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swakefield978867's review against another edition
1.0
DNF - not sure who this will appeal too. Not sure what it is about the boomer generation that puts me off any books written by them, I can’t relate to any of the self-indulgent rambling.
dave_holwill's review against another edition
4.0
This is not a scientific exploration of the lands now buried beneath the North Sea, turn away now if that's what you want.
It is, however, an inciteful thoughtful meditation of the nature of time, memory and human interactions. In places beautiful and poetic while still being usefully informative on plenty of archaeological details it bridges the gap between textbook and poetry nicely.
It is, however, an inciteful thoughtful meditation of the nature of time, memory and human interactions. In places beautiful and poetic while still being usefully informative on plenty of archaeological details it bridges the gap between textbook and poetry nicely.
delladahlia's review
DEFINITELY coming back to this later! It wasnt as much a book on Doggerland as I was looking for; so I ended up not finishing it. But when I'm in more of a mood for a memoir this'll be my first choice!
redporchinverter's review
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Fusing archaeology and memoir, Julia Blackburn enlivens a potentially dry, esoteric subject with casual humor and the perceptiveness of someone who has lived and lost. I was moved not just by her ability to convey the enormity of time while also making ancient history, even prehistory feel vividly present, but also her evident affection for the modern people who spend their days digging into the past, who can look at a rock and see a story.
traveling_in_books's review
This narrative wanders all over the place, and in the first 30%, it has barely mentioned the place that is supposed to be what the book is about.
mayaconway's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
I borrowed this off mum, and it wasn’t what I expected. It’s a slightly rambling lyrical story of one woman’s experiences researching Doggerland and the ancient people that lived there. It was beautifully written and I liked the comparisons to nature and the sense of connection to another time, but there wasn’t enough scientific information for me - she would mention briefly something incredibly fascinating and then move on, whereas I would have liked to know a little more about the people that lived in a place and a little less about her. It was nice, but to me the balance was off as it left me wanting to know more about Doggerland, rather than telling me itself.
leerazer's review against another edition
3.0
Not really about Doggerland, is it. It’s the author trying to inhabit the passage of time over thousands of years and communicate that 2000 years distant from here was yesterday, and will be tomorrow, and the flow of irresistible change over time is natural and holds no terrors, whatever may happen in any given moment. Seems a comforting though somewhat anesthetized outlook. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it drones on in another repeat of the formula “author makes appointment to meet archaeologist type person, author is early as always, then author and person take a walk and author describes what they see on the walk with faithful exactitude (what remark a passerby said into his cell phone for instance), and imagines what was there thousands of years ago.”
byrningup's review
2.0
I think this was a case of a decent book read at the wrong time. It's slow and introspective, and I wanted a fact-driven account.
Are all British naturalists this touchy-feely? I feel like this is the second or third book where I've encountered this phenomenon
Are all British naturalists this touchy-feely? I feel like this is the second or third book where I've encountered this phenomenon
credpath's review
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
I loved it. Great information on the Doggerland region and its progression.
dansumption's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful and heartrending, the author explores the history, culture and nature of Doggerland shortly after the death of her husband. The resulting text meanders beautifully between beach walks and meetings with scientists and historians, interspersed with poems which summarise succinctly and beautifully many of the books Julia Blackburn read during her research. The book I am most reminded of while reading this is Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia, but really it stands on its own as a wonderful work of art.