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Cape Wrath To Finisterre
Bjorn Larsson
Editions
| Cover |
Publisher |
ISBN Number |
Price |
Buy |
| hbk |
Haus |
1904950272 |
£12.99 |
 |
Review
In contrast to Along The Ganges  hbk £12.99 (another of the new Armchair Travellers from Haus Publishing), which is a straightforward record of a journey, From Cape Wrath To Finisterre is an account of a state of mind. Larsson (who is Swedish) says that the subject ‘is one attempt…to live in a way that makes life’s problems vanish… If it can inspire some to take liberties with life, I shall be happy.’ His book refers back to several long sailing trips in Celtic waters, and is therefore confused, but in a way that benefits his purpose: for the driving force is not the narratives of his voyages but the explanation of why he loves his boat and the freedom that it enables him to enjoy. Crossing the North Sea in a gale in a small yacht may sound like torture to most of us but it is fascinating to read Larsson’s thoughts circling around his adventures. By not presenting his trips in sequence, they become just a mise-en-scène for the real focus, which is the experience of intensity. There are moments when he lapses into a ramble – when he tells us about his writing, for example (though I was pleased to be reminded that he is the author of the wonderful novel Long John Silver, which the jacket unaccountably neglects to mention) – but he has written an unusual book which must stimulate any reader to consider how they experience the world. - review by Johnny de Falbe
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