Illuminated By Water

Nature, Memory and the Delights of a Fishing Life

Illuminated By Water
Malachy Tallack
RRP:
NZ$ 50.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 40.00
Hardback
h222 x 138mm - 320pg
7 Jul 2022 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9780857528827
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Acclaimed travel-writer, novelist and singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack' s beautifully written exploration of and meditation on fishing, and why this uniquely solitary pastime is a passion for so many . . . Malachy Tallack has been passionate about fishing since he was young. Growing up in Shetland, with its myriad lochs, he and his brother would roam the island in search of trout, and in so doing discovered a sense of freedom, of wonder, and an abiding passion. But why is it that catching a fish - or simply contemplating catching a fish - can be so thrilling, so captivating? Why is it that time spent beside water can be imprinted so sharply in the memory? Why is it that what seems such a simple act - that of casting a line and hoping - can feel so rich in mystery? Illuminated by Water is Malachy' s personal attempt to understand that freedom, and to trace the origins and sources of that sense of wonder. He shares the appeal of fishing, its intense joys and frustrations, the steadying effect it has both at water' s edge and in the memory, and the contemplation of nature and landscape that comes with being an angler. He writes about fishing expeditions, from English canals and Scottish lochs to lakes in Canada and New Zealand, and he reflects on other aspects of angling, from its cultural significance and the emerging moral complexities to the intricacies of tying a fly. Beautifully written and hugely engaging, this book both articulates the inexplicable lure of the river and the endless desire to return to it, and illuminates a passion that has shaped the way so many see and think about the natural world.
A memoir with a difference, beautifully evocative, suffused with the calm of many days spent fishing and thinking in tranquillity. The perfect gift for anglers everywhere. -- GAVIN FRANCIS, author of Island Dreams A beautifully meandering meditation on the mysterious allure of fishing. From windswept lochs to sluggish canals, Malachy Tallack grapples with big ethical issues about our place in the natural world as deftly as he does the fish. -- LEE SCHOFIELD, author of the Wild Fell. . . I loved it . . . I loved its attentiveness to place and animal, its elucidation of the unseen spirits of water and fish and it made me want to pick up a rod for the first time since I was a teenager. Tallack has written one of those books that transcends its niche subject. -- STEPHEN RUTT, author of The Seafarers Both a fitting tribute to what Malachy Tallack calls "this deep attentiveness to time and place", and a vivid new species that glitters among the shoals of books about angling. As a non-angler, I was startled by his notion of "the peculiar idea that beauty might have something to do with fishing, or that fishing might have something to do with beauty". By the end of the book, I had the peculiar idea that the same could be true of writing about fishing. -- JIM CRUMLEY, author of Lakeland Wild Tallack' s stylish and sensitive writing captures all the dimensions of our wonderful fishing obsession in a way that reminds me of Nick Lyons and Norman Maclean at their best, those angler/writer masters whose ranks he now joins. -- W. D. WETHERELL, author of One River More It leads us into the heart of the natural world which is our true home . . . a solemn, deeply considered, exceptionally beautiful, exhilarating book . . . a book to read, rejoice in, and come back to all your life. -- MICHAEL McCARTHY, author of The Moth Snowstorm Going back to Walton' s The Compleat Angler, trout fishing has been the focus of a remarkable number of excellent books, but there are a special few, such as Norman Maclean' s A River Runs Through It and Tom McGuane' s The Longest Silence, whose language is instilled with a beauty that fully befits the beauty of its subject. Malachy Tallack is such a writer, and Illuminated by Water is destined to be a classic, both as a memoir on trout fishing and, also, a meditation on life. -- RON RASH, author of In the Valley
Malachy Tallack is the award-winning author of three books. His first, Sixty Degree North (2015) was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and short-listed for the Saltire First Book Award. His second, The Un-Discovered Islands (2016), was Stanford Travel Writing Awards' Illustrated Book of the Year, while his debut novel, The Valley at the Centre of the World, was shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize and longlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize. He received a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust in 2014, and the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship in 2015. He is a founding editor of online magazine The Island Review and, as a singer-songwriter, he has released four albums and an EP, and performed across the UK. Malachy Tallack grew up in Shetland and currently lives in central Scotland.
Status: Indent title, imported to order
ISBN-13: 9780857528827
Published: 7 Jul 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Doubleday
Publisher: Transworld Publishers
Format: Hardback
Height: 222mm
Width: 138mm
Spine: 40mm
Weight: 500g
Pages: 320

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information