The Salt Path

Итак, я прочёл её.
Соглашусь со своей знакомой американской кн.блогершей BookOlive: Absolutely fantastic. This one is well worth the hype.

Рад, что не бросил эту затею, обжегшись на аудиоверсии. На английском читается запоем. Не знаю, каков русский перевод (и как они смогли перевести имя одного из главных героев, мужчины Moth, чтоб это не звучало смешно).

Беда многих современных книг-трэвелогов, что попытки вшить в них свою повестку/или show more другой сильный параллельный сюжет (тут смертельная болезнь мужа и потеря дома и сбережений) полностью уничтожают органичность рассказа. Эти уши начинают торчать отовсюду, мысли писателей довлеют, абсолютно затеняя удовольствие от собственно путешествия. В The Salt Path это не так. По крайней мере я не чувствовал, что мною и моими эмоциями манипулируют. Это большой талант, показать свои проблемы так, чтобы они не раздражали. Рэй и её муж выглядят и звучат настоящими (аутентично). Личная история настолько гармонично вплетена в повествование, во встречи с природой и незнакомцами на пути, что просто не замечаешь никаких швов. А если и замечаешь какой-то психологический или философский курсив, то это всегда уместно. Ты отрываешься и примеряешь мысль/реакцию на себя.

Ещё в трэвелогах любят перебрать с описанием местных достопримечательностей, подкинуть побольше фактиков. То, что в этой книге они встречаются, я осознал только странице на 200 (из 270), когда неистерпимо захотелось залезть в интернет посмотреть фото незнакомого мне природного феномена, который видели герои (место, где встречаются два течения, и неопытные яхтсмены с трудом пытаются проплыть сквозь него - рыбаки обходят, заходя далеко вглубь моря, и всё равно опережают их).

С нетерпением теперь жду апреля, когда выйдет экранизация с Джиллиан Андерсон в главной роли. show less

Ray Winn and her husband Moth have lived for thirty years on their farm in Wales. They've raised their children there, but a bad investment takes it all away from them. Then Moth is diagnosed with CBD, a neurological disease that will take away his facilities, both physical and mental, and eventually kill him. With nothing left to lose, the two decide to walk the South West Coast Path, a 630 mile track from Somerset around Cornwall's coast to end in Poole in Dorset.
I walk trails in the UK myself though nothing of this magnitude. I tried wild camping (just finding a likely place and leaving no trace) on the Great Glen Way. I lasted one rainy, cold night and immediately mailed my camping gear back to the USA, opting for B&B's and hostels show more the rest of the way. I have some idea of what they went through walking day after day with heavy packs and all kinds of weather. But there are great rewards, and Ray details them in this lovely story. Surrounded by nature and away from everyday hassles allows one to really look inside one's self and see what you're made of. From the book:
"Things we thought we would never be able to bear were becoming less jagged, turned into round river stones by the movement of the path. It was still a heavy burden to carry, but just a little less painful to hold."
She also writes poignantly about homelessness in the UK and what it means for thousands of people, mostly homeless through no fault of their own. Ray and Moth have little but they always seem to share what they can with others.
One benefit of walking is the improvement in Moth's health despite the doctor's warnings. His condition is nonreversible, but on the trail, he learns to face his inevitable death and help Ray come to terms with the eventual loss of her loving husband.
There are many funny moments and beautiful descriptions of the Cornish coast. This is a lovely book and well worth reading. As she and Moth say in the book:
“Do we have a plan?” “Course we do. We walk, until we stop walking, and maybe on the way we find some kind of future.” “That’s a good plan.” show less

Every once and awhile a book comes along that reaches out and speaks to all your senses, and The Salt Path by Raynor Winn was such a book for me. This is an uplifting memoir of a couple, Raynor and Moth Winn, who lose their house and livelihood through a bad investment. The day after losing their court battle, a doctor advises them that Moth had an incurable degenerative brain disease. Homeless and uncertain about their future or how to proceed with life, they walk. They choose to walk the 630 mile long South West Coast Path which follows the coastline of Somerset, North and South Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.

This would be a huge undertaking for anyone but for this couple, their age, financial situation and Moth’s disabilities made show more this an almost impossible undertaking. The author isn’t looking for pity and she doesn’t sugar-coat the situation but describes all the ups and downs they encounter along the way. This was a difficult undertaking yet somehow this trek with it’s views, wildlife, and freedom allowed them to accept and come to terms with their situation. Even having to cut their trip short due to winter setting in didn’t stop them, they returned the next summer and completed their journey.

The Salt Path was a powerful life-affirming story that the author tells in a realistic, humorous manner. As I followed the story I was googling the villages and beaches that were mentioned and I was amazed at the scenery, but this was so much more than a travel story. This couple totally won my heart with their affection and care for each other as well as the author’s honest and beautiful writing. show less

This surprised me, how well written it was that it engaged me as much as it did.

To the point that it momentarily prodded a creative urge, which is unheard of! Made me think for a moment of trying to write a journey experience, as an exercise in seeing more in my surroundings, reflecting on how the experience is impacting me, what personal history colours it.

At the same time, Winn is a storyteller, using tensions, slow reveals, momentum - it's fun to see how she weaves the story.

I was interested in the walk, what they saw, the hardships of living on the path, but I found the insights into living on the poverty line, and living with a progressive serious illness - that was another dimension, making the book much more than a travel show more experience. show less

In the space of a week, Raynor Winn and her husband Moth were dealt two staggering blows. First, they lost their home in a court case concerning a business deal gone wrong. Then, just five days later, Moth was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration, a slow-moving but incurable neurological disorder that would lead to dementia and also affect his mobility. With nowhere to live, a ruined credit history, and no job prospects, the couple decides to walk England’s 630-mile South West Coast Path, camping along the way. The route is extremely difficult, especially at the beginning, and they soon find they cannot afford even the most basic campsite, let alone decent meals.

And yet they manage, one day at a time. Surprisingly, the walk’s show more physical demands actually improve Moth’s condition, giving him new strength and vitality. They learn how to manage their daily needs with the very minimal government support that regularly lands in their bank account, often making difficult trade-offs. They occasionally benefit from the kindness of strangers, but more often are poorly treated by people and systems that cannot handle homelessness.

While their journey includes a lot of stress and grief, over time Raynor and Moth begin to envision a future for themselves and develop a plan, made possible by their strong commitment to one another and a fortunate chance encounter. show less

In 2013 Raynor Winn and her husband Moth lost a court case over debts arising from an investment in a friend’s company that had gone wrong, and their house was taken in payment for the debts. But their house, a Welsh farmhouse which they had restored from dereliction, was also their means of earning a living, with rental income coming from the farm buildings now rented out as holiday lets. So they were both homeless and unemployed. And within a week life had dealt them another blow as they received the final diagnosis for symptoms which had been troubling Moth for some time: corticobasal degeneration, a degenerative disease for which there is no treatment, and which usually leads to paralysis and death within a few years.. And so a show more week later, hiding under the stairs as the bailiffs banged on the door, completely unable to process the sudden changes to her life, Raynor suddenly suggested to her husband that they should walk the South West Coastal path, that it would allow them the time to come to terms with what had happened to them.

But walking the 630 miles of the South West Coastal Path, from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbour in Dorset is no easy matter, especially when one party is seriously ill with a rare degenerative disease. With only a couple of hundred pounds salvaged from the ruin of their life they were unable to buy the sort of equipment that serious walking needs, and the amount of equipment they could take was further hampered by Moth’s physical limitations. They calculated that they would have only £40 a week in benefits to live on, a figure which was frequently reduced. Even the cheapest campsites were too expensive if they also wanted to eat, so they decided to wild camp wherever they could find a secluded spot.

And so they set off, trudging very slowly up the first large hill out of Minehead, and up and down and up and down as the path climbed down to the sea and back up to the cliffs again and again. Frequently cold, hungry, and wet they plodded on as summer turned into autumn. But despite all the physical hardships, one of the hardest things that they faced was the reaction of other people when they discovered that the couple was homeless. Backpackers were an acceptable part of the scenery, but homeless backpackers were to be avoided at all costs...

This is a marvellous book, which I strongly recommend. show less

Raynor Winn had never written anything for publication before this book, and boy was she hiding her light under a bushel. Her turn of phrase is exquisite in this first book, and she nails that fine line of writing sublimely about nature without falling into the wordsmith trap of over-baking her descriptions.

This is her tale of a journey living with nature borne out of necessity. A country girl all her life, she and her husband Moth lived in their remote Welsh farm for decades, raising their children there, literally making the house habitable with their own two hands and enjoying a modest income from holidaymakers who came to stay in their barn conversion. When an investment in a good friend's business goes wrong, they find themselves show more on the hook for outstanding payments to creditors, and in the blink of an eye their house and their business is recovered by the bailiffs. In that same week, Winn's husband Moth is diagnosed with a terminal wasting disease. With no home, no income and a devastating prognosis for her husband, despite his deteriorating health they decide to take themselves off to walk and wild camp the Salt Path, a 600 odd mile path around Britain's south west coast.

This is a beautifully written book about finding one's self in the midst of the most terrible circumstances simply by being at one with nature and the elements. With only £40 in Government money coming in every few weeks, they subsist on the bare minimum of food with woefully sub-standard kit for the conditions, yet somewhere along this journey as two newly homeless people in their 50s they find a reason to go on, a reason to wake up in the morning. It's what lies beyond their journey on the path that becomes most terrifying in all senses.

I love this kind of book that's part travelogue, part homage to nature, and will be making a point of seeking out more titles from the Wainright prize shortlist. If you enjoy Robert Macfarlane type of books, The Salt Path is highly recommended. I'll be keeping an eye out for the follow up The Wild Silence. This is an author who deserves on so many fronts the success she's now carving out as an author.

4 stars - surprisingly beautiful writing. show less