Customer Reviews:
 After water and wood: notes November 20, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A nice hardback, with a good feel to the paper and binding. And this is just the kind of book you would want in hardback, as you will probably dip in for many years to come.
These are rather spare, often unconnected musings. Unconnected in the sense that, unlike in his "Waterlog" or "Wildwood", there is no particular theme. But as he is a pretty holistic person, there are links and mental ley-lines all over the place, so the musings flow into each other smoothly, like water off a spinning ball. It is nice to see the links to his other books: swimming in the moat, memories of Kyrgyzystan.
After water and wood I find myself looking for the third leg of a trilogy, a common theme. That is not there. He comes back to water, and to wood, and to many other subjects; so maybe the third leg of his trilogy is thought about all, and about All. "Looking, just looking, is all we have to do, to see the essential truth." And we get an insight in his looking, through his eye, into his fellow feeling for all living things, into his consideration for others.
My only (very small) niggle is that occasionally I feel the notes for several years have been mixed up, which is slightly uncomfortable. But overall these notes flow well, and they are very enjoyable. He is an excellent, natural writer, and I recommend this book for your pleasure - and for your thoughtfulness, too.
And it's nice to see him is searching for Jefferies' old book "Bevis" - on Amazon!
A view of the real world November 15, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful book - both in the sense that is a great book, but also in the sense that it is full of wonder for the nature of the world and the people within it.
By its nature episodic it eventually draws a coherent picture of a man and his relationship with the landscape around him. The book is rooted in the observation of the real.
We seem to face a choice between the fantasy of virtual words and the reality of the actual word. This book is a strong reminder of the power and value of the real.
'My house was once an acorn' November 12, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Essentially an edited collection of six years of Roger Deakin's diary entries and reflections on common environmental themes of trees, birds, customs, rain, insects and his delightful house and moat but also containing a (common)wealth of personal reflections on a variety of often very touching and poignant themes, such as loneliness and need. For example: 'I need someone to fold the sheet; someone to take the other end of the sheet and walk toward me and fold once again, then step back, fold and walk toward me again. We all need someone to fold the sheet. Someone to hitch on the coat at the neck. Someone to put on the kettle. Someone to dry up while I wash.'
This book, Like Mr Deakin's previous two, is a Cornish Pastie and a pint of Bitter for the psyche!
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