The Field by the River
Portico Books
For the past thirteen years Ken Burnett and his wife have lived in France, in a Breton hamlet called Kerkelven. They live in a manor house built in 1655 which is blessed with all the trappings of antiquity and individuality. 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 nothing 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.
"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
"In the world of news we're surrounded with fast-moving stories of horror, destruction and pain. The Field by the River is an effective antidote, being gently comforting and mellow. Yet you'll also learn a lot of zoology, a bit of botany and a smattering of hydrology." -- Natalie Bennett, Editor, Guardian Weekly
"Ken Burnett's delicious storytelling makes Kerkelven come alive as he surprises, entertains and enchants us. I hope The Field By The River will establish the author as the modern successor to White and Thoreau. It has inspired me to take better note of the living riches that surround us when we are out walking". Indra Sinha, author of Animal's People, shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize
"There is something about former Londoner Burnett's diary of the comings and goings in his field by the Sarre in Brittany that sticks in the mind long after you have shut the book. I have a sneaking suspicion this could take off in a Year in Provence kind of way" -- Sunday Times |
