Another one:Wilding by Isabella Tree.
Word - worth persevering. Currently struggling through Cocker's Our Place - loved his other stuff but this is heavier going.
Another one:Wilding by Isabella Tree. To be honest I'd been avoiding this due to my prejudices. Rich woman marries richer man, moves into his castle, stops farming and delights as wildlife returns, writes book. Ooh how lovely? I was wrong. For starters this is her fifth book and it shows. Then we get a detailed evisceration of modern farming, initially on purely economic grounds, from the very heart of the establishment. The neighbours must be horrified. But if it couldn't work for them who can it work for? And then the miracle of nature returning in unexpected ways that traditional conservation would never have allowed. Recommended: well written and a rare beacon of hope.
I would imagine the area required to meet the calorific demands of the UK population would be larger than the area of the UK so we would have to import food, exporting our environmental impact abroad.
I haven't read this but I did hear her on Desert Island Discs. Whilst it sounds like a nice idea...
Once in a while you meet a book at just the right moment in your education, and you go flying along the learning curve together.
A mixed bag then?Over the weekend I read two short novels by Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz - Autumn Quail and The Search. He ploughs a quite narrow thematic path (men having existential crises, basically) but is always absolutely compelling. If you've not read him start with the Cairo Trilogy.
This week I read John Higg's short book William Blake, Why He Matters More Than Ever. It's only seventy pages long but really good. Higgs wrote that great book on the KLF, Robert Anton Wilson and Magick and several other really interesting essay type books. I've yet to see the exhibition at the Tate so thought this might be a good precursor.
Quote from: Falling Down on January 11, 2020, 12:32:48 pmWent to this towards the end of last year, was very underwhelmed tbh. Wish I’d chosen the Gormley instead...I’ve heard mixed reviews - I plan to go in the morning when it’s quiet so there’s some space.
Went to this towards the end of last year, was very underwhelmed tbh. Wish I’d chosen the Gormley instead...
Also, just finished reading Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead. Awesome. By the noble prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk. The novel is set in rural Poland and follows an eccentric older woman as a string on shocking events occurs. Apparently its caused genuine political outrage in Poland... The translation is brilliant, bar one confusing bit were a Blake poem is translated to polish and then back again for our benefit.