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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I’ve enjoyed most of McFarlane’s previous books, so as a kayaker and environmental scientist I was looking forward to this one. However despite some shining passages overall I found this book a disappointing mid-life crisis which was too focussed on metaphysics for my liking.
The book explores three very different rivers to ask the question “Is a river alive?” and discuss whether they, and other aspects of nature, have rights. “Is a river alive?” doesn’t seem quite the right question. Clearly rivers are not alive in any conventional sense as they don’t have DNA or replicate. Do rivers have “personalities”? (Fluvialities?) Very certainly. Are rivers forces that are more enduring and power than people? Yes. Does that mean they have “souls” or consciousness or are “gods”? That depends on where the observer has a prefer for metaphysics ir rationality. I fall in the latter camp, Macfarlane in the former.
Macfarlane’s poetical writing captures the beauty, fragility and power of rivers and he makes a powerful case for protecting them for their own sakes as much as for the “ecosystem services” which they provide. But does protecting “pristine” rivers like the Rio Los Cedros or the Mutesheskau/Magpie mean just doing nothing? What about tackling the changing climate which is changing them and the rest of the natural world? And what is tackling climate change means exploiting renewable power, including hydro? When does renewable power move from being good to bad? When you can see a distance turbine from a city? When a solar farm is visible from a motorway or when a dam is built on a river? Of course less consumption of random tatt would reduce the need for any of these options.
As well as exploring the personalities of rivers, we as introduced to a cast of people who care for rivers. McFarlane seems have a slight crush Giuliana, the Ecudorian mycologist who is clearly an established academic expert, but gets downgraded to an excitable Latina who goes “Aaaayeee” a lot and has a mystical gift for finding rare fungi. The highly polluted rivers of Chennai have helped Yuvan recover from a toxic childhood. On the Mutesheskau/Magpie Macfarlane is joined by his friend Wayne, a Dean Morarity-like character prone stream of consciousness utterance which range from the erudite and insightful to the banal and back in a single sentence.
My favourite section was the Mutesheskau/Magpie where the writing really captures the feelings of fear, awe, human fragility and resilience associated with paddling white water as well as how this changes perceptions of time and priorities.
Overall a lyrical and thoughtful book, but one which didn’t fully work for me.
The book explores three very different rivers to ask the question “Is a river alive?” and discuss whether they, and other aspects of nature, have rights. “Is a river alive?” doesn’t seem quite the right question. Clearly rivers are not alive in any conventional sense as they don’t have DNA or replicate. Do rivers have “personalities”? (Fluvialities?) Very certainly. Are rivers forces that are more enduring and power than people? Yes. Does that mean they have “souls” or consciousness or are “gods”? That depends on where the observer has a prefer for metaphysics ir rationality. I fall in the latter camp, Macfarlane in the former.
Macfarlane’s poetical writing captures the beauty, fragility and power of rivers and he makes a powerful case for protecting them for their own sakes as much as for the “ecosystem services” which they provide. But does protecting “pristine” rivers like the Rio Los Cedros or the Mutesheskau/Magpie mean just doing nothing? What about tackling the changing climate which is changing them and the rest of the natural world? And what is tackling climate change means exploiting renewable power, including hydro? When does renewable power move from being good to bad? When you can see a distance turbine from a city? When a solar farm is visible from a motorway or when a dam is built on a river? Of course less consumption of random tatt would reduce the need for any of these options.
As well as exploring the personalities of rivers, we as introduced to a cast of people who care for rivers. McFarlane seems have a slight crush Giuliana, the Ecudorian mycologist who is clearly an established academic expert, but gets downgraded to an excitable Latina who goes “Aaaayeee” a lot and has a mystical gift for finding rare fungi. The highly polluted rivers of Chennai have helped Yuvan recover from a toxic childhood. On the Mutesheskau/Magpie Macfarlane is joined by his friend Wayne, a Dean Morarity-like character prone stream of consciousness utterance which range from the erudite and insightful to the banal and back in a single sentence.
My favourite section was the Mutesheskau/Magpie where the writing really captures the feelings of fear, awe, human fragility and resilience associated with paddling white water as well as how this changes perceptions of time and priorities.
Overall a lyrical and thoughtful book, but one which didn’t fully work for me.