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A review by saguaros
By The River: Essays from the Water's Edge by Marchelle Farrell, Michael Malay, Ellena Savage, Rebecca May Johnson, Amy Key, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Amy-Jane Beer, Roger Deakin, Jamal Mahjoub, Tessa Hadley, Niellah Arboine, Jo Hamya
3.0
3.5
I was confused that, out of all these essay collections (At the Pond, In the Kitchen, In the Garden), this one has the lowest overall rating because it started so strong for me to the point I thought I’d like it more than In the Garden. And in some ways, I did. Unfortunately, the second half of the collection felt less solid and interesting, and it sort of flagged a little for me. I think overall, most essays are interesting, and I think the editors at Daunt Publishing are trying to create short collections that are diverse, in terms of writers obviously, but in terms or style and approaches to the theme, which I appreciate a lot. But like In the Garden, it just so happens that some of the approaches just did not click with me as much, or weren’t as much what I was looking for (which is generally more geared towards nature writing, and art/writing in general).
That said, my fave essays were: I Felt Sure She Had Gone Down to the River by Jo Hamya; An Orange Vision by Rebecca May Johnson; River Mumma by Niellah Arboine; and Approaching the Ichen by Roger Deakin
I was confused that, out of all these essay collections (At the Pond, In the Kitchen, In the Garden), this one has the lowest overall rating because it started so strong for me to the point I thought I’d like it more than In the Garden. And in some ways, I did. Unfortunately, the second half of the collection felt less solid and interesting, and it sort of flagged a little for me. I think overall, most essays are interesting, and I think the editors at Daunt Publishing are trying to create short collections that are diverse, in terms of writers obviously, but in terms or style and approaches to the theme, which I appreciate a lot. But like In the Garden, it just so happens that some of the approaches just did not click with me as much, or weren’t as much what I was looking for (which is generally more geared towards nature writing, and art/writing in general).
That said, my fave essays were: I Felt Sure She Had Gone Down to the River by Jo Hamya; An Orange Vision by Rebecca May Johnson; River Mumma by Niellah Arboine; and Approaching the Ichen by Roger Deakin