halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
4.0
Following on from his journey down the great Mississippi, Jonathan Raban decided to explore his homeland from the see. He acquired a small boat and filled it with personal effects and a lot of books, some relevant to his research and some just for the pleasure of having them nearby. He set off in 1982 to see if we were still a nation that loved the sea.
His journey would be back through the pages of our history, a semi nostalgic look back at his own childhood and a contemporary take on the state of our nation under the rule of Thatcher in the early 1980’s and the effect that the outbreak of war with Argentina over the Falklands Islands would have on our outlook as a people. However, this was all a backdrop to the seascapes that he travels through, the looking cliffs, fast races and eddy’s, sandbanks and other much larger boats that would challenge him every day of the journey.
He has a slightly tense meeting with Paul Theroux in Brighton who is heading around the UK in the opposite direction and also in the process of writing his book, The Kingdom by the Sea. Raban joins the miners on the picket lines to see what real political action is like and takes the views from the locals on their opinions of the Falklands War. There is often a vast gulf between the rabid right-wing press and their attitude to the war and the indifference of the general populace.
I didn’t think this was quite as good as Old Glory, but I don’t think it is as easy for an author to understand their home country as sometimes it is for an outsider to do. That said, it was written just as the country had begun an enormous political change, was at war and in the middle of a enormous strike by the miners. This means that he could easily see the differences and splits that were very visible in society at large. There is something about Raban’s writing that is beguiling and very readable too, he is a stickler for the details that he drops into the narrative when meeting people like Philip Larkin or talking to the owners of trawlers in Lyme Regis but also has that ability to present you the seascape; you sense the rock of the boat and the wind on your cheek as you bob along with him, in sparse lyrical prose.
His journey would be back through the pages of our history, a semi nostalgic look back at his own childhood and a contemporary take on the state of our nation under the rule of Thatcher in the early 1980’s and the effect that the outbreak of war with Argentina over the Falklands Islands would have on our outlook as a people. However, this was all a backdrop to the seascapes that he travels through, the looking cliffs, fast races and eddy’s, sandbanks and other much larger boats that would challenge him every day of the journey.
He has a slightly tense meeting with Paul Theroux in Brighton who is heading around the UK in the opposite direction and also in the process of writing his book, The Kingdom by the Sea. Raban joins the miners on the picket lines to see what real political action is like and takes the views from the locals on their opinions of the Falklands War. There is often a vast gulf between the rabid right-wing press and their attitude to the war and the indifference of the general populace.
I didn’t think this was quite as good as Old Glory, but I don’t think it is as easy for an author to understand their home country as sometimes it is for an outsider to do. That said, it was written just as the country had begun an enormous political change, was at war and in the middle of a enormous strike by the miners. This means that he could easily see the differences and splits that were very visible in society at large. There is something about Raban’s writing that is beguiling and very readable too, he is a stickler for the details that he drops into the narrative when meeting people like Philip Larkin or talking to the owners of trawlers in Lyme Regis but also has that ability to present you the seascape; you sense the rock of the boat and the wind on your cheek as you bob along with him, in sparse lyrical prose.
kingjason's review
5.0
Jonahthan Raban writes at a whole new level, he can blend his current travels with his past in a way nobody else can. His wonderful poetic prose draws you in right from the off.
I love hiking, one of the reasons is how remote things are and that there is nobody else around, bliss for me. I recently walked in the Brecon Beacons, finding 50 people eating lunch at the highest point, others having loud conversations that echoed around the hills and others playing loud music on their phones. Back in 1982 Raban found England to be very cluttered too so he looks towards the sea for a bit of secluded peace and quiet. His description of the sea is near perfect:
"The sea marks the end of things. It is where life stops and the unknown begins."
Whilst at sea, real life goes on, Britain goes to war with Argentina, Lady Di drops her first sprog and Thatcher goes to war with the miners. Each trip back to shore gives him little updates on what is happening, he tends to be disgusted with what he reads in the papers, especially The Sun and it blood hungry racist slurs, these all make him desperate to get back out to sea.
It's almost inevitable but when you spend so much time alone your mind is going to travel back in time to past events, each time his thoughts end up with his difficult relationship with his dad, it was fun to read him meeting up with his dad and realising they seem to have swopped places.
My first Raban book and it was a joy to read, I'm now hooked on this writer.
Blog post is here> https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2018/06/30/coasting-a-private-voyage-by-jonathan-raban/
I love hiking, one of the reasons is how remote things are and that there is nobody else around, bliss for me. I recently walked in the Brecon Beacons, finding 50 people eating lunch at the highest point, others having loud conversations that echoed around the hills and others playing loud music on their phones. Back in 1982 Raban found England to be very cluttered too so he looks towards the sea for a bit of secluded peace and quiet. His description of the sea is near perfect:
"The sea marks the end of things. It is where life stops and the unknown begins."
Whilst at sea, real life goes on, Britain goes to war with Argentina, Lady Di drops her first sprog and Thatcher goes to war with the miners. Each trip back to shore gives him little updates on what is happening, he tends to be disgusted with what he reads in the papers, especially The Sun and it blood hungry racist slurs, these all make him desperate to get back out to sea.
It's almost inevitable but when you spend so much time alone your mind is going to travel back in time to past events, each time his thoughts end up with his difficult relationship with his dad, it was fun to read him meeting up with his dad and realising they seem to have swopped places.
My first Raban book and it was a joy to read, I'm now hooked on this writer.
Blog post is here> https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2018/06/30/coasting-a-private-voyage-by-jonathan-raban/
halfmanhalfbook's review
4.0
Following on from his journey down the great Mississippi, Jonathan Raban decided to explore his homeland from the see. He acquired a small boat and filled it with personal effects and a lot of books, some relevant to his research and some just for the pleasure of having them nearby. He set off in 1982 to see if we were still a nation that loved the sea.
His journey would be back through the pages of our history, a semi nostalgic look back at his own childhood and a contemporary take on the state of our nation under the rule of Thatcher in the early 1980’s and the effect that the outbreak of war with Argentina over the Falklands Islands would have on our outlook as a people. However, this was all a backdrop to the seascapes that he travels through, the looking cliffs, fast races and eddy’s, sandbanks and other much larger boats that would challenge him every day of the journey.
He has a slightly tense meeting with Paul Theroux in Brighton who is heading around the UK in the opposite direction and also in the process of writing his book, The Kingdom by the Sea. Raban joins the miners on the picket lines to see what real political action is like and takes the views from the locals on their opinions of the Falklands War. There is often a vast gulf between the rabid right-wing press and their attitude to the war and the indifference of the general populace.
I didn’t think this was quite as good as Old Glory, but I don’t think it is as easy for an author to understand their home country as sometimes it is for an outsider to do. That said, it was written just as the country had begun an enormous political change, was at war and in the middle of a enormous strike by the miners. This means that he could easily see the differences and splits that were very visible in society at large. There is something about Raban’s writing that is beguiling and very readable too, he is a stickler for the details that he drops into the narrative when meeting people like Philip Larkin or talking to the owners of trawlers in Lyme Regis but also has that ability to present you the seascape; you sense the rock of the boat and the wind on your cheek as you bob along with him, in sparse lyrical prose.
His journey would be back through the pages of our history, a semi nostalgic look back at his own childhood and a contemporary take on the state of our nation under the rule of Thatcher in the early 1980’s and the effect that the outbreak of war with Argentina over the Falklands Islands would have on our outlook as a people. However, this was all a backdrop to the seascapes that he travels through, the looking cliffs, fast races and eddy’s, sandbanks and other much larger boats that would challenge him every day of the journey.
He has a slightly tense meeting with Paul Theroux in Brighton who is heading around the UK in the opposite direction and also in the process of writing his book, The Kingdom by the Sea. Raban joins the miners on the picket lines to see what real political action is like and takes the views from the locals on their opinions of the Falklands War. There is often a vast gulf between the rabid right-wing press and their attitude to the war and the indifference of the general populace.
I didn’t think this was quite as good as Old Glory, but I don’t think it is as easy for an author to understand their home country as sometimes it is for an outsider to do. That said, it was written just as the country had begun an enormous political change, was at war and in the middle of a enormous strike by the miners. This means that he could easily see the differences and splits that were very visible in society at large. There is something about Raban’s writing that is beguiling and very readable too, he is a stickler for the details that he drops into the narrative when meeting people like Philip Larkin or talking to the owners of trawlers in Lyme Regis but also has that ability to present you the seascape; you sense the rock of the boat and the wind on your cheek as you bob along with him, in sparse lyrical prose.
More...