The Field by the River: Uncovering the Nature of Country Life

by KenBurnett (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $3.45

  Surprises, entertains and enchants ... the modern successor to Gilbert White and Henry David Thoreau.' Indra Sinha, author of Animal's People, short-listed for the 2007 Man Booker prize `A simple walk in the woods becomes a year-long adventure packed with mysteries, insights and wonder, often all on the same page. Ken's 'Field' will make you happy and, possibly, consider investing in rugged new footwear.' Emma Thompson, Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter Following a chance encounter with a kingfisher whilst walking his dogs in the overgrown field adjoining his Breton home, Ken Burnett is struck by the realisation that despite having lived in a quaint French hamlet for the past thirteen years, encircled by farmland, he knows next to nothing about his surroundings. He resolves to examine nature's little wonders rather more closely, with surprising and delightfully funny results. Accompanied by his three trusty dogs, and aided by wife Marie and a full complement of endearingly eccentric neighbours, Ken conducts a twelve-month observation of his field, which is, upon further inspection, rich with wonder. From foxes to wild flowers, magical mushrooms to mothering moorhens, Ken discovers that his unassuming patch of land is as bursting with life as any major city. The Field By The River is a thought-provoking and enchanting work; a joyous, charming celebration of the fragile, interconnected ecosystem that can be found if we only take the time to part the leaves, look under the mosses or overturn a stone. Now available in Paperback

• Used

  Hardcover
  2008

  $3.45

  For the past thirteen years Ken - originally from Scotland - and his wife have lived in France, in a Breton hamlet, Kerkelven. They live in a manor house built in 1655 which is blessed with all the trappings of antiquity and individuality, and for neighbours they have a full dance card of endearing eccentrics. They also have an adjoining chunk of land, unremarkable to the uninitiated, prone to flooding from the river where it's flat and unproductively hilly and overgrown everywhere else. Ken walked the dogs - elderly Mortimer, nosy Max and independent Syrus - around this field three times a day for many years before a chance encounter with a kingfisher made him unexpectedly consider the sorry fact that he knew next to damn-all about either the kingfisher or the rest of the flora and fauna in 'his' field.This charming book is the result of that moment: a record of the twelve months Ken has spent trying to understand his immediate surroundings a little better. In one sense therefore the book is a series of 'micro-holidays', journeys into books and into the lives of bats, mushrooms, foxes, moorhens, the night sky, spiders, snakes, salamanders, rare ferns and all the rest. But The Field by the River is more than that too, full as it is of the affectionate and humorous stories of a Scot abroad.It is beautifully observed and enchantingly written. It will appeal to fans of both nature and travel writing. It is an ideal summer read, as well as a potential Christmas gift. It helps readers to think Springwatch with a literary twist.