A review by jupiternorth
Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell

4.0

This is a wonderful book, well-written, beautiful, funny, but also dark and sad. I flew through it and could easily conjure the landscape described, and loved the stories about the various wildlife. Robert McFarlane's introduction is spot-on though, this book is not just some light and hopeful nature writing at all. It seems clear to me that the only reason Maxwell wanted an otter so badly was for selfish reasons, and that thoroughly disappoints me. The casual cruelty that apparently was part and parcel in his time now seems unimaginable to me as a reader in 2021. Maxwell so desperately wanted an otter that he was fine with several cubs dying in transit - that underscores, to me, his purely selfish motivations. It is therefore a book that calls up dual feelings - on the one hand, his love for and connection with nature seems clear, while on the other there is much callous and selfish cruelty.