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bextera's review against another edition
It didn’t blow me away but I enjoyed the light force threading its way through the narrative’s swirl. Not something to breeze through, I fluttered across the pages. A quiet, feather touch accolade.
snoakes7001's review against another edition
4.0
To create a successful travelogue an author needs a quest, something to give the journey purpose. In Where the Wild Winds Are Nick Hunt travels Europe in search of four named winds: the Helm that blows over the Pennines, the Bora on the Adriatic coast, the Foehn through Switzerland and into the Alps, and finally the one most people have heard of, the Mistral. For each he walks a route that is most likely to ensure that he encounters these winds in all their exhilarating if sometimes terrifying power.
There's a lot to enjoy in this book - as well as the inevitable meteorology and geography, there's history, myth and a smattering of psychology of the weather - how these winds affect the temperaments of those who live permanently in their paths. He meets some fascinating, kind and frequently eccentric people and the places he visits are vividly described. The walks in between are sometimes hard, often monotonously bleak and windswept and the effort expended in each stage drips off the page.
His most evocative passages come when he is describing the winds:
"Vertical bands of spindrift waltzed far out over the lake, roaring walls of spume that savaged the water’s surface. Occasionally one would form into a whirling cylinder that galloped from shore to shore before shedding itself in veils, carving shallow runes that erased themselves as they formed. I had seen this wind-writing before, in the snow of a Croatian mountainside, and stood for a long time reading new meanings in its script: that wild calligraphy described my happiness better than my own words ever could. When I finally turned inland, my face ached from smiling."
Recommended for the armchair meteorologist or traveller.
There's a lot to enjoy in this book - as well as the inevitable meteorology and geography, there's history, myth and a smattering of psychology of the weather - how these winds affect the temperaments of those who live permanently in their paths. He meets some fascinating, kind and frequently eccentric people and the places he visits are vividly described. The walks in between are sometimes hard, often monotonously bleak and windswept and the effort expended in each stage drips off the page.
His most evocative passages come when he is describing the winds:
"Vertical bands of spindrift waltzed far out over the lake, roaring walls of spume that savaged the water’s surface. Occasionally one would form into a whirling cylinder that galloped from shore to shore before shedding itself in veils, carving shallow runes that erased themselves as they formed. I had seen this wind-writing before, in the snow of a Croatian mountainside, and stood for a long time reading new meanings in its script: that wild calligraphy described my happiness better than my own words ever could. When I finally turned inland, my face ached from smiling."
Recommended for the armchair meteorologist or traveller.
therealmette's review against another edition
2.0
(Birthday present from last year)
Cool idea for a book but after 200 pages you do get a bit tired of hearing about the weather.
He tries his best to sprinkle in myths and historical facts, as well as encounters with locals, but it never goes very deep into any of those subjects. Nor is there much nuance to the discussion of for instance the repeatedly mentioned refugee conflict.
Basically, this should either have been half or double as long as it was.
Cool idea for a book but after 200 pages you do get a bit tired of hearing about the weather.
He tries his best to sprinkle in myths and historical facts, as well as encounters with locals, but it never goes very deep into any of those subjects. Nor is there much nuance to the discussion of for instance the repeatedly mentioned refugee conflict.
Basically, this should either have been half or double as long as it was.
eleanorgking's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
culturenator's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. As an overview the book is split into 4 (IIRC) winds, that the author follows or tries to find, with mixed success. It reminded me very much of a book I read last year - [b:The Snow Tourist|5765660|The Snow Tourist|Charlie English|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347380809s/5765660.jpg|5937396]The Snow Tourist by Charlie English. Although it took me slightly longer to get into reading that the Snow Tourist, I'm not sure if its because the wind stories weren't as initially exiting or whether I just find snow more exciting? I think the fact that this was a hardback as well meant I found it phsycially less easy to read given that I generally read in the bath/bed lying down and thats just not comfy with a hardback.
But before I digress too much. the story starts on Cross Fell in the North West of England and eventually travels across Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, as well as Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
For me, the story much like the winds start to pick up once the author leaves the UK in search of the Bora and the stories of his encounters with various locals on his travels. I think this is definitely more of wind book with a theme of travel, than a travel book with the theme of wind if that makes sense. I enjoyed it once it got past the slow start.
But before I digress too much. the story starts on Cross Fell in the North West of England and eventually travels across Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, as well as Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
For me, the story much like the winds start to pick up once the author leaves the UK in search of the Bora and the stories of his encounters with various locals on his travels. I think this is definitely more of wind book with a theme of travel, than a travel book with the theme of wind if that makes sense. I enjoyed it once it got past the slow start.