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jay_hobday's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
whippycleric's review
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.5
This is a very nice, emotional, book and if you're a lover of nature, especially British countryside, then you'll enjoy it. Like others have said it's very much like reading an Attenborough documentary following a single Otter. That being said the book is extremely slow, it's very realistic, but as such I don't think a huge amount of stuff actually happens to an Otter... There are parts of excitement, and emotional turmoil, however I found a large part of the book quite a lot of effort to read.
sammystarbuck's review against another edition
3.0
If [a:David Attenborough|106444|David Attenborough|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1318921669p2/106444.jpg] decided to write fiction, I imagine it would turn out something like this...
One of the better books with animals, because the author didn't feel the need to turn them into what amounts to furry humans. This otter is an otter.
Of course, when it comes to otters, they do work really well as talking, fully clothed (and potty-mouthed...) almost-humans. Just ask Mudge! ( one of the main characters from the [b:Spellsinger|126503|Spellsinger (Spellsinger, #1)|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1171916623l/126503._SY75_.jpg|2932284] series, in case you were wondering. Mudge is awesome.)
One of the better books with animals, because the author didn't feel the need to turn them into what amounts to furry humans. This otter is an otter.
Of course, when it comes to otters, they do work really well as talking, fully clothed (and potty-mouthed...) almost-humans. Just ask Mudge! ( one of the main characters from the [b:Spellsinger|126503|Spellsinger (Spellsinger, #1)|Alan Dean Foster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1171916623l/126503._SY75_.jpg|2932284] series, in case you were wondering. Mudge is awesome.)
theeohgee's review against another edition
Absolutely fascinating in its complete aimlessness.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Well, if you like otters you might want to read this. The nature writing is wonderful. However, otters die in it.
italo_carlvino's review against another edition
5.0
Tarka is one of the most unique books I have ever read and probably a new favorite. I have always had a soft spot for animal stories. I love Watership Down and Secret of NIMH. Tarka is in a similar vein to those animal stories but does not anthropomorphize like Watership Down and Secret of NIMH. There is no otter society or language. In a way it is more similar to London's books like White Fang and Call of the Wild. Tarka is still a novel in that it depicts the inner life of an otter, but take a Realist, Naturalist approach.
Tarka's other remarkable feature is the poetry of its language, which flows like the Taw river. One of my favorite moments is this description: "The icy casings of leaves and grasses and blades and sprigs were glowing and hid in a mist of sun-fire. Moor-folk call this morning glory Ammil." From the rhythm created by the polysyndeton to the compound words evocative of Old English to the connection with the culture of Exmoor this excerpt shows what I love about Tarka's prose. (I also love the line "The law of life was also the law of water - everlasting change.").
Tarka can also be brutal. The ending is tragic and Tarka goes through harsh winters, loss of mate and cub, and suffering at the hands of hunters. (I am warning that this book is not a cute animal story chapter book to share with the kids. If you don't like animals getting mauled you should probably skip this book).
I am happy to have read this book. I remember being in Wales, with its fog and rain and rivers. I remember the green and the cold and the wet and while I read this novel I felt I was back their again.
Tarka's other remarkable feature is the poetry of its language, which flows like the Taw river. One of my favorite moments is this description: "The icy casings of leaves and grasses and blades and sprigs were glowing and hid in a mist of sun-fire. Moor-folk call this morning glory Ammil." From the rhythm created by the polysyndeton to the compound words evocative of Old English to the connection with the culture of Exmoor this excerpt shows what I love about Tarka's prose. (I also love the line "The law of life was also the law of water - everlasting change.").
Tarka can also be brutal. The ending is tragic and Tarka goes through harsh winters, loss of mate and cub, and suffering at the hands of hunters. (I am warning that this book is not a cute animal story chapter book to share with the kids. If you don't like animals getting mauled you should probably skip this book).
I am happy to have read this book. I remember being in Wales, with its fog and rain and rivers. I remember the green and the cold and the wet and while I read this novel I felt I was back their again.
blondeebeth's review
2.0
This book is entirely told from the otter's point of view and I found it really hard to jam with that.
The writing was really nicely written and the end bit of this book did get my heart racing but the majority of this book was just monotonous and repetitive. I feel like I read the same chapters again and again with just some of the names swapped out.
Saying all this I think if you are interested in otters and how they live then this really is the book, you can really tell how much research the author did for this book.
Thanks
The writing was really nicely written and the end bit of this book did get my heart racing but the majority of this book was just monotonous and repetitive. I feel like I read the same chapters again and again with just some of the names swapped out.
Saying all this I think if you are interested in otters and how they live then this really is the book, you can really tell how much research the author did for this book.
Thanks
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