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I thought it was interesting in class how those of us who liked Prodigal Summer didn't care for Ahab's Wife and vice versa.  I prefer Ahab's Wife.  I'm more drawn to the writing style - the showing rather than telling - and also like the dramatic adventure that Una chooses more than the externally described internal navigations of a more stable life described in Prodigal Summer.  I also like the way the book deals matter-of-factly with horrifying situations (the cannibalism on the boat; the way Giles, Kit and Una band together against the others).  I identify with their survival choices, I think I might choose the same.  I also like the way that Una evaluates the people she encounters (the consideration of the crew she sees in Harry's lumpy pototatos, the goodness she appreciates in Captain Fry, the wildness she admires in Ahab, the imagination and intellect of Giles).  She appreciates the ways in which these qualities enrich and sustain her own experience.

My relation to the book is one of self-examination - I see a lot of myself in Una, though I don't know whether or not she and I would be friends. I might be suspicious of her, careful with her - she seems like someone who serves her own interests and I both respect that and recognize the tension that creates between her interests and others (possibly mine).

The book seems on point for our discussions of choice, particularly ethical choices.  Is it the individual's responsibility to promote the well-being of all or the well-being of themselves (and their own genes)? While Una chooses her adventure, she does not choose the course that leads to cannibalism (though she chooses to live rather than starve when faced with that predicament), nor does she choose Giles' death.  It leads back to the idea that we have limited control over external factors and great control over our personal response to same.