Scan barcode
anneofgreenplaces's review
4.0
I am by no means a swimmer, but this made me want to get in the water. It read like a marginally less sardonic and more nature-minded and often more lyrical version of Bill Bryson. Fun dives into the aquatic environs of Britain padded with lots of relatively interesting local history and perhaps a bit more travelog chatter than necessary about how he decided where to go next. Strong opinions about wild swimming and access, passion for the physical experience and landscape and the communal closness to it that wild swimming nurtures. I was charmed by the chapters on Cambridge (repeated references to his very useful stop in the University Library map room--this was 1999) and Cambridgeshire and the watery fens.
caitlinjclarke's review
5.0
Oh, Deakin's voice sings. Mossy, luminescent and often melancholic; I loved this book. Nostalgic for the place of my fathers birth; a place I have not yet been able to visit- I have been seeking out novels that explore the British Isles as a place full of stories and memory. Deakin does this the best. He examines the natural, spatial and personal histories of each swimming spot, able to become friends with all inhabitants easily, he speaks as a local each time. This is a soft, warm and often wandering novel. Don't read it quickly.
nikklesz's review
5.0
Non-fiction books about nature are quickly becoming my favourite genre of tube-reading. Deakin writes masterfully and makes me nostalgic for being in and around water. He makes me regret every swimming pool and body of water I had access to as a child that I took for granted.
wilhelmena's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
3.5
saralynnburnett's review against another edition
5.0
a book on wild, open-water swimming!! It’s the 2021 American edition from Tin House and you should read if you:
~ love reading about wild spaces & places
~ enjoy quirky British books with British humor
~ think swimming through Scottish lochs and estuaries in Wales is a great idea
~ enjoy naturalist books where a fly alighting from the surface of the water takes a page & it’s freaking beautiful!
Roger Deakin wrote this back in 1999 and his love of open spaces that are accessible to all shines through. He goes into the history of hard-to-find swimming holes, what it’s like to swim in a moat, the humor of signs advising against Naturism (aka: nudity), pollutants in natural water ways, channel swimming, and so much more.
While his son is off in Australia surfing & living his best life Deakin takes to the road (water) to combat loneliness& explore his own homeland. This book speaks that
~ love reading about wild spaces & places
~ enjoy quirky British books with British humor
~ think swimming through Scottish lochs and estuaries in Wales is a great idea
~ enjoy naturalist books where a fly alighting from the surface of the water takes a page & it’s freaking beautiful!
Roger Deakin wrote this back in 1999 and his love of open spaces that are accessible to all shines through. He goes into the history of hard-to-find swimming holes, what it’s like to swim in a moat, the humor of signs advising against Naturism (aka: nudity), pollutants in natural water ways, channel swimming, and so much more.
While his son is off in Australia surfing & living his best life Deakin takes to the road (water) to combat loneliness& explore his own homeland. This book speaks that
wrengaia's review
3.75
Deakin’s quest to swim the British isles has no objective or criteria beyond a sheer love of swimming and a desire to explore. The aimless and wandering journey Deakin undertakes traverses the country in search of experience, though not a ‘superlative’ or ‘best’ wild swim, but rather for the continued delight of the swim and the spirit of exploration. Without a doubt the most marvellous parts of this book are the descriptions of the swims themselves. Deakin is at one with the water and his writing conveys the sheer delight of the swim with a kind of quiet fervour. Interspersed between, though, are commentaries upon our national attitude towards wild places which are both quietly angry and punctuated with a profound grief for all that we have lost and are losing (even more so in the years since this book was written), and, as a counterbalance, a loving homage to the culture of swimming and the individuals who take as much joy in the water as Deakin. A truly wonderful book.