports his wife disappeared in the woods. If these boys didn't feel compelled to do the right thing and go look for her, they’d be fine, but instead they step in to help—and are soon running for their lives, from disasters both natural and man-made. A tightly-written wilderness adventure, a lyrical mystery, and a heartrending story of friendship, rolled into one. More info →
The End of the Ocean
Told in alternating perspectives, this dual timeline science fiction explores themes of family, survival, and the apocalypse. In 2019, seventy-year-old Signe takes to the ocean on a harrowing mission to cross in a sailboat, driven by lost love. Years later, following a worldwide water shortage in 2041, David and his daughter Lou flee drought-ravaged Southern Europe on a mission to reunite with their family. Along their journey, they find artifacts and belongings from Signe's adventure, and their stories merge. Translated from the Norwegian by Diane Oatley. More info →
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia #5)
In this beloved children’s classic, King Caspian built the Dawn Treader for his quest to find the seven lost lords his evil uncle banished when he took over the throne. Edmund, Lucy, and their cousin Eustace join the voyage as they travel from the Eastern Islands to Aslan's country at the End of the World. Lewis’s inspiration includes British and Irish fairy tales, traditional Christian themes, and Greek and Roman mythology. More info →
Sea Wife
"Where does a mistake begin?" So begins this literary thriller inspired by a real-life 2014 Coast Guard rescue. Michael and Juliet, facing an ailing marriage and midlife malaise, decided to sell all their worldly possessions and spend a year sailing around the Caribbean. But now Juliet is home, Michael is absent, and we don't know why—but it's clear everything changed on the yacht. In dual narratives, we see Juliet struggling mightily to cope with her current life in the suburbs, and—thanks to her early discovery of Michael's captain’s log from the voyage—we get Michael’s real-time, emotional account of their harrowing times on the open seas, and the unbearable stress it placed on their already-crumbling relationship. A harrowing portrait of a boat in peril and a marriage in crisis. More info →
Into the Drowning Deep
As a confirmed scaredy-cat, I was afraid to pick up this sci-fi/horror novel, but a couple of trusted readers told me I could probably handle it. They were right. Here's the deal: Mermaids are real, but they are not like Ariel. Some researchers believe this with their whole heart and have made studying these mermaids, or sirens, their life's work. Others are deeply skeptical, but regardless what camp they're in, a huge swath of the scientific community is about to set sail on another voyage to the Mariana Trench, a follow-up to a seven years earlier voyage that ended in tragedy, with everyone on board lost at sea. No one is exactly sure why; skeptics called the whole thing a hoax. Both the siren skeptics and the true believers are about to discover mermaids are very real—and it will be a miracle if anyone gets out of there alive. More info →
The Old Man and the Sea
Hemingway’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novella follows the epic battle between floundering Cuban fisherman Santiago and the giant marlin he struggles to catch. He hasn’t caught a fish in months but hopes his luck might change if he manages to persevere despite the elements and his own limitations. Some might reduce this timeless story to just “a man and a fish” but it’s so much more than that. More info →
The Kingdoms
A mind-bending mystery, alternate history, and queer romance rolled into one. In this time-slip novel, Napoleon conquers England in the Battle of Trafalgar and a stone portal in the sea serves as a passageway between centuries. When Joe steps off a train in the city of Londre, 1898, he has a postcard in his pocket written in forbidden English, with a postmark dated 1805, though it inexplicably bears the image of a recently-constructed lighthouse. “Dearest Joe, come home if you remember,” says the postcard, signed simply “M.” Joe’s search for M leads him to the Outer Hebrides and back and forth through the stone portals many a time on his dangerous quest to reunite with his family without changing the course of history—or erasing his own existence. More info →
The Narrowboat Summer
From the author of Meet Me at the Museum, a story of three women brought together by a small narrowboat who embark together on a journey through the river canals of rural England. One woman anxiously awaits a surgery, one has given up her ordinary life to become a free spirit, one is unsure if she'll return to her husband when the journey is done—but until those looming realities need to be faced, they'll spend the summer together (along with one small dog) enjoying the scenery as they wend their way down the river at 4mph. More info →
Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships
This blend of women's fiction and romance centers on a nearly-30-year-old woman named Jo who was excitedly working through a 30-by-30 list until her plans got derailed by a family tragedy. When her nieces unexpectedly show up for the summer, they demand that she get back to work on her list. She gets started by kissing a stranger: she thinks she'll never see him again, but surprise! He's her new neighbor AND her new coworker (soon to be dubbed "Hot Yacht Chef") aboard the luxury yacht where Jo works as a steward. With the help of her friends, family, and new love interest, Jo starts facing the pain of the past, and plotting a course for the future—including plans to knock out that bucket list. The audiobook, as narrated by Karissa Vacker, was a walk-another-mile, fold-another-load DELIGHT. (Chaste.) More info →
Lark Ascending
This dystopian novel with echoes of The Dog Stars and The Road is set in the not-too-distant future, where fires have ravaged the globe and religious extremists have seized control of governments. Lark, a teenage refugee and the sole survivor of a trans-Atlantic voyage, fled Maine with his family hoping to find sanctuary in Ireland, the last country rumored to be accepting refugees—only to discover upon arrival that the borders have closed and his perilous journey has only just begun. Dejected, starving, and alone, he sets out for Glendalough, the "thin place" his mother told him about before she died. Along the way he befriends Seamus, a trustworthy beagle who somehow managed to survive even after dogs were eradicated, and encounters others who wish to both help and harm him. More info →
The Unsinkable Greta James
Jennifer E. Smith’s adult debut introduces us to indie rock star Greta James three months after the death of her mother and right before her sophomore album releases. After her onstage meltdown goes viral, she needs to lay low and reluctantly agrees to go on an Alaskan cruise with her father that her parents had planned to celebrate their 40th anniversary. It’s a chance for Greta and her father to deal with past resentments. It’s also a chance for her to get to know historian Ben Wilder who is there to lecture about her mother’s favorite adventure story. More info →
Do you have any favorite books set on a boat? Please share in the comments.
P.S. Take a vicarious trip with these novels set on planes, trains, and automobiles and 15 books to take you on a vicarious vacation.
51 comments
“Swept Away” by Beth O’Leary
This is her latest novel, released earlier this year. After a one night stand, two people end up on a narrowboat that is swept out to sea.
(If you haven’t read her debut novel “The Flatshare” I really recommend it – one of my favourite books).
Dories, Ho! by Matt and Karen Smith shares the story of their trip through the Grand Canyon on dory boats.
An Embarrassment of Mangoes takes place on a boat. It is one of my favorite books. It is non-fiction. About a couple who leave corporate jobs to sail the Carribean. So good! And there are recipes, as I remember.
I second this book. It inspired my husband and me to live for ten years on a boat traveling the East Coast!
Gah, I’m so sad to not see Swept Away by Beth O’Leary on this list!!
We left it off so you could do the honors of adding it! 🙂
The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve….great book!
What a terrific list of sea faring titles! Thank you for creating a great summer book list to dive into.
I loved “The Invitation” by Lucy Foley. Rich people behaving badly while cruising the Italian riviera. Great sense of place!
Coincidentally, I just picked this one up at the library! Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Thanks for including Sharon Bala’s The Boat People. Such a great read!!
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger. includes a solo boat trip across a future Lake Superior.
I just started Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman and I think it would qualify for this list.
Ok, I just lost my first attempt at posting – disappeared into the vast ocean of the internet. Ok, enough! so anyway, where was I Oh yes, I was saying I am not a fan of books set on the water – gives me a feeling of claustrophobia. However, I did feel as Anne did about The River by Peter Heller, which I passed along to my adult son, who loved it as well. And one of my all time favorite reads is the Narrowboat Summer. What a treat it was. It was a book club selection for my now defunct in person book club, which was started online during the pandemic. That book club was a lifeline for us members, but somehow we couldn’t seem to carry it over to in person after the pandemic was over. But I digress – the Narrowboat Summer was a delight. I may have to read it again. Thank you Anne, and happy reading everyone.
The Alaskan Laundry by Brendan Jones….
I would add The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John to the list. Set on a yacht in the Mediterranean, it is a perfect summer read!
I just finished Sea Wife this morning! What a wild ride. I’m still chasing the feeling I got when I read The River by Peter Heller the first time, such a beautiful book.
In Float Plan by Trish Doller, the main character sets out to take a solo sailboat trip she and her fiance planned together. After one night alone on the boat, she realizes that she doesn’t have the knowledge or skills to sail on her own and teams up with a more experienced sailor to complete the trip. Both characters are at a crossroads in their lives and trying to figure out their next steps. Doller’s descriptions of the places, people, and food make the reader feel like a third passenger on the journey, and the book is full of humour even though both characters are dealing with serious issues. It’s a great read, especially at this time of year.
This is the book that I was coming to add! I thought it was excellent.
Adding a third vote for “Float Plan”! It’s one of my all time favorite romances.
I was also coming to recommend this.
So here are some really old books: Moby Dick by Herman Melville (classic), Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl (journey across the Pacific Ocean on a raft) and The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin (recreation of the 36-foot leather boat and voyage to recapture the experience of St Brendan from Ireland to North America).
In the 50s, John Graves took a 3-week canoe trip down Texas’s Brazos River, before the river would possibly be changed by a proposed series of dams. His companion was a dachshund he called the Passenger. Goodbye to a River recounts his journey, recalling the violent history of the area and his difficulties with the weather, the river and fatigue. It’s a great book that stays with you.
I stay as far away from water as I can, but I read a bunch of these and loved them. Would add The Nightship by Jess Kidd and The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton.
A clutch of constables by Ngaio Marsh happens on a riverboat!
Alright, I’m finally adding Into the Drowning Deep to my TBR after you’ve been talking about it for years now.
It’s not a traditional “sea,” but Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson is pretty delightful. I think it’s YA, but this 40-something enjoyed the story, characters and the weird imaginative world they adventure in.
Yes to Tress of the Emerald Sea! Such a creative and hopeful fantasy/sci-fi pick! I’m also in my 40s, and my 23 y/o son (a major Sanderson fan) thought I would enjoy this one. He was right! Tress is so easy to root for. 🙂
Two of my favorite novels about ocean journeys, immersive with strong character development:
The Plover by Brian Doyle “Declan O Donnell has sailed out of Oregon and deep into the vast, wild ocean, having had just finally enough of other people and their problems . . . Hounded by a mysterious enemy, reluctantly acquiring one new resident after another, Declan O Donnell’s lonely boat is eventually crammed with humor, argument, tension, and a resident herring gull . . . a sea novel, a maritime adventure, a cold man melting, a compendium of small miracles, an elegy to Edmund Burke, a watery quest, a battle at sea—and a rapturous, heartfelt celebration of life’s surprising paths, planned and unplanned.”
The Voyage of the Morning Light by Marina Endicott: “Kay and Thea are half-sisters, separated in age by almost 20 years but deeply attached. When their stern father dies, Thea travels to Nova Scotia for her long-promised marriage to the captain of the Morning Light. But she cannot abandon her orphaned young sister, so Kay, too, embarks on a life-changing journey to the other side of the world.”
You have sold me on BOTH of these!
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick is one of my all-time favourites. (Don’t be put off by the film!)
This one has been sitting on my to-read stack for ages! Thanks for recommending it here.
Sea Runners by Ivan Doig tells the story of four men, indentured servants, who steal a canoe and row down the Pacific Northwest coast from Alaska to Oregon to escape from a Russian work camp. It’s based on actual events. Fantastic book!
I’ve read a lot of Ivan Doig, but I’ve never heard of this one! Sounds good!
Never heard of this one — love his writing. Going to track it down. Thanks!
Same, Suzy and Kathy! Doig is a master — I need to find this one!
The Wager, David Grann’s latest. It’s a true tale of three (?) ships, including The Wager, on a journey around the southern tip of South America. Fascinating and description of the terrifying winds and currents where the two major oceans meet.
I am a long-time lover of sea books, and you listed some good ones. I have to list the best of the “old” 20th century ones: The Horatio Hornblower novels by CS Forester, along with his delicious “African Queen”! And Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series, I adored all 20. Then there’s Jay Worrell, and William C Hammond, S. Thomas Russell, JD Davies, James Nelson and Alexander Kent, all writing series of fighting ships, mostly in the Napoleonic era, but Nelson writes of the first Revolutionary ships in America. And they’re good, REALLY good stories, with great captain heroes!
I second “I Cheerfully Refuse” by Leif Enger, and add “The Last One” by Will Dean, a thriller about a cruise ship, and “Dove”, by Robin Graham, the original “sailing alone around the world by a teenager” book, and there’s the dystopian book, “After the Flood” by Kassandra Montag, about a world all flooded, only the tops of the mountains remain, so most people are on boats. And a Middle-grade series, but liked by all ages, is the Bloody Jack series by LA Meyer. “Bloody Jack” is actually 12 yr old Mary Faber, an orphan in London in the early 19th century, who pretends to be Jack to get a place on board a ship as a “ship’s boy”. The adventures are soooo fun! Great on audio. Oh, and don’t forget “The Perfect Storm”! (Sebastian Junger)
Hi Suzy! I remember the Hornblower series…. So good! I have a couple of the Master and Commander books but have not read them yet. Thanks for the nudge to move them up on my TBR list.
I discovered an excellent boat book from one of the early episodes of Strong Sense of Place. It was Mel’s recommendation, The Last Cruise by Kate Christen. (2018). A vintage liner is making one last voyage before dry dock and being stripped. It has an Upstairs/Downstairs vibe plus vintage may not qualify as luxury. Multiple POV. Really enjoyed it.
P.S. Never would’ve picked up Into the Drowning Deep without that push from Brenna and I loved it! Recommend it all the time!
I love a book set on an old timey sailing ship, and I’ve loved some of the ones listed! Would definitely recommend The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton, The Wager (nonfiction) by David Grann, and Leeward by Katie Daysh.
The Plover by Brian Doyle. Declan O Donnell has sailed out of Oregon and deep into the vast, wild ocean, having had just finally enough of other people and their problems. He will go it alone, he will be his own country, he will be beholden to and beloved of no one. No man is an island, my butt, he thinks. I am that man.
Can’t begin to tell you how much I adored this book and how excited to discover another stupendous author. Brian Doyle is a perfect wordsmith. He managed to capture the souls of many types of creatures, and give them a whimsical although sobering voice throughout this tale. If you like boats, water, curmudgeons, old souls and adventure, visit The Plover. You won’t be disappointed.
Love to see another Brian Doyle fan in the group! Thanks for seconding my recommendation. When he died, I had a hard time accepting there will never be a another novel by him. Highly recommend his nonfiction, too, especially Grail, about Oregon wine country and written with his signature humor!
I just put Grail on my TBR list Thank you!
I really liked “The Last Passenger” by Will Dean. I heard about it around the time I booked a cruise but thankfully didn’t read it until AFTER I got home. And WOW what an ending!
Dead Wake by Erik Larson is one of my all time favorite reads. The audiobook read by Scott Brick is makes you feel as if you are a part of this history.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi could be added to this list. It is a tale of murder and mutiny on the high seas and the heroine is a
13 year old girl in 1832. This is a great YA novel that I, as an adult, thoroughly enjoyed.
The Swallows and Amazon series–for those who love classic British kids’ lit–is almost all set on water of one kind or another (even Winter Holiday, which features a frozen lake), with boats.
I also love this series. There is a charming innocence to the childrens’ adventures that is lacking in our modern world. When a child, my son longed to join in with the Swallows, now he is an adult, he collects the books. Highly recommend for reading aloud to your young people!
I’d like to add River Horse by William Least Heat Moon. His tale of journeying across America on a 22 foot cruiser. He leaves from New York and ends up in Oregon following America’s rivers. I can’t remember though how he crosses the continental divide! I may have to read it again.
And for more nonfiction travels, The Sun is a Compass by Caroline Van Hemert who is an also a great instagram follow, as she sails around the world with her husband and two boys and not in the Caribbean! But the book follows her and her husband’s trek from the Pacific Northwest to the Arctic. I
Candice Millard’s River of Doubt is a compelling tale of Teddy Roosevelt’s harrowing experience navigating an uncharted river in the heart of the Amazon jungle. So many literal twists and turns that make this story both captivating and terrifying!
Also, The Water Keeper by Charles Martin tells the story of a man whose calling and mission is to rescue victims of human trafficking. Much of the novel takes place on his Boston Whaler as he pursues traffickers through the Intracoastal Waterway of Florida. Action packed, with fleshed-out characters.
Coincidentally, I just finished a fun book set on a Mediterranean cruise ship. Tapas on the Ramblas by Anthony Bidulka is a mystery with a gay private detective trying to find out which person in a large family is trying to kill the matriach. The cruise is on a ship called Dorothy (as in Friends of Dorothy) and most of the passengers and crew are LGBTQ+.
Comments are closed.