Pirate Freedom by Gene Wolfe

A young American recounts leaving home and seminary study for the Caribbean, where he learns seamanship, joins a buccaneer crew, and earns both wealth and wounds. Told in wry, reflective first person, the narrative follows his coming-of-age at sea and ashore, exploring faith, language, identity, and the moral ambiguities of violence and freedom as he confronts the consequences of the choices that remake him.

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