Pincher Martin: The Two Deaths of Christopher Martin , is a survivalist novel by British writer William Golding, first published in 1956. It is Golding's third novel, directly following The Inheritors, which in turn came after his magnum opus and debut Lord of the Flies. The novel is often considered one of Golding's most survivalistic works, and is noted for being uniquely existential and somewhat minimalistic in setting. The plot of Pincher Martin surrounds the survival and psychophysical, spiritual and existential plight of one Christopher Hadley "Pincher" Martin, a temporary naval... lieutenant and the sole survivor of a military torpedo destroyer which sinks in the North Atlantic Ocean. Martin is unconscious at the opening of the novel, but wakes in complete darkness, submerged, before nearly drowning after being thrown into the side of a rocky islet. After desperately calling out for help, and receiving none, he correctly deduces that his naval crew is dead; and, disoriented, he scrambles up the rock to avoid the constant battering of the surrounding waves.
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