I have only read half of this book and I'm thinking of giving up. The language is nice - the way all the words fit together like good prose probably should. But the content is just not my cup of tea. It is page after page of facts about the English countryside, and I'm finding it hard to give a crap. It reminds me of the struggle I had getting through the annoying Tom Bombadil chapters in Lord of the Rings. That guy had nothing to say and would not shut up about it. Even Tolkien admitted he was a bit of a bore.
Deakin doesn't give much away about himself, other than that he likes nature and knows all the names of everything in it. I think I might have found it more interesting if he had known a little less.
Or at least if he had a friend who knew less, like Bill Bryson's bumbling sidekick Stephen Katz in A Walk in the Woods. Robert Redford was going to make a movie of A Walk in the Woods. He was going to play Bryson, and Paul Newman was going to play Katz. But Newman died in 2008, so that's not going to happen.
Maybe the second half of Wildwood is scintilating, but I really can't be arsed to find out.
Next month we will be reading Coming Up for Air by George Orwell.
Maybe the second half of Wildwood is scintilating, but I really can't be arsed to find out.
Next month we will be reading Coming Up for Air by George Orwell.
2 comments:
Give up. My book is on the shelf and has been there for two weeks. I feel bad not finishing it and will probably persevere.
I love the English countryside, but would rather be in it, cycling around, than sitting at home reading a dull book about it.
The swimming one was good. Honest.
I think I'll get back to it. We're just on a break right now.
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