"Under the Sea Wind" by Rachel Carson.
Rachel is better known for “Silent Spring” and was thought of as a conservationist rather than a marine biologist.
However, her marine trilogy “The Edge of the Sea”, The Sea round US”, and “Under the Sea Wind” were published between 1941 and 1955, while “Silent Spring” was first published in 1964.
Peter became aware of the marine trilogy by a fortuitous discovery on a book stall in Cambridge, and was immediately captivated by the detail and clarity of the writing in “The Edge of the Sea”.
Having read all three books, “Under the Sea Wind” made the strongest impression owing to the poetic nature of the writing.
The book is in three parts, describing the life of sea birds, fish, and in particular the mackerel”, and eels.
She writes from a “creature’s eye” viewpoint to describe the various habitats, life cycles, and threats as well as the breeding seasons.
Whilst for the sake of the story lines some creatures were named (e.g. the mackerel was named “scomber”) this was not a sentimental treatment; the angler fish came over as a scheming, repulsive denizen of dark places.
Even the Ospreys' nest was treated to a graphic description.
The book elicited various reactions from club members, from “couldn’t get past page 2” to “loved it”.
Those that did get into the book generally enjoyed the poetic style of the writing.
Some versions have embedded images whilst others didn’t, those with the images said that they helped with developing an understanding of the book.
Whilst the writing has poetry, it is also closely observational and very detailed, some felt it was almost a science text book.
And whilst the unabashed treatment of the natural world "rings true", the book is now over 80 years old, and much has changed in nature, primarily because of mankind’s commercial activities in the intervening period.
Doorly score: 4.4
PC. 14th January, 2024
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