Daren
To be fair, this is a drop-into-drop-out-again book, rather than a read-cover-to-cover book, so it was my choice to read straight through - probably to the detriment of my enjoyment.
My copy is a VINTAGE BORGES copy (published 2002, 1967 edition), with a cool cover, but i have to admit I prefer the original title of Manual de Zoologia Fantastica. Regrettably, my edition doesn't come with illustrations - I see from other reviews that some do - that might have made it all the better.
The book itself is a chaotic combination (albeit in alphabetical order) of mythical beasts, animals from folklore / traditional stories, and imaginary creatures from literature. Each animal gets a rundown - description, references and context.
Sometimes for me, it got a bit bogged down in references and context, but that was the nature of the book, so it isn't really a fault.
Favourite entries were usually referenced by A Thousand and One Nights, Herodotus or Homer, as well as old favourites - the minotaur, the basilisk, the centuar, cerebus, and dragons in general, the unicorn, the rukh.
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. Would almost certainly have been an extra star with illustrations. Rounded to 3 stars.
To be fair, this is a drop-into-drop-out-again book, rather than a read-cover-to-cover book, so it was my choice to read straight through - probably to the detriment of my enjoyment.
My copy is a VINTAGE BORGES copy (published 2002, 1967 edition), with a cool cover, but i have to admit I prefer the original title of Manual de Zoologia Fantastica. Regrettably, my edition doesn't come with illustrations - I see from other reviews that some do - that might have made it all the better.
The book itself is a chaotic combination (albeit in alphabetical order) of mythical beasts, animals from folklore / traditional stories, and imaginary creatures from literature. Each animal gets a rundown - description, references and context.
Sometimes for me, it got a bit bogged down in references and context, but that was the nature of the book, so it isn't really a fault.
Favourite entries were usually referenced by A Thousand and One Nights, Herodotus or Homer, as well as old favourites - the minotaur, the basilisk, the centuar, cerebus, and dragons in general, the unicorn, the rukh.
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. Would almost certainly have been an extra star with illustrations. Rounded to 3 stars.
Added to listOwnedwith 2736 books.
A first novel from this author - In the mountains between the United States from British Columbia two unsuspecting climbers witness a plane crash, finding the pilot dead and a survivor with a suitcase of drugs which they later agree to smuggle to the USA across the mountains for some quick cash. What was a quick money-making adventure, that they were in control of, does not work out as they expected.
There are a few twists and turns to the story, but it is as much a showcase of climbing (snow, ice and rock in equal measures) as it is a drug smuggling adventure and police procedural. The climbing all comes across as technically proficient, and is described in great detail adding up to around half the book. Normally in novels you either get police procedural with a little climbing or climbing with a little adventure crossover, but this really is equal parts.
The three parts of the novel are led by a different character each, giving a slightly different driver in each, but not focused fully from that characters point of view.
This was ok, but not really much more - there were some interesting enough characters in the story - the climbers, the love interest, the American and Canadian detectives working the case, cross border cooperation etc. It was however a quick read, and the pace was good.
2.5 stars, rounded up.
A first novel from this author - In the mountains between the United States from British Columbia two unsuspecting climbers witness a plane crash, finding the pilot dead and a survivor with a suitcase of drugs which they later agree to smuggle to the USA across the mountains for some quick cash. What was a quick money-making adventure, that they were in control of, does not work out as they expected.
There are a few twists and turns to the story, but it is as much a showcase of climbing (snow, ice and rock in equal measures) as it is a drug smuggling adventure and police procedural. The climbing all comes across as technically proficient, and is described in great detail adding up to around half the book. Normally in novels you either get police procedural with a little climbing or climbing with a little adventure crossover, but this really is equal parts.
The three parts of the novel are led by a different character each, giving a slightly different driver in each, but not focused fully from that characters point of view.
This was ok, but not really much more - there were some interesting enough characters in the story - the climbers, the love interest, the American and Canadian detectives working the case, cross border cooperation etc. It was however a quick read, and the pace was good.
2.5 stars, rounded up.
When I finished this book, I was stuck thinking what didn't I like about this book - having decided it would sit in the 2-3 star range, albeit closer to 3.
I still can't really put a finger on exactly what made this a ‘middling' read. Definitely the writing was steady and composed - there wasn't a good deal of variation in pace or modulation in excitement levels. Also the author, while obviously passionate about the countries visited, doesn't transmit any of that passion. He is routinely critical of the lack of facilities, and the interactions with people (who to be fair mostly come across as ‘not all that interesting'), and doesn't go out of his way to find a highlight after 3 lowlights. Try as I might, I also am unable to come up with a highlight to end this paragraph. I suspect if I wrote a travel book, it might turn out a bit like this book.
And to the scope - the author makes three trips in 1968 & 69, extensively covering Romania and Bulgaria, while touching briefly on Serbia (a part of Yugoslavia at that time), and crossing on into Turkey on one trip. Two of the trips commenced in Hungary, which also gets a lot of mentions.
This is not a city highlight sort of travel either. The author and his companions on each trip make for the backroads, calling in small towns and villages, mixing with the common folk equally with the village leaders, local politicians, important folk and dignitaries.
There was a lot of information here, including good backgrounds to the politics and traditions, but it was presently so dryly as to make it difficult to absorb, which was a shame, as my knowledge of this part of eastern Europe needed a hand!
Best I also mention the very good, and very helpful fold out map at the front of the book - opens up to about 400x400mm.
When I finished this book, I was stuck thinking what didn't I like about this book - having decided it would sit in the 2-3 star range, albeit closer to 3.
I still can't really put a finger on exactly what made this a ‘middling' read. Definitely the writing was steady and composed - there wasn't a good deal of variation in pace or modulation in excitement levels. Also the author, while obviously passionate about the countries visited, doesn't transmit any of that passion. He is routinely critical of the lack of facilities, and the interactions with people (who to be fair mostly come across as ‘not all that interesting'), and doesn't go out of his way to find a highlight after 3 lowlights. Try as I might, I also am unable to come up with a highlight to end this paragraph. I suspect if I wrote a travel book, it might turn out a bit like this book.
And to the scope - the author makes three trips in 1968 & 69, extensively covering Romania and Bulgaria, while touching briefly on Serbia (a part of Yugoslavia at that time), and crossing on into Turkey on one trip. Two of the trips commenced in Hungary, which also gets a lot of mentions.
This is not a city highlight sort of travel either. The author and his companions on each trip make for the backroads, calling in small towns and villages, mixing with the common folk equally with the village leaders, local politicians, important folk and dignitaries.
There was a lot of information here, including good backgrounds to the politics and traditions, but it was presently so dryly as to make it difficult to absorb, which was a shame, as my knowledge of this part of eastern Europe needed a hand!
Best I also mention the very good, and very helpful fold out map at the front of the book - opens up to about 400x400mm.
Added to listOwnedwith 2735 books.
A short and readable book about a scientific expedition in the late 1960's into the Okavango swamps to search for a ‘fabled tribe' of Swamp Bushmen. The author is a member of the party, made up of scientists and researchers who are looking in the the depths of the swamps - not fully explored, although accessed by crocodile hunters.
The actual expedition occupies only around a third of the book, the other parts made up by the background to the expedition, the preparations for the expedition and a narrative history of all previous investigations in this area of the Okavango by numerous other explorers over the previous Decades (albeit around the edges rather, and not necessarily very scientific).
The author does a good job with the background, although it does repeat itself in some cases, although this is generally with the more important themes, so was probably purposeful. The writing is colourful, and comes across as accurate. The elements of the book are all interesting, and it is an easy read.
There are some conclusions to the book, which I will not spoil here, but appear from my brief look through Wikipedia to still be accepted and accurate. Some of the science contained however, sounds dated, and almost certainly would be only a simple basis for analysis of the people now.
Also an honourable mention for the dust jacket, which, as is almost always the case with the Travel Book Club Edition, is excellent.
4 stars for me.
A short and readable book about a scientific expedition in the late 1960's into the Okavango swamps to search for a ‘fabled tribe' of Swamp Bushmen. The author is a member of the party, made up of scientists and researchers who are looking in the the depths of the swamps - not fully explored, although accessed by crocodile hunters.
The actual expedition occupies only around a third of the book, the other parts made up by the background to the expedition, the preparations for the expedition and a narrative history of all previous investigations in this area of the Okavango by numerous other explorers over the previous Decades (albeit around the edges rather, and not necessarily very scientific).
The author does a good job with the background, although it does repeat itself in some cases, although this is generally with the more important themes, so was probably purposeful. The writing is colourful, and comes across as accurate. The elements of the book are all interesting, and it is an easy read.
There are some conclusions to the book, which I will not spoil here, but appear from my brief look through Wikipedia to still be accepted and accurate. Some of the science contained however, sounds dated, and almost certainly would be only a simple basis for analysis of the people now.
Also an honourable mention for the dust jacket, which, as is almost always the case with the Travel Book Club Edition, is excellent.
4 stars for me.
This is Narayan's first book, and therefore the first of his famous Malgudi books.
It is a clever book, in its own way - mainly because it gets into the head of a ten year-old boy, living in a small Indian village. Narayan has really nailed this - the things that are important to a ten year-old, the confusion of a ten year-old, the innocent, lack of understanding that a ten year-old has in the ways of the adult world. It also picks up on the simplicity of relationships - the transition of childhood friendships, the relationship with a father - who is a complex mixture of unfair disciplinarian and hero, the relationship with a doting, but confused grandmother, the relationship with other adults - teachers, headmasters, doctors. In summary, the issues that ten year-olds are troubled with.
It is a short book, it is easy to read, and it is compelling reading - hard to put down.
Each chapter brings a new dynamic or a new situation to be navigated - a new boy at school, a surprise baby brother!, school exams, school holidays, a political protest and a riot, changing schools, the cricket club and a big game.
4 stars.
This is Narayan's first book, and therefore the first of his famous Malgudi books.
It is a clever book, in its own way - mainly because it gets into the head of a ten year-old boy, living in a small Indian village. Narayan has really nailed this - the things that are important to a ten year-old, the confusion of a ten year-old, the innocent, lack of understanding that a ten year-old has in the ways of the adult world. It also picks up on the simplicity of relationships - the transition of childhood friendships, the relationship with a father - who is a complex mixture of unfair disciplinarian and hero, the relationship with a doting, but confused grandmother, the relationship with other adults - teachers, headmasters, doctors. In summary, the issues that ten year-olds are troubled with.
It is a short book, it is easy to read, and it is compelling reading - hard to put down.
Each chapter brings a new dynamic or a new situation to be navigated - a new boy at school, a surprise baby brother!, school exams, school holidays, a political protest and a riot, changing schools, the cricket club and a big game.
4 stars.
While relatively short, and written in terms and descriptively that laymen are able to understand, I admit that at the end I retained little of what I learned (and convinced myself I grasped) on the way through.
Certainly at the start with the space time, elementary particles, black holes and even event horizons as I read I was able to nod along agreeing it made sense, but once we got into unification theory and string theory I expect I just looked more and more puzzled as I read.
This, of course, is my problem, and not a problem with the book, which was - as might be expected from Stephen Hawking - well organised, thorough and followed a logical progression.
As I read for entertainment and not necessary is a study mode, I can brush my lack of retaining detail of the book under the rug and move on relatively easily.
4 stars.
While relatively short, and written in terms and descriptively that laymen are able to understand, I admit that at the end I retained little of what I learned (and convinced myself I grasped) on the way through.
Certainly at the start with the space time, elementary particles, black holes and even event horizons as I read I was able to nod along agreeing it made sense, but once we got into unification theory and string theory I expect I just looked more and more puzzled as I read.
This, of course, is my problem, and not a problem with the book, which was - as might be expected from Stephen Hawking - well organised, thorough and followed a logical progression.
As I read for entertainment and not necessary is a study mode, I can brush my lack of retaining detail of the book under the rug and move on relatively easily.
4 stars.
A short novel, and a quick read from Greene - his last published novel (1988).
Greene does espionage well - most of my favourites of his books seem to be espionage.
He tells the story well, framed by the main character writing the story of his life from memory, and constantly reminding us of his unreliability to remember accurately. It starts as a young boy in boarding school, when he is visited by a stranger knows only as ‘the captain', who brings him from school to London to live as a surrogate son with a woman named Liza. They rename him ‘Jim' as Victor isn't seen as a beneficial name, whereas The Captain changes the name he uses frequently.
As Jim grows up he weighs his relationship with The Captain, Liza and his father (referred to as ‘The Devil') whom The Captain and Liza both have history with. The Captain is characterised by his frequent absences, regular cheques of varying values which he sends to Liza, and his unusual behaviour.
Eventually, as a young man Jim follows The Captain to his current exotic location - Panama, where Jim comes to terms with the things The Captain is wrapped up in.
Always a good read, Graham Green.
4 stars.
A short novel, and a quick read from Greene - his last published novel (1988).
Greene does espionage well - most of my favourites of his books seem to be espionage.
He tells the story well, framed by the main character writing the story of his life from memory, and constantly reminding us of his unreliability to remember accurately. It starts as a young boy in boarding school, when he is visited by a stranger knows only as ‘the captain', who brings him from school to London to live as a surrogate son with a woman named Liza. They rename him ‘Jim' as Victor isn't seen as a beneficial name, whereas The Captain changes the name he uses frequently.
As Jim grows up he weighs his relationship with The Captain, Liza and his father (referred to as ‘The Devil') whom The Captain and Liza both have history with. The Captain is characterised by his frequent absences, regular cheques of varying values which he sends to Liza, and his unusual behaviour.
Eventually, as a young man Jim follows The Captain to his current exotic location - Panama, where Jim comes to terms with the things The Captain is wrapped up in.
Always a good read, Graham Green.
4 stars.
Wow, what a fantastic book - I can't believe I waited so long to read this! I have read another of this author's books (The Spotted Deer - related to elephants in forestry in the Andaman Islands), and gave that 4 stars - it was great, but this book is basically as good as it gets in all things elephant (related to forestry, military, and general wild Indian elephant behaviour).
Published in 1950, it covers the period immediately after WW1 (when Williams was in the Camel Corps), and he first reached Burma in 1920, to run a forestry operation, right through to the years after WW2, when he spent time returning elephants to forestry, after they spent time in the army (er, him and the elephants!).
Basically a book of two halves - the first is the culmination of many years experience in the forestry industry in Burma (pre-war), all the learning of a vet looking after elephants, all the experience of working with elephants, training them, and their abilities, their quirks, their behaviour, their likes and dislikes. As well as this he shares a deep understanding of the Burmese oozie (riders), and indeed the Burmese natives, whom he respected and was respected by.
The second half explains the role Williams had in the army during WW2 - again in Burma, and again with elephants, where they were extensively used for construction (roads, bridges, fortifications) and as transportation. Williams played a large role in trying to keep the Japanese from capturing elephants for their own use, and in trying to get them back from the Japanese, or recapturing them after the Japanese retreat.
Throughout the book it is obvious Williams has a deep connection with the elephants, and has a thorough understanding of them. He also has talent as a writer, able to weave a story, work a narrative up to a crescendo, and layer information in a way that doesn't feel like a textbook, but still contains considerable information.
The book is easy reading and doesn't use too much jargon or military terms (although there are inevitably a number when half the book discusses the war). My copy (Reprint Society) is packed with black and white photographs which are excellent, given the age of the book (my edition is 1951).
It is not a rare book by any means, so is relatively easy available, and definitely worth seeking out.
Easy 5 stars.
Wow, what a fantastic book - I can't believe I waited so long to read this! I have read another of this author's books (The Spotted Deer - related to elephants in forestry in the Andaman Islands), and gave that 4 stars - it was great, but this book is basically as good as it gets in all things elephant (related to forestry, military, and general wild Indian elephant behaviour).
Published in 1950, it covers the period immediately after WW1 (when Williams was in the Camel Corps), and he first reached Burma in 1920, to run a forestry operation, right through to the years after WW2, when he spent time returning elephants to forestry, after they spent time in the army (er, him and the elephants!).
Basically a book of two halves - the first is the culmination of many years experience in the forestry industry in Burma (pre-war), all the learning of a vet looking after elephants, all the experience of working with elephants, training them, and their abilities, their quirks, their behaviour, their likes and dislikes. As well as this he shares a deep understanding of the Burmese oozie (riders), and indeed the Burmese natives, whom he respected and was respected by.
The second half explains the role Williams had in the army during WW2 - again in Burma, and again with elephants, where they were extensively used for construction (roads, bridges, fortifications) and as transportation. Williams played a large role in trying to keep the Japanese from capturing elephants for their own use, and in trying to get them back from the Japanese, or recapturing them after the Japanese retreat.
Throughout the book it is obvious Williams has a deep connection with the elephants, and has a thorough understanding of them. He also has talent as a writer, able to weave a story, work a narrative up to a crescendo, and layer information in a way that doesn't feel like a textbook, but still contains considerable information.
The book is easy reading and doesn't use too much jargon or military terms (although there are inevitably a number when half the book discusses the war). My copy (Reprint Society) is packed with black and white photographs which are excellent, given the age of the book (my edition is 1951).
It is not a rare book by any means, so is relatively easy available, and definitely worth seeking out.
Easy 5 stars.
Somewhat coyly, in this book, after the summit has been conquered and he and Tenzing approached the South Col, upon seeing his companion George Lowe, Hillary says “In rough New Zealand slang I shouted out the good news, and the next moment we were all talking at once and slapping each other on the back.” Somewhat famously, that rough NZ slang was “We knocked the bastard off.”
And somewhat inexplicably, I have finally read this book. I am unsure how I haven't got to it before.
It is a great book, which shared Hillary's obvious passion for mountaineering, and at the same time shows his respect for those other men in the expedition and the reconnaissances before who all contributed so much the the final success of Hillary and Tenzing.
It covers not only the 1953 expedition - the first to conquer Everest, but also the 1951 and 1952 reconnaissance expeditions (led by Eric Shipton). There is a lot of detail in the mountaineering, but not so much that it is unreadable to the non-climber, and Hillary writes in an informal style very readable, and basic in style, but sharing his enviable enthusiasm.
This book also inadvertently shows how different things area now - in the Himalaya. They come across the camps from the Swiss attempt of 1952, the tents ragged and flapping, but still there. They find food, but also empty tins scattered around and an oxygen frame. Their own expedition is the same - abandoned oxygen bottles, they abandon their tents at the high camps when they are no longer required. Now days every scrap of rubbish is removed, and all equipment must be recovered, as so it should be.
Sir Ed is a legend in New Zealand, and still incredibly well thought of not just for his pioneering and climbing, but for the work he did with schools and hospitals in Nepal and other philanthropic work. Right up until his passing in 2008 he was a larger than life character, and this won't be the last of his books that I read.
An excellent read. 5 stars.
Somewhat coyly, in this book, after the summit has been conquered and he and Tenzing approached the South Col, upon seeing his companion George Lowe, Hillary says “In rough New Zealand slang I shouted out the good news, and the next moment we were all talking at once and slapping each other on the back.” Somewhat famously, that rough NZ slang was “We knocked the bastard off.”
And somewhat inexplicably, I have finally read this book. I am unsure how I haven't got to it before.
It is a great book, which shared Hillary's obvious passion for mountaineering, and at the same time shows his respect for those other men in the expedition and the reconnaissances before who all contributed so much the the final success of Hillary and Tenzing.
It covers not only the 1953 expedition - the first to conquer Everest, but also the 1951 and 1952 reconnaissance expeditions (led by Eric Shipton). There is a lot of detail in the mountaineering, but not so much that it is unreadable to the non-climber, and Hillary writes in an informal style very readable, and basic in style, but sharing his enviable enthusiasm.
This book also inadvertently shows how different things area now - in the Himalaya. They come across the camps from the Swiss attempt of 1952, the tents ragged and flapping, but still there. They find food, but also empty tins scattered around and an oxygen frame. Their own expedition is the same - abandoned oxygen bottles, they abandon their tents at the high camps when they are no longer required. Now days every scrap of rubbish is removed, and all equipment must be recovered, as so it should be.
Sir Ed is a legend in New Zealand, and still incredibly well thought of not just for his pioneering and climbing, but for the work he did with schools and hospitals in Nepal and other philanthropic work. Right up until his passing in 2008 he was a larger than life character, and this won't be the last of his books that I read.
An excellent read. 5 stars.
A well known dystopian speculative fiction novel, set in the USA, by Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood. I avoided the (fairly) recent television mini-series, knowing that I should have read this book before now - and I understand a sequel is due late 2019 now.
The things most evident from this book:
- It has aged very well - first published 1985 - it still reads as contemporary, which surprised me.
- A large part of the success of this book is how plausible the storyline is - the poisoning of our planet leading to sterility and birth defects, a plummeting birth rate, and ‘steps being taken'. The powerful 1% taking control and the remainder of people performing a service role - soldiers, police, educators, breeders, and servants.
- The story is told in an interesting manner - as often what is not told to us is as important as what is told. We are left to draw conclusions and fill in gaps (although we are often corrected or affirmed later).
- The story holds suspense in a way that makes you want to read on, or pick up the book again.
Much better places to look for plot outlines than here, so I will move on quickly.
4 stars.
A well known dystopian speculative fiction novel, set in the USA, by Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood. I avoided the (fairly) recent television mini-series, knowing that I should have read this book before now - and I understand a sequel is due late 2019 now.
The things most evident from this book:
- It has aged very well - first published 1985 - it still reads as contemporary, which surprised me.
- A large part of the success of this book is how plausible the storyline is - the poisoning of our planet leading to sterility and birth defects, a plummeting birth rate, and ‘steps being taken'. The powerful 1% taking control and the remainder of people performing a service role - soldiers, police, educators, breeders, and servants.
- The story is told in an interesting manner - as often what is not told to us is as important as what is told. We are left to draw conclusions and fill in gaps (although we are often corrected or affirmed later).
- The story holds suspense in a way that makes you want to read on, or pick up the book again.
Much better places to look for plot outlines than here, so I will move on quickly.
4 stars.
Added to listOwnedwith 2735 books.
This is the second of Maxwells autobiographic works, which follows the success of Ring of Bright Water (my review in the link). The author states in the first chapter that it is ‘a very different book', and indeed it is. While Ring of Bright Water celebrates his otters and their lives, and explains Maxwells lifestyle a little, it shares less of this life.
This book is somewhat more fragmented and complex. It covers, of course, the continued story of Edal, and the introduction of further otter companions Teko, Mossy and Monday, as well as some short-lived (literally) otter visitors, but is also shares some of Maxwell's time away from Camusfearna (the alias he uses for his property in Scotland).
I think also the book says a bit about Maxwells mental state, and in parts he shares his periods of darkness and admits he can't explain why he didn't snap out of it. His non-otter related stories are somewhat strange selections from his life - time in Morocco, where he explains the aftermath of the devastating 1960 earthquake in Agadir; more time in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria where he appears to suffer from depression (where we are given a long and strange sideline story about a letter/book an uninvolved man wrote about UFOs and god!); a strange rant about traffic and traffic signs; and a time in Majorca, when a German sailor steals his Mercedes from the port and writes it off in a confusing accident. Maxwell spends weeks trying to reconstruct the events of the accident (the sailor was too drunk to recall much of it), which really says more about Maxwell needing to control the situation than any real benefit.
But, irrespective of the above chapter of strangeness, the Camusfearna chapters (which outnumber the others 2 to 1) have similarities to the earlier book, and for those interested in otters (even vaguely), will provide some entertainment. However there are changes to life here too. Firstly there are some unsavoury otter attacks on people where jealousy in involved, which lead to a more secured environment for the otters and much more caution taken with visitors. At the same time the house itself was undergoing improvement - power, running water, road access (albeit only for the landrover). Maxwell also bought a boat, which gave rise more experiences (exciting, near-death and foolhardy in equal parts). Then there are the events of the chapter titled ‘accident, fire and flood' which also covers all bases by including pestilence.
Probably the strangest happening in the book is Maxwell getting married. There is absolutely no buildup to this, nothing which gives away any prior connection to his wife (and step children!), and it received a mention in passing along the lines of “I needed to be in London to be married on the weekend...” and then suddenly there is lots of we and us instead of me and I! His wife, Lavinia Renton, writes a short passage in the book on her involvement with Maxwell's most recent otters, Mossy and Monday. Their marriage lasts less than a year, unsurprisingly given Maxwell was homosexual, and his undiagnosed, but apparent bi-polar condition, but their separation occurs after the end of this book.
So perhaps my review is as fragmented as the book, and I struggle now to rate this book. For those wanting more of the same otter stories that Ring of Bright Water offered, there is enough here. For those interested in Maxwell, perhaps less, but a view into his mind, however brief. I am a bit of a completist, so I will read the third book in the series, and his House of Elrig, which covers his early life.
A strange and confused 3.5 stars, rounded down.
This is the second of Maxwells autobiographic works, which follows the success of Ring of Bright Water (my review in the link). The author states in the first chapter that it is ‘a very different book', and indeed it is. While Ring of Bright Water celebrates his otters and their lives, and explains Maxwells lifestyle a little, it shares less of this life.
This book is somewhat more fragmented and complex. It covers, of course, the continued story of Edal, and the introduction of further otter companions Teko, Mossy and Monday, as well as some short-lived (literally) otter visitors, but is also shares some of Maxwell's time away from Camusfearna (the alias he uses for his property in Scotland).
I think also the book says a bit about Maxwells mental state, and in parts he shares his periods of darkness and admits he can't explain why he didn't snap out of it. His non-otter related stories are somewhat strange selections from his life - time in Morocco, where he explains the aftermath of the devastating 1960 earthquake in Agadir; more time in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria where he appears to suffer from depression (where we are given a long and strange sideline story about a letter/book an uninvolved man wrote about UFOs and god!); a strange rant about traffic and traffic signs; and a time in Majorca, when a German sailor steals his Mercedes from the port and writes it off in a confusing accident. Maxwell spends weeks trying to reconstruct the events of the accident (the sailor was too drunk to recall much of it), which really says more about Maxwell needing to control the situation than any real benefit.
But, irrespective of the above chapter of strangeness, the Camusfearna chapters (which outnumber the others 2 to 1) have similarities to the earlier book, and for those interested in otters (even vaguely), will provide some entertainment. However there are changes to life here too. Firstly there are some unsavoury otter attacks on people where jealousy in involved, which lead to a more secured environment for the otters and much more caution taken with visitors. At the same time the house itself was undergoing improvement - power, running water, road access (albeit only for the landrover). Maxwell also bought a boat, which gave rise more experiences (exciting, near-death and foolhardy in equal parts). Then there are the events of the chapter titled ‘accident, fire and flood' which also covers all bases by including pestilence.
Probably the strangest happening in the book is Maxwell getting married. There is absolutely no buildup to this, nothing which gives away any prior connection to his wife (and step children!), and it received a mention in passing along the lines of “I needed to be in London to be married on the weekend...” and then suddenly there is lots of we and us instead of me and I! His wife, Lavinia Renton, writes a short passage in the book on her involvement with Maxwell's most recent otters, Mossy and Monday. Their marriage lasts less than a year, unsurprisingly given Maxwell was homosexual, and his undiagnosed, but apparent bi-polar condition, but their separation occurs after the end of this book.
So perhaps my review is as fragmented as the book, and I struggle now to rate this book. For those wanting more of the same otter stories that Ring of Bright Water offered, there is enough here. For those interested in Maxwell, perhaps less, but a view into his mind, however brief. I am a bit of a completist, so I will read the third book in the series, and his House of Elrig, which covers his early life.
A strange and confused 3.5 stars, rounded down.
This is an incredibly thorough biography of Sir Francis Younghusband - almost reaching a point of being too thorough for me. It turned into quite slow read - which is not what I expected.
Without peer in the achievements he made for the British army, Indian Civil Service and as an explorer in his own right, he is a fine example of mental and physical ability. Small of stature, and as Partrick French discloses in this book, being thoroughly bizarre in some of his thoughts, was no bar to his overtaking of obstacles.
His expedition through the uncharted Gobi desert undertaken in much hardship, and his headstrong taking of Tibet are probably his most active achievements, but some of his activities post military are also worth mention. It is a confident man who can change his option based on newly learned fact - his wholehearted support of Indian Independence having spent a good many years of his life in the British army in the control of British India, and pushing out into Central Asia and Tibet to secure and increase her borders.
Younghusband was also elected the youngest member of the Royal Geographical Society and received the society's 1890 Patron's Gold Medal. He was later the president of the Royal Geographical Society from 1919 to 1922, and Chairman of the Mount Everest Committee which set up various expeditions, including the ill fated Mallory expedition in 1924.
However, hand in hand with his achievements, Patrick French also describes in great detail the odd sexual repression Younghusband felt, having been brought up devout Christian. This impacted nearly all his relationships with women, including a relationship with his sister (hinted at being incestuous), and various women he came to fixate on (some of which became lovers, others asexual relationships). He was in later life to become open to a multitude of religions, in fact founding the World Congress of Faiths, and wrote a large number of terrible sounding books on spirituality. It was this part of the biography I could have survived with far less of. His terribly infantile sounding love letters - almost enough to stop me reading.
Nevertheless - a full biography it is, and without doubt his achievements outweigh his personal issues, which really only became public knowledge due to the archiving of his personal paperwork.
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
This is an incredibly thorough biography of Sir Francis Younghusband - almost reaching a point of being too thorough for me. It turned into quite slow read - which is not what I expected.
Without peer in the achievements he made for the British army, Indian Civil Service and as an explorer in his own right, he is a fine example of mental and physical ability. Small of stature, and as Partrick French discloses in this book, being thoroughly bizarre in some of his thoughts, was no bar to his overtaking of obstacles.
His expedition through the uncharted Gobi desert undertaken in much hardship, and his headstrong taking of Tibet are probably his most active achievements, but some of his activities post military are also worth mention. It is a confident man who can change his option based on newly learned fact - his wholehearted support of Indian Independence having spent a good many years of his life in the British army in the control of British India, and pushing out into Central Asia and Tibet to secure and increase her borders.
Younghusband was also elected the youngest member of the Royal Geographical Society and received the society's 1890 Patron's Gold Medal. He was later the president of the Royal Geographical Society from 1919 to 1922, and Chairman of the Mount Everest Committee which set up various expeditions, including the ill fated Mallory expedition in 1924.
However, hand in hand with his achievements, Patrick French also describes in great detail the odd sexual repression Younghusband felt, having been brought up devout Christian. This impacted nearly all his relationships with women, including a relationship with his sister (hinted at being incestuous), and various women he came to fixate on (some of which became lovers, others asexual relationships). He was in later life to become open to a multitude of religions, in fact founding the World Congress of Faiths, and wrote a large number of terrible sounding books on spirituality. It was this part of the biography I could have survived with far less of. His terribly infantile sounding love letters - almost enough to stop me reading.
Nevertheless - a full biography it is, and without doubt his achievements outweigh his personal issues, which really only became public knowledge due to the archiving of his personal paperwork.
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
I enjoy Paul Theroux's writing a lot - particularly his travel non-fiction. This book, I wasn't enthused with, and that is largely due to its format and content.
What is it? Basically, it is a book curated by Theroux, in which he has carefully selected quotations from the travel books of notable travellers - literary figures, novelists, well known travellers. Divided into chapters the quotations are arranged into logical sequence, and typically introduced by Theroux, some with narrative, some left as quotes. It varies a little. Sometime Paul provides excerpts from his own writing, sometimes he dedicates a chapter to the Travel Wisdom of a particular person - Robert Louis Stevenson, Freya Stark & Evelyn Waugh are examples of this.
He draws his quotations from many - some well read authors in fact - Wilfred Thesiger (not enough from him), Charles Doughty, Shackleton, Sir Richard Burton, Peter Mathiessen, Hemingway, Gustave Flaubert, Bruce Chatwin, Graeme Greene, Geoffrey Moorhouse, Rebecca West, Somerset Maugham, Richard Halliburton, and so many more.
So why didn't I love it? I guess I am not one to like the chop and change that quotations from multiple authors provides. I enjoy the build-up of narrative, the highs and lows. I am distracted by bitsy quotations. I don't consider they were not selected well, and in context - they were clustered together with relevance, but they don't hold my interest. Selecting quotations is fun - I enjoy picking out the gem as I read a narrative, and reflecting on that before moving on. Sometimes I remember the page number for my review, most often I don't!
Others will love this format, and I don't doubt will also love the content. For me the best parts were Theroux's introduction for each chapter, and where he added commentary to each quotation. This is possibly a book I will dip back into from time to time (providing it isn't buried on my selves, which is more likely).
A solid 3 stars from me.
I enjoy Paul Theroux's writing a lot - particularly his travel non-fiction. This book, I wasn't enthused with, and that is largely due to its format and content.
What is it? Basically, it is a book curated by Theroux, in which he has carefully selected quotations from the travel books of notable travellers - literary figures, novelists, well known travellers. Divided into chapters the quotations are arranged into logical sequence, and typically introduced by Theroux, some with narrative, some left as quotes. It varies a little. Sometime Paul provides excerpts from his own writing, sometimes he dedicates a chapter to the Travel Wisdom of a particular person - Robert Louis Stevenson, Freya Stark & Evelyn Waugh are examples of this.
He draws his quotations from many - some well read authors in fact - Wilfred Thesiger (not enough from him), Charles Doughty, Shackleton, Sir Richard Burton, Peter Mathiessen, Hemingway, Gustave Flaubert, Bruce Chatwin, Graeme Greene, Geoffrey Moorhouse, Rebecca West, Somerset Maugham, Richard Halliburton, and so many more.
So why didn't I love it? I guess I am not one to like the chop and change that quotations from multiple authors provides. I enjoy the build-up of narrative, the highs and lows. I am distracted by bitsy quotations. I don't consider they were not selected well, and in context - they were clustered together with relevance, but they don't hold my interest. Selecting quotations is fun - I enjoy picking out the gem as I read a narrative, and reflecting on that before moving on. Sometimes I remember the page number for my review, most often I don't!
Others will love this format, and I don't doubt will also love the content. For me the best parts were Theroux's introduction for each chapter, and where he added commentary to each quotation. This is possibly a book I will dip back into from time to time (providing it isn't buried on my selves, which is more likely).
A solid 3 stars from me.
An interesting and very detailed book about the Bushmen of the Bechualand Protectorate (now Botswana) and Namibia, from an author who spent a lot of time living with groups of them. Published in 1959, the travels all took place in the 1950s. (Now known as San or Saan, this terminology is not used at all in this book, and the tribal naming doesn't align with any of the tribal names given on the San wikipedia page, so I will just stick with what is in this book in my review.) The author describes her current travel, but also throws back to previous trips he family have undertaken, so is able to explain the changes that have taken place between trips (to the family groups primarily, but also references to waterholes, villages etc). She is travelling with her parents, and seemingly sometimes with her brother, although her writing concentrates the story well away from them, and focuses on the Bushmen and the Kalahari Desert.
The first half of the book is about a small group of Bushmen who Thomas calls the Gikwe Bushmen, led by Ukwane and his younger relative Gai. There is a short family tree at the beginning of the book which joins up some of uncertainty I felt (although I am sure it was explained somewhere in the text, I must have not taken it all in). As well as living alongside this family group, sharing their food, their traditional way of life and learning to search for food, listen to some of their handed down stories, Thomas shares all her day to day interactions, but the book retains its accessibility despite containing all this detail anthropological information.
As well as this family group there are other Bushmen, whom Elizabeth refers to as the jealous men from Okwa, although there are women and children with them, who come to camp within a few metres of the family group to ensure they are not missing out on what they imagine of the feasting brought by the white people camping with Ukwane.
After leaving this group and setting out for the northern Kalahari, crossing the border into South Wet Africa (now Namibia). Here they connect with another group of families, referred to by the author as Kung Bushmen, primarily Toma's family (his wife Tu, an daughter Norna, and relatives Crooked Kwi, Gao Feet and Lazy Kwe, and their respective families and those who live with them. Again with this half of the book we get the traditions, the tribal stories and beliefs, information about their hunting and gathered food, and their tribal connections. It is pretty much a full cultural and tribal explanation of their way of life.
Accompanying the writing are several pages of black and white photos. These are of a range of subjects, but primarily people. They are interesting and of reasonable quality given the date, and certainly add to the writing.
While perhaps not the most spirited for books - it goes flat for pages at a time - it is detailed and thorough, it gives no obvious reason to disbelieve any of the information, and is quite readable.
4 stars.
An interesting and very detailed book about the Bushmen of the Bechualand Protectorate (now Botswana) and Namibia, from an author who spent a lot of time living with groups of them. Published in 1959, the travels all took place in the 1950s. (Now known as San or Saan, this terminology is not used at all in this book, and the tribal naming doesn't align with any of the tribal names given on the San wikipedia page, so I will just stick with what is in this book in my review.) The author describes her current travel, but also throws back to previous trips he family have undertaken, so is able to explain the changes that have taken place between trips (to the family groups primarily, but also references to waterholes, villages etc). She is travelling with her parents, and seemingly sometimes with her brother, although her writing concentrates the story well away from them, and focuses on the Bushmen and the Kalahari Desert.
The first half of the book is about a small group of Bushmen who Thomas calls the Gikwe Bushmen, led by Ukwane and his younger relative Gai. There is a short family tree at the beginning of the book which joins up some of uncertainty I felt (although I am sure it was explained somewhere in the text, I must have not taken it all in). As well as living alongside this family group, sharing their food, their traditional way of life and learning to search for food, listen to some of their handed down stories, Thomas shares all her day to day interactions, but the book retains its accessibility despite containing all this detail anthropological information.
As well as this family group there are other Bushmen, whom Elizabeth refers to as the jealous men from Okwa, although there are women and children with them, who come to camp within a few metres of the family group to ensure they are not missing out on what they imagine of the feasting brought by the white people camping with Ukwane.
After leaving this group and setting out for the northern Kalahari, crossing the border into South Wet Africa (now Namibia). Here they connect with another group of families, referred to by the author as Kung Bushmen, primarily Toma's family (his wife Tu, an daughter Norna, and relatives Crooked Kwi, Gao Feet and Lazy Kwe, and their respective families and those who live with them. Again with this half of the book we get the traditions, the tribal stories and beliefs, information about their hunting and gathered food, and their tribal connections. It is pretty much a full cultural and tribal explanation of their way of life.
Accompanying the writing are several pages of black and white photos. These are of a range of subjects, but primarily people. They are interesting and of reasonable quality given the date, and certainly add to the writing.
While perhaps not the most spirited for books - it goes flat for pages at a time - it is detailed and thorough, it gives no obvious reason to disbelieve any of the information, and is quite readable.
4 stars.
Trainspotting comparisons are inevitable, as it is written in dialect, set in Scotland and features the drug scene and culture. In both books the overall narrative is about escaping the lower class schemes, escaping the hold drugs have on you, and growing up. But Welsh's Leith in the '90s and Armstrong's Lanarkshire in mid 2000's are different propositions.
That aside, where Trainspotting (which I also think is excellent) keeps a distance from the day to day, The Young Team is ultra-realistic, and goes into the minutiae of everyday life. Graeme Armstrong has described it in a sentence - It is based on my real lived experience of gang culture in Lanarkshire [just beyond Glasgow's east end] and centres around a gang-conflict, violence and drugs. And the autobiographical nature centrally enhances the raw reality. The narrative here is centred around the protagonist Alan ‘Azzy' Williams, and his life from about age 13 to 22 in The New Team a gang of youths from the estate, and their ongoing battles with rival gang The Young Toi.
Fully written in dialect, but a slightly different dialect to Trainspotting, I don't think it makes this a hard read, providing the reader has some understanding of the Scottish accent and pronunciation. It takes just a short time to adjust your reading to pick up the rhythm. I am not sure the book would have the same impact if it was not written in dialect, as for me it puts the reader in place.
The most compelling aspect of this book is explaining the social culture by showing the reader the depth of understanding that Azzy develops as he gets older, and explaining the reasoning behind his actions as he navigates through a life with many challenges. Alcohol, drug addiction (and not necessarily the hard drugs Welsh's boys are into) and violence are the obvious themes, but unemployment, poverty, mental health, relationships, lack of opportunity, pressure to conform all combine to form an almost unbearable pressure on young people in this setting. In Azzy's case the difference between his internal thoughts and what he is prepared to verbalise is contrasting.
It is impossible not to feel sympathy for those trapped in the confines of this life, and to feel admiration for those who make their way out of it.
Usually I try not to read too many other reviews before I write my own, but I wasn't sure where to head with this one, and did read a number of reviews. It seems clear that this is a book well received by people with far more contact and knowledge of the setting and the people. That readers can associate so closely with the characters and the lifestyle shows this books is steeped in reality and is authentic, and not a fictitious or unnecessarily embellished series of situations says a lot about the skills of the author.
Currently with a little over 1600 reviews and an average rating of 4.5, it is clear this book is receiving high praise from its readers (Trainspotting has almost 160,000 ratings - with a 4.08 average rating). Dialect will inevitably have an effect of the audience width, but this book deserves more acknowledgement.
The writing is excellent, the pacing and the way the tension is drawn out in anticipation make this book hard to put down. Without giving too much away, the book also provides hope. It shows a pathway out; that there is some hope for the disaffected; but also it shows the damage caused on the way - those who cannot rise to navigate their way from youth to adult, and stay trapped.
5 stars.
Trainspotting comparisons are inevitable, as it is written in dialect, set in Scotland and features the drug scene and culture. In both books the overall narrative is about escaping the lower class schemes, escaping the hold drugs have on you, and growing up. But Welsh's Leith in the '90s and Armstrong's Lanarkshire in mid 2000's are different propositions.
That aside, where Trainspotting (which I also think is excellent) keeps a distance from the day to day, The Young Team is ultra-realistic, and goes into the minutiae of everyday life. Graeme Armstrong has described it in a sentence - It is based on my real lived experience of gang culture in Lanarkshire [just beyond Glasgow's east end] and centres around a gang-conflict, violence and drugs. And the autobiographical nature centrally enhances the raw reality. The narrative here is centred around the protagonist Alan ‘Azzy' Williams, and his life from about age 13 to 22 in The New Team a gang of youths from the estate, and their ongoing battles with rival gang The Young Toi.
Fully written in dialect, but a slightly different dialect to Trainspotting, I don't think it makes this a hard read, providing the reader has some understanding of the Scottish accent and pronunciation. It takes just a short time to adjust your reading to pick up the rhythm. I am not sure the book would have the same impact if it was not written in dialect, as for me it puts the reader in place.
The most compelling aspect of this book is explaining the social culture by showing the reader the depth of understanding that Azzy develops as he gets older, and explaining the reasoning behind his actions as he navigates through a life with many challenges. Alcohol, drug addiction (and not necessarily the hard drugs Welsh's boys are into) and violence are the obvious themes, but unemployment, poverty, mental health, relationships, lack of opportunity, pressure to conform all combine to form an almost unbearable pressure on young people in this setting. In Azzy's case the difference between his internal thoughts and what he is prepared to verbalise is contrasting.
It is impossible not to feel sympathy for those trapped in the confines of this life, and to feel admiration for those who make their way out of it.
Usually I try not to read too many other reviews before I write my own, but I wasn't sure where to head with this one, and did read a number of reviews. It seems clear that this is a book well received by people with far more contact and knowledge of the setting and the people. That readers can associate so closely with the characters and the lifestyle shows this books is steeped in reality and is authentic, and not a fictitious or unnecessarily embellished series of situations says a lot about the skills of the author.
Currently with a little over 1600 reviews and an average rating of 4.5, it is clear this book is receiving high praise from its readers (Trainspotting has almost 160,000 ratings - with a 4.08 average rating). Dialect will inevitably have an effect of the audience width, but this book deserves more acknowledgement.
The writing is excellent, the pacing and the way the tension is drawn out in anticipation make this book hard to put down. Without giving too much away, the book also provides hope. It shows a pathway out; that there is some hope for the disaffected; but also it shows the damage caused on the way - those who cannot rise to navigate their way from youth to adult, and stay trapped.
5 stars.
This is one of van der Post's earliest books, and to me it felt like he was scared of leaving something out.
It is the story of his travelling to Nyasaland (now Malawi) to investigate two tracts of land - One was a huge, rugged mountain mass in he extreme south of the Protectorate; the other a large plateau abruptly and precipitously set from eight to nine thousand feet above the lakes and planes of the extreme north of the territory.However, in reading the first hundred pages of this book, you would more think this is a collection of every internal thought the man had between accepting the task, and setting foot on the mountain. First we are told he will not burden us with a family history, then sets about to provide 17 pages of his family history, pausing in the middle to confirm he is sharing only the bare essentials necessary to understand his attachment to Africa. Then he describes not only his series of flights from London to Blantyre, but describes each conversation or interaction, and shares snippets of memories and past experiences of the places they stop in transit or even fly over. The vast majority of this is inane and lacked relevance to me, and I was pretty close to marking this off a a DNF. For a journey of 72 hours, LvdP was almost bang on a page an hour.
However, after around 100 pages, after his arrival in Nyasaland the story starts to take some form. He makes his introductions to all the administrators and the like; makes his plans for the first of his investigative journeys, and finally sets off.
Mlanje or the Mulanje Massif as it is now known, is worth a google to see what LvdP was in for. Accompanied by Quillan and Vance, forestry officers familiar with the area, but who have never circumambulated the mountain. They are also accompanied, of course by 20 bearers and some personal assistants. The journey itself is interesting enough, but unfortunately LvdP begins this section of the book by preempting an unfortunate accident at the end. He shares with the reader some sort of premonition, then for every major decision made on the journey he makes some form of statement to disclaim himself from it - this may be fair enough to point out but he hardly endears him to the reader, who knows full well the author can frame the story any way he feels leaves him in the best light.
The balance of this section of the book deals with the aftermath of the tragic accident.
The second tract of land is referred to in the book as Nyika, or the Nyika Plateau (now a National Park). After organising his trip from the south to the north, LvdP again plans his expedition, this time accompanied by Michael Dowler, the Government Veterinary Officer. Michael's assistants and 40 bearers form the balance of the party. This journey takes something a little less than a month, and covers a large area of the plateau. Much of the expedition narrative is broken up by a POW story (unclear what relevance, other than LvdP woke up in a depressed mood, and didn't know why, and later realised it was an anniversary of a relevant date of his internment under the Japanese in Indonesia); a chapter long discourse about the psychology of African drumming; and a dream LvdP has. Strangely in the last chapter, the story just peters out:
With this dream, my journey in Africa really ends. It is true I spent another three weeks on that lovely plateau, but there is nothing new to say of it.
This is one of van der Post's earliest books, and to me it felt like he was scared of leaving something out.
It is the story of his travelling to Nyasaland (now Malawi) to investigate two tracts of land - One was a huge, rugged mountain mass in he extreme south of the Protectorate; the other a large plateau abruptly and precipitously set from eight to nine thousand feet above the lakes and planes of the extreme north of the territory.However, in reading the first hundred pages of this book, you would more think this is a collection of every internal thought the man had between accepting the task, and setting foot on the mountain. First we are told he will not burden us with a family history, then sets about to provide 17 pages of his family history, pausing in the middle to confirm he is sharing only the bare essentials necessary to understand his attachment to Africa. Then he describes not only his series of flights from London to Blantyre, but describes each conversation or interaction, and shares snippets of memories and past experiences of the places they stop in transit or even fly over. The vast majority of this is inane and lacked relevance to me, and I was pretty close to marking this off a a DNF. For a journey of 72 hours, LvdP was almost bang on a page an hour.
However, after around 100 pages, after his arrival in Nyasaland the story starts to take some form. He makes his introductions to all the administrators and the like; makes his plans for the first of his investigative journeys, and finally sets off.
Mlanje or the Mulanje Massif as it is now known, is worth a google to see what LvdP was in for. Accompanied by Quillan and Vance, forestry officers familiar with the area, but who have never circumambulated the mountain. They are also accompanied, of course by 20 bearers and some personal assistants. The journey itself is interesting enough, but unfortunately LvdP begins this section of the book by preempting an unfortunate accident at the end. He shares with the reader some sort of premonition, then for every major decision made on the journey he makes some form of statement to disclaim himself from it - this may be fair enough to point out but he hardly endears him to the reader, who knows full well the author can frame the story any way he feels leaves him in the best light.
The balance of this section of the book deals with the aftermath of the tragic accident.
The second tract of land is referred to in the book as Nyika, or the Nyika Plateau (now a National Park). After organising his trip from the south to the north, LvdP again plans his expedition, this time accompanied by Michael Dowler, the Government Veterinary Officer. Michael's assistants and 40 bearers form the balance of the party. This journey takes something a little less than a month, and covers a large area of the plateau. Much of the expedition narrative is broken up by a POW story (unclear what relevance, other than LvdP woke up in a depressed mood, and didn't know why, and later realised it was an anniversary of a relevant date of his internment under the Japanese in Indonesia); a chapter long discourse about the psychology of African drumming; and a dream LvdP has. Strangely in the last chapter, the story just peters out:
With this dream, my journey in Africa really ends. It is true I spent another three weeks on that lovely plateau, but there is nothing new to say of it.
Jim Corbett (1875 - 1955) was an experienced hunter, who was called upon by the Government in India to track down and kill man-eating tigers which were terrorising villagers in the Kumaon district in Uttarakhand, which borders Nepal and Tibet. While early in his life Corbett was a hunter, he later evolved his thinking to become a naturalist, and championed the protection of wild animals.
This book describes the events of hunting (mostly) man-eating tigers in the 1920s.
In this period, while tigers had already been heavily hunted, there were still a high number roaming about, and those which become man-eaters were taking many lives. Corbett writes first about the Champawat Tiger, a Bengal Tigress responsible for an estimated 436 deaths before he tracked her down in 1907.
Corbett, while perhaps not a naturally gifted writer, makes a good attempt and has created a readable book filled with facts about tigers and descriptions of the forests of Uttarakhand. He shares his exceptional skills in tracking, predicting tiger behaviour and his knowledge around what makes a tiger become a man-eater.
At the 1929 District Conference, the troubles with man-eating tigers were raised, and the top three most dangerous were determined by the number of people killed. Jim Corbett was asked to deal with these tigers. The first was considered the Chowgarh Tiger
but was found to be the Chowgarh Tigers - villages who thought they were being terrorised by one man-eater, when there were actually two!
Chapter 5 is the odd one out - The Bachelor of Powalgarh, an exceptionally large Bengal tiger who was the most sought after game trophy of the time. Although many had tried no one was able to outsmart this tiger. Corbett tells the story of how he hunts this giant (which was definitely not a man-eater).
The Mohan Tiger is the second of the three man-eaters. The Kanda Tiger is the third of the District Conference tigers that Corbett killed.
In Chapter 8 Corbett traces 15 years of history of the Pipal Pani Tiger a non man-eater, from its tracks in the mud as a cub, up until its death 15 years later.
The final chapter, in 1938 when Corbett is 63 years old, tells of the last man-eating tiger he hunts, the Thak man-eater which proves to be one of the most dramatic kills.
One of the more interesting aspects is why tigers become man-eaters. Man is easy prey for a tiger, but generally they stay well away from humans. It is only when injured and unable to hunt their natural game that they turn to the easy meals. “The wound that has caused a particular tiger to take to man-eating might be the result of a carelessly fired shot and failure to follow up and recover the wounded animal or be the result of the tiger having lost his temper while killing a porcupine.” Porcupine quills are very brittle and once embedded in a tigers leg will heal over then fester and cause a lot of pain and discomfort. This effects their demeanour as well as ability to hunt.
In 1957 a national park in Uttarakhand was renamed Jim Corbett National Park in his honour.
4 stars, but probably not a book for those who cannot separate the 1920s from today, or are upset at the hunting and killing aspects.
Jim Corbett (1875 - 1955) was an experienced hunter, who was called upon by the Government in India to track down and kill man-eating tigers which were terrorising villagers in the Kumaon district in Uttarakhand, which borders Nepal and Tibet. While early in his life Corbett was a hunter, he later evolved his thinking to become a naturalist, and championed the protection of wild animals.
This book describes the events of hunting (mostly) man-eating tigers in the 1920s.
In this period, while tigers had already been heavily hunted, there were still a high number roaming about, and those which become man-eaters were taking many lives. Corbett writes first about the Champawat Tiger, a Bengal Tigress responsible for an estimated 436 deaths before he tracked her down in 1907.
Corbett, while perhaps not a naturally gifted writer, makes a good attempt and has created a readable book filled with facts about tigers and descriptions of the forests of Uttarakhand. He shares his exceptional skills in tracking, predicting tiger behaviour and his knowledge around what makes a tiger become a man-eater.
At the 1929 District Conference, the troubles with man-eating tigers were raised, and the top three most dangerous were determined by the number of people killed. Jim Corbett was asked to deal with these tigers. The first was considered the Chowgarh Tiger
but was found to be the Chowgarh Tigers - villages who thought they were being terrorised by one man-eater, when there were actually two!
Chapter 5 is the odd one out - The Bachelor of Powalgarh, an exceptionally large Bengal tiger who was the most sought after game trophy of the time. Although many had tried no one was able to outsmart this tiger. Corbett tells the story of how he hunts this giant (which was definitely not a man-eater).
The Mohan Tiger is the second of the three man-eaters. The Kanda Tiger is the third of the District Conference tigers that Corbett killed.
In Chapter 8 Corbett traces 15 years of history of the Pipal Pani Tiger a non man-eater, from its tracks in the mud as a cub, up until its death 15 years later.
The final chapter, in 1938 when Corbett is 63 years old, tells of the last man-eating tiger he hunts, the Thak man-eater which proves to be one of the most dramatic kills.
One of the more interesting aspects is why tigers become man-eaters. Man is easy prey for a tiger, but generally they stay well away from humans. It is only when injured and unable to hunt their natural game that they turn to the easy meals. “The wound that has caused a particular tiger to take to man-eating might be the result of a carelessly fired shot and failure to follow up and recover the wounded animal or be the result of the tiger having lost his temper while killing a porcupine.” Porcupine quills are very brittle and once embedded in a tigers leg will heal over then fester and cause a lot of pain and discomfort. This effects their demeanour as well as ability to hunt.
In 1957 a national park in Uttarakhand was renamed Jim Corbett National Park in his honour.
4 stars, but probably not a book for those who cannot separate the 1920s from today, or are upset at the hunting and killing aspects.
This book revolves around a pension (boarding house) within a building named Miramar, in 1960s Alexandria, Egypt. The Pension is run by Mariana and aging Greek woman, who like the building, clings to her former glory. Her one great love was killed in the war, but his portrait hangs in the lobby where she gazes on it often.
At the commencement of the story the pension is empty. Chapter one is told through the eyes of Amer Wagdi, a former journalist and an old acquaintance of Mariana who has sought her out in his old age to ‘spend the rest of his life with her'. We see the entire story of this book in the first chapter, including the arrival of Zohra, the beautiful peasant girl, who has run away from her village to avoid an arranged arranged with an old man, and whose relationship with each guest is the subject of the book; the arrival of each of the other guests; and the conclusion (and departure of most from the Pension too). Tolba Bey Marzouk is the second guest to take a room. Again a former friend of Mariana, who had been Undersecretary of the Ministry of Mortmain Endowments and a former landowner who lost his money and whose land was subject to sequestration after the revolution. Interestingly, he doesn't get a chapter for us to see his side of events.
Chapter two is narrated by Hosny Allam, the frivolous young notable and landowner, looking to invest in a business; Chapter three by Mansour Bahy, the broadcaster and former revolutionary who was forced by his brother, a high ranking police officer, to leave Cairo and his friends; Chapter four by Sarhan al-Beheiry, an accountant of the Alexandria Company.
Chapter five, the final chapter, we return to Amer Wagdi for the conclusion of events. I am not big on spoilers in fiction, so the basic outline above is all for plot. I understand there is also a symbolism for the political situation of Egypt, but this, of course is mostly lost on me.
In each chapter we gain more depth with the story, we become party to another conversation, we gain some insight that the previous character didn't have. It is very cleverly woven, with a great unexpected reveal to conclude.
I really enjoyed Mahfouz' Cairo Trilogy, and this doesn't disappoint. At 181 pages it is only a short read, in this case published by the American University in Cairo Press.
4.5 stars, rounded down.
9/2/23
This book revolves around a pension (boarding house) within a building named Miramar, in 1960s Alexandria, Egypt. The Pension is run by Mariana and aging Greek woman, who like the building, clings to her former glory. Her one great love was killed in the war, but his portrait hangs in the lobby where she gazes on it often.
At the commencement of the story the pension is empty. Chapter one is told through the eyes of Amer Wagdi, a former journalist and an old acquaintance of Mariana who has sought her out in his old age to ‘spend the rest of his life with her'. We see the entire story of this book in the first chapter, including the arrival of Zohra, the beautiful peasant girl, who has run away from her village to avoid an arranged arranged with an old man, and whose relationship with each guest is the subject of the book; the arrival of each of the other guests; and the conclusion (and departure of most from the Pension too). Tolba Bey Marzouk is the second guest to take a room. Again a former friend of Mariana, who had been Undersecretary of the Ministry of Mortmain Endowments and a former landowner who lost his money and whose land was subject to sequestration after the revolution. Interestingly, he doesn't get a chapter for us to see his side of events.
Chapter two is narrated by Hosny Allam, the frivolous young notable and landowner, looking to invest in a business; Chapter three by Mansour Bahy, the broadcaster and former revolutionary who was forced by his brother, a high ranking police officer, to leave Cairo and his friends; Chapter four by Sarhan al-Beheiry, an accountant of the Alexandria Company.
Chapter five, the final chapter, we return to Amer Wagdi for the conclusion of events. I am not big on spoilers in fiction, so the basic outline above is all for plot. I understand there is also a symbolism for the political situation of Egypt, but this, of course is mostly lost on me.
In each chapter we gain more depth with the story, we become party to another conversation, we gain some insight that the previous character didn't have. It is very cleverly woven, with a great unexpected reveal to conclude.
I really enjoyed Mahfouz' Cairo Trilogy, and this doesn't disappoint. At 181 pages it is only a short read, in this case published by the American University in Cairo Press.
4.5 stars, rounded down.
9/2/23
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