Mention Books During Ring of Bright Water (Ring of Bright Water #1)
| Original Title: | Ring of Bright Water |
| ISBN: | 0140249729 (ISBN13: 9780140249729) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Ring of Bright Water #1 |
| Setting: | Sandaig Bay, Knoydart, Scotland Knoydart, Scotland |
Gavin Maxwell
Paperback | Pages: 240 pages Rating: 4.13 | 2700 Users | 165 Reviews
Details About Books Ring of Bright Water (Ring of Bright Water #1)
| Title | : | Ring of Bright Water (Ring of Bright Water #1) |
| Author | : | Gavin Maxwell |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 240 pages |
| Published | : | October 6th 1987 by Penguin Books (first published 1960) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Animals. Environment. Nature. Autobiography. Memoir. Biography. Cultural. Scotland |
Explanation In Favor Of Books Ring of Bright Water (Ring of Bright Water #1)
This is the first edition of the popular wildlife book Ring Of Bright Water from 1959, with groups of accomplished black and white photographs by the author, 69 in all. Most are full page, and others half page. They are both of the otter Mijbil, whom he brought back from the Tigris marshes of Iraq, Edal, a female otter who arrived later, and of the beautiful Camusfeàrna (a pseudonym for the remote corner of Scotland where he lived). There are also line drawings, mostly by Peter Scott, the famous wildlife artist. I remember exactly when I first heard of this book. It was at school preparing for "O" levels, and we were all very excited when the teacher brought in a pile of brand new hardback books. This was unheard of. Usually we would be issued with ancient, rather fusty copies of the classics, which we would have to go through, rubbing out any pencil marks, mending with sellotape, and backing in brown paper. You rarely got a "nice" copy. But these ... Crisp white pages, a smooth solid cover - it even smelled nice! I couldn't wait to read it. What's more, it was a story about how one man lived in a remote cottage, in the West Highlands of Scotland, with an otter he had tamed:
"Camusfeàrna"
What a dream of a life! I fell in love, and thanked the examination board, who in their wisdom, had been bold enough to select this potential classic, thereby forcing my rather parsimonious and very traditional grammar school to spend some money, and as a result kickstarting my enthusiasm. I bought my own paperback as soon as I was able. This was ten years after the book had first been published, and I have read it several times since.
I now have an excuse to read it again, and will write my review on my Large Print edition of this famous book.Rating About Books Ring of Bright Water (Ring of Bright Water #1)
Ratings: 4.13 From 2700 Users | 165 ReviewsAppraise About Books Ring of Bright Water (Ring of Bright Water #1)
Gavin Maxwell is a dark and complex figure. That he loved the natural world is obvious in his writing, that his relationship with it was appropriative and at times abusive is also true. Holding wild animals as pets, for his own emotional succour was simply dismaying to read. My stomach turned throughout this book. That the otters all died terrible deaths says much to me about the dangers of the wildlife trade, the arrogance of humankind and the casual disregard for a creature's right to theirI was lucky enough to pick up a box set of Maxwell's Ring of Brightwater trilogy, along with his House of Elrig, book a few years ago in good condition, on the basis of having enjoyed his A Reed Shaken by the Wind a lot.Finally I got to this first book, not really knowing what to expect, other than the short crossover in A Reed... where he obtains his first otter cub. There are a few spoilers below, so if you are put off by these, then perhaps curtail your reading now...The first half of this
This is one of those tricky books to love in this world of political correctness gone mad, an Otter is a wild creature and should be left that way, ok if you rescue it but still it should be released. Gavin Maxwell was living in a different era, a time when you could buy a ring tailed lemur from Harrods for 75 quid. For him buying a baby otter and transporting it home, causing it a huge amount of stress was an obvious thing to do. What this book shows is just how much love he had for the otter
A wonderful book to read when you are neither here, nor there. Eye opening. Good to read before bed. Not much substance, except for the substance of place, which is vivid, and the relationship between an otter and a human.
I think this book has to be in my absolute top ten of all time. There is something timeless about this book, and the core tenets (love and loyalty) are universal and translate across the decades. The sense of place you get from Maxwells writing is amazing and the sentiment is palpable. A must have for anyone with a love of both good stories and animals.
This is the first edition of the popular wildlife book Ring Of Bright Water from 1959, with groups of accomplished black and white photographs by the author, 69 in all. Most are full page, and others half page. They are both of the otter Mijbil, whom he brought back from the Tigris marshes of Iraq, Edal, a female otter who arrived later, and of the beautiful Camusfeàrna (a pseudonym for the remote corner of Scotland where he lived). There are also line drawings, mostly by Peter Scott, the famous
I wanted to read this after having a go at Miriam Darlingtons Otter Country, which in many ways revolved around this book and the landscape described by Gavin Maxwell. He got much closer to the animals than Darlington, so perhaps its not surprising that his account is more interesting and vital. Otters were, not quite pets, but definitely companions for him, in a way that Darlington had no opportunity to understand.Maxwell takes such a delight in the landscape and the antics of the creatures
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