The Rocks Remain

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.