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A review by halfmanhalfbook
Claxton: Field Notes from a Small Planet by Mark Cocker
4.0
This is a collection of previously written articles that have been compiled into a book. Cocker has made it read like a diary with events and observations set over one year, thought they are from a number of different years, and he has also taken the liberty of polishing up some of the original text to help with the time and context. Most of the pieces are set local to him, hence the title of the book, and others from further afield, including Greece.
In the same principle of the finest nature writing that we have, Cocker has immersed himself in his local environment and his frequent haunts and walks to see what is around on that day. His sharp eyes observe the mundane survival of the local wildlife and he writes with a passion about the dramatic events of life and death that he sees.
Normally a bird writer, his book Crow Country is fantastic, in this he sees all manner of other creatures, including mammals birds and insects, especially moths, coupled with his acute observations of the subtle changes and the inexorable turn of the seasons, all of which go to make up the cycle of life and death.
It is written with sparklingly tight prose too, making this a delight to read.
In the same principle of the finest nature writing that we have, Cocker has immersed himself in his local environment and his frequent haunts and walks to see what is around on that day. His sharp eyes observe the mundane survival of the local wildlife and he writes with a passion about the dramatic events of life and death that he sees.
Normally a bird writer, his book Crow Country is fantastic, in this he sees all manner of other creatures, including mammals birds and insects, especially moths, coupled with his acute observations of the subtle changes and the inexorable turn of the seasons, all of which go to make up the cycle of life and death.
It is written with sparklingly tight prose too, making this a delight to read.