How Long Does It Take To Discover Slowness

John Franklin, the subject of Sten Nadolny's book The Discovery of Slowness, was a real person. He did travel on a ship to Australia with his brother Matthew Flinders, who was the captain of the voyage. He was a governor of Van Dieman's Island, later renamed Tasmania. He did lead (or co-lead) three expeditions to the Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage, including the third one, where he, and apparently all of the crew, died.

Whether Franklin was a signalman on Captain Cook's ship at the Battle of Trafalgar, or was shot in the head at the Battle of New Orleans (the story has the bullet pierce the skin, but travel round the skull and exit out the back), I don't know. I'm not certain how important those events are to Nadolny's story anyway. The sea battles he experiences as a teenager leave him shaken, to the point he occasionally trembles before potential battles, and must work to overcome that, but that's not what the book is about.

Franklin's real problem, at least in the eyes of others, is that he's slow. Which is accurate, in certain ways. He isn't stupid, more deliberate, but not by choice. For whatever reason, he simply can't speed up his reactions and be effective. So part of the story is Franklin trying to compensate for this, until he can find a place where it isn't an issue. This is set forth as part of his interest in the Arctic. During the summer, the sun never sets, and so time does not exist, and if that's the case, the concept of slowness wouldn't exist either. After all, how can you gauge someone to be slow, when there is no apparent passage of time?

Beyond this, Franklin's style is to prepare thoroughly and to take a fixed view of things. When he's a young man serving in the Royal navy, he would spend nights practicing what all the sails and lines were called, as well as the proper responses to all typical commands and questions he might hear. In that way, he would have the answer ready, and would not cause trouble by taking so long to deliberate over the order. Franklin also speaks often of a "fixed view". When a problem presents itself, Franklin will very calmly ponder it for as long as is needed to derive what he feels is the appropriate response. This allows him to maintain his composure in dire circumstances*.

There are obvious flaws with this, namely that Franklin will have difficulty if either something he hadn't planned for occurs, or if new problems arise while he's still on the old one. But Franklin recognizes that for better or worse, he can't change who he is. He can never become fast, and trying to act as though he is will be useless, so he adjusts accordingly.

It's really an interesting story, though the cynic in me can't help but wonder if Nadolny isn't deifying Franklin a bit. He always seems able to maintain his temper, always seems open-minded and progressive, always accepts blame that is rightly his (though he's not going to accept blame that isn't his). All in all, he's a really fantastic guy, and I enjoy reading about his learning how to make things work his way. By the time he reaches the Arctic that he'd always dreamed of, he finds he no longer wants to remain there. Sure, he wants to explore it, but the idea that this would be a place where he could escape being slow is no longer a concern. He's succeeded as who he is, regardless of how different his way of doing things might be, so why would he need to run to a place where he could hide that difference?

It's a story very much about recognizing one's own style, and staying with it, and also te importance of having people who will help you. Franklin doesn't receive much support from his father or siblings, but both Matthew and one of his teachers, a Dr. Orme, are willing to be patient and give John the time needed to order his thoughts, which helps him feel more certain. Franklin and his second wife Jane Griffen both push for schools in Van Dieman's Island, and Franklin is insistent that the schools should be less about indoctrinating children and more about helping them learn their speed and how to succeed with it.

If you have any interest in historical fiction I'd recommend this book.

* An example: While on the first Arctic expedition, a party leaves the boat, and goes exploring on an ice floe. Then they can't find their way back, even with a compass. The men begin proposing all sorts of ideas, while Franklin sits and thinks for a considerable length of time. His order if for one of the men to fire his rifle in the air at set intervals over the next several days if necessary. The men think this mad, to sit and wait on a freezing ice floe, yet it turns out the ice is turning under them as they walk, and this way the ship can find them.