Emily Rodway continues her good work as the new TGO Editor with a must-read piece in the current edition written around a major interview with Jim Perrin. Go get a copy1

Whoaa … I here some of you shout. I know! A lot of you never read Jim Perrin; he’s too impenetrable! And, I know for some people Jim’s enough to put them off buying the whole magazine. But — and it is a big but!

Jim is a fine writer. His biography of Don Willians is masterful. And Jim’s regular columns in the Guardian Country Diary slot always delight, indeed, I think these may be better than the TGO columns. But to the point. Nobody connects emotion and landscape like Jim does. In this regard I don’t think he has a peer.

Like many I used to pick and choose Jim’s TGO pieces, skating over them more often than not. And then one month I Found myself reading the most remarkable thing I’d ever read in an outdoor magazine. It was a piece Jim had written following the death of his wife. It was amazing and incredibly moving.

This piece switched me on to Jim and I really began to understand what he was about. I took time to sit down and read his contributions; I like the fact that they need serious reading. And then, not long ago, Jim suffered another loss, that of his son. Again this lead to some incredibly moving writing. Anyone coming to terms with a recent loss would (I think) be comforted by Jim’s writing. And then Jim was diagnosed with terminal cancer but fortunately for us he’s hanging on.

Jim’s latest book has been fashioned out of loss. I’ve not got a copy yet but Emily’s article gives you a flavour of the wonderful book thatI’m sure West: A Journey Through the Landscapes of Loss will be. Actually, it is out now in hardback.

Unsure? Well you don’t have to buy the book (yet). Just get a copy of TGO and read this article; I think it gives you a flavour of what the book is all about.

There’s no doubt that adversity brings the best out of some writers. And Jim Perrin is one of the very best.

 

While looking at the Cicerone website I found this in their FAQ section:

Q: Is Paddy Dillon Irish?

A: No, he’s a Lancashire lad! There must be some Irish way back when, but not in the recent generations he says. In fact the publisher is more Irish than Paddy is!

This made me smile, not least because it gives you a feel for the nice gentle humour that is often associated with the company — and with Paddy of course.

I’m glad to know that Proprietor Jonathan Williams has more Irish blood than Paddy.

Personally, I’m trying to work out whether Paddy is actually human! I heard a rumour once that he came to earth on a meteorite; but that can’t be right!

Cicerone have a clutch of interesting new guide books out, or just about to hit the book stores. There’s the first English guide to walking in Southern Catalyunya which should be interesting. And I notice they have a guidebook ready soon on the Pacific Crest Trail — which will no doubt be a weighty tome!

But it was NOT The West Highland Way that most caught my eye. This is the latest offering from resident eccentric Ronald Turnball and it is published on September 15th. If anyone can find a better alternative to the WHW it’s Ronald! It seems to be a book of day walks and 2 day stretches, but each of them is designed to be an alternative to one of the WHW stages. Sounds like a good idea to me!

Cicerone Books

Discussion about back problems crops up on these pages quite regularly, and not just because of my recent back problems. Over the years the issue of back pain has come up in discussions about walking poles, in posts and threads that look at the Alexander Technique and so on. The threads on these posts are usually quite lengthy. As TGO vetter Pete Goddard said to me recently there are few of us hikers that don’t have back problems from time to time as we get older.

In one recent thread Colin Griffiths recommended Sarah Keay’s Back Sufferers’ Bible and encouraged me to go and buy it off Amazon. After a couple of weeks reading I can see why Colin thinks so highly of this book. Look at the reviews on Amazon (and there are a lot of them) you can see that Colin is not alone in thinking a great deal of this book.

Getting your first really bad back is not just painful, it’s quite a perplexing and confusing experience. One of the problems is that most people you talk to have had back problems, or have a family member who has. You hear all kinds of different ‘expert views’ about how back pain is caused and even more views on how to combat it. We’re often into real urban myth territory here.

Finding a knowledgable source of information is quite hard, not to say pretty expensive at times. The first time this happened to me I realised that I needed to find a new GP — mine had recently died. I decided to register with a practice nearer to where I now lived. They insisted that I had a full medical before they admitted me onto the books. By the time they got around to realising I wasn’t going to be too much trouble and arranging an appointment the back was on the mend. So I never went. Subsequent bouts of back problems were milder and I kind of knew then how it worked. I know a lot of people who have had similar experiences. There is just a lot we don’t know.

Take exercise. It’s pretty obvious that exercise is important, especially after the back has seized up and you’re trying to get some movement back into it. But which exercises? Is there a problem in over-doing it? Could you create more damage this way?

Sarah Key takes a very practical approach to the whole problem. the book looks at different kinds of back problem and explains clearly and simply what is going on, where the problems may have come from and how you can combat them. Her message is that even where there is degeneration of the back sensible care and exercise can regenerate bad backs. When you read the text it is quite obvious which bit applies to you. The pain she describes, and the phases that you go through, are so obviously the ones you have experienced yourself that it gives you confidence in the text.

There is a lot of technical stuff here but it is presented clearly and without too much drama or padding. It is a book that I find myself dipping in and out of. Each time I do this I learn a lot.

The focus here is on self treatment, the book is sub-titled ‘How you CAN treat your own back!’ I’m not normally a fan of self help guides, often finding them verging on mumbo jumbo; but there’s no such problem here. If your looking for a detailed explanation of what is going on with your back you’ll probably find it here.

I’ve not spent hours (yet) reading the more medical bits. I’ve been more interested in the exercises that are provided in the book. Key features specific exercises in each section that deals with a specific complaint; she tells you which are the best techniques to use. However, at the rear of the book all of the exercises are bought together. It is quite easy to experiment with the different exercises that are laid out here.

More specifically, Key talks about the problems with exercise as well as the benefits. However, there is encouragement to be bolder than you might otherwise. Take really serious bending like touching the toes and to- swing exercises. Key recognises that many people worry about these but she makes it clear that these exercises have really great benefits if you can deal with them.

To cut a long story short I’ve settled on four or five exercises over the last couple of weeks, including some of the more drastic stretching exercises that I’d been worrying about. I find just a short time with these every morning — and I mean no more than 10 minutes — makes a really big difference. I don’t start the day stiff but with more mobility in my back than I’ve often had when I’ve been OK! Now I find myself quickly running through some of them during the day whenever I feel a little stiffer.

This book has genuinely made a difference to me and I’ve hardly begun to explore the vast part of its content. If you’re struggling with occasional or regular back problems then it’s going to worth your while shelling out the £6 for this. And despite the forward from Prince Charles this really is a no nonsense and straightforward volume.

Thanks Colin!

Four stars!

 

Following my pice on Jo Nesbo, I can tell you that I have now finished the fourth in the series, The Redeemer. the best yet — but you do have to read all of them to get the benefit!

 

Susie emails to ask why I haven’t reviewed any books recently! Well, in truth I review travel books and travel literature and I haven’t been reading those genres recently. But Susie got me thinking. When we’re out on the trail, or an a walking or camping holiday we read all kinds of stuff. So, this is a review of books that would be good to read on our travels rather than books about travels themselves. Clear? Good.

I thought I’d start with crime. To be honest I’m not a mad, avid, crime reader as many of you are. But I do like a good story and in these books, well, you get a great story.

There’s a TGO Challenge connection here. During this year’s event I sat somewhere or another with my mate Humphrey Weightman discussing our recent reading. Humph and I do this a lot, swapping book recommendation in — to be honest — most other genres. I mentioned that I’d started reading Stieg Larsson’s Girl Triology, The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, etc.

Larsson’s books are a global phenomena. They’ve sold in bucket loads all over the world. I can see why. There is something a little unusual about the hero who is not a detective but an investigative, financial, journalist. His sidekick, Lizbeth Salander is something of a true and original creation.

Humphrey had also begun to read Larsson’s triology but had given up. There was something about these books he didn’t like, and I know what he means. Larsson’s plots might be brilliant but the characters are a bit one dimensional. The main character, Blomquist, is clearly based on Larsson himself and gets more than a little annoying as the series goes on. These books might be very dramatic but I’m not sure I’d have wanted to have spent too much time around Larsson.

Humphrey told me that the Jo Nesbo books were far better. “Treat yourself, buy the lot and you can read them all in a few days”. Humph had come across Nesbo in a recent review in the Guardian, a review that I’d remembered. So, when I got home I went out and bought the first novel in this series and very quickly had finished the first three.

Nesbo’s hero is a more traditional crime fighter. Harry Hole (pronounced Humph tells me as Holey — and I always defer to Humph in linguistic matters) is a Norwegian detective based in Oslo. He is the classic anti hero, a bit of a bum, a man with lots of past demons and an alcohol problem. He has difficulty holding down relationships and is a nightmare for his bosses to manage. Hole’s Oslo is not the classic, Scandinavian design icon that you often see, but a city of diverse communities, crooked Policeman, dodgy bars and even more dodgy neighbourhoods.

While Harry stumbles around hidden Oslo he cuts a remarkably convincing and complex figure. This might be because Nesbo himself is something of a remarkable character. Not only is Nesbo a crime writer he is an economist. He’s also the bass player in one of Norway’s better, long-lived, punk bands! Oh, and he’s also writes children’s novels and has been likened to Roald Dhal!

If I simply gave you a clue about the stories you might think that they’re a bit conventional. But Nesbo’s wide range of interests really adds something different. The novels explore many of the darker issues of Norway’s recent history. He writes knowledgeably and convincingly about the facist right, those who fought alongside Hitler and those young who cling to the far right today. There’s a lot of psychology and criminology here. Nesbo’s novels feature as series support characters a wonderful forensic scientist and old and experienced criminal psychologist. You learn a lot from these novels, especially about the mindset of criminals and their behaviour patterns. In case your worried about being lectured to all of this comes out in a relaxed and natural way.

Nesbo’s characters are far deeper than Larssons’s and far more interesting. Yes, there is a strong first division case but the supporting characters are just as rounded and just as fascinating. And, in case your wondering, the plots are great, keeping you guessing until the end. These plots may not have the pyrotechnics of La villain rrson but they’re more convincing. Ultimately they are a more rewarding read. Harry  Hole is a great character and in the corrupt Policeman Nesbo has created a great, modern — yet complex — villain.

If you like a good crime story then these are for you. If you just like a good read that keeps you gripped, then look no further. Scandinavia and Northern Europe is turning out some great writers at the moment. Look on Amazon and you’ll see Nesbo talked about in the same breath as Henning Mankell’s Wallender. I prefer Nesbo.

The first three Harry Hole novels published in the UK hang together as a trilogy. Each has a distinct plot but as we move through them we get to know all of the main and supporting characters well. And common threads and challenges run through the series and are only resolved at the end of the third novel.

You need to be careful with the order you read them in though. For some weird reason the books were not published here in the order they were written. So, don’t try and establish the order by the first published date. Also, be aware that you can jump a book without knowing it. I started reading book three as book two. They seemed to flow well but Humphrey but me straight and I realised that I had missed a lot.

So, the order of these UK published books is: The Redbreast; Nemesis; and the Devil’s Star.

Two more books follow these in the series, The Redeemer and The Snowman (which has just been published in hardback). These take Harry Hole further but move on from the distinct nature of the first three I feel.

These are great page turners. They’d sit well in a rucksack or a daypack or cabin luggage. They’d read well in mountains, on beaches and, oif course, on fjords!

I’d happily back Humphrey’s advice. Buy the the lot on Amazon and read in one go — or at least the first three keeping the Snowman until it comes out in paperback!

Wonderful stuff.

(more…)

Most UK — and European — Travel writers tend to look to the West, the East or the South for their inspiration. They search for the truly exotic in a kind of Greek sense. Think of some of the greats, Robert Byron in Oxonia (Afghanistan), Chatwin in Patagonia or the Aussie outback or Leigh Fermor on the Greek Islands. Not many people write about the Arctic, one of the areas that fascinates me the most. Joanna Kavenna did a great job in searching for the last land of Thule The Ice Museum but that’s about it. This book, though, is an absolute delight. I’ve not heard about Scottish writer Francis before — and Amazon seems to suggest this is his first book (at least his first major publishing deal — but trust me, this man is a star of the future.

Francis got the idea for this book while doing aid working in the tropics. He worked with an Icelandic woman who confessed that she loved her work and the tropics but couldn’t bear to be out of Iceland for too long. She has constructed her life so that she spends half of the year in Iceland and half in warmer climates. Francis began to spend more and more time thinking about the arctic and this book is the result.

For True North Francis set out on a journey to explore the lands of the European Arctic, to learn about their history and to encounter both their indigenous people and those who for some reason or another have chosen to live there. The journey begins in the Shetlands (not Scotland you know) and moves on to the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, finishing up in Lapland. I think I’ve missed somewhere, but never mind …

Francis tells the story of each place with care and affection. Ancient history and stories of exploration and discovery are often found in (or triangulated with) the Norse Sagas. The Sagas tell of the Irish, Viking and English ancient explorers that first visited these lands — those seeking new discovers, others seeking to take forward religious messages, some looking for wealth and others seeking sanctuary or simply keeping their heads down. More recent history sees the great European trading powers seeking new routes through the North West passage and so on.

In each place people and communities are given pride of place. Of course there are the ancient communities, the Inuit and the Sammis for example, but there are all manner of settlers and visitors. Many of these places have colonial pasts — or colonnial presents — and Francis gives voice to those who are now beginning to be be proud of their unique identities.

There’s also the natural world, explored mainly on foot as Francis and his tent explore the wonders of Arctic Fjords, volcanic landscapes and seek to avoid the dangers of the polar bears. But this is no adventure book but a lovely, lingering, account of a world which exists within its own set of rules and is firmly routed in its own setting.

It may easy to ignore the Arctic but it is of course so important to us all and we realise this, not least, through the dramatic changes that are happening there through global warming and that are effecting us all as well.

I really, really, enjoyed this book. If wild, cold, tundra wildernesses get you going — well don’t miss it.

Francis is a writer to watch.

Gavin Francis’ Website