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yates9's review
4.0
You dip into the authors world, the pace, the pain of an aging body and the refreshing freedom of a freezing winter swim.
The book moves slowly, it flows through time, but takes you with it into a very particular space which many should dare to visit to appreciate how we can transform meaning through sensations, like icy cold water.
The book moves slowly, it flows through time, but takes you with it into a very particular space which many should dare to visit to appreciate how we can transform meaning through sensations, like icy cold water.
rdebner's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful meditation on aging and the author's long history of swimming in the ponds at Hampstead Heath.
halfmanhalfbook's review
4.0
You wouldn’t believe that our capital city, London, can co-exist with the natural world any more. But it can. In Hampstead Heath there are three ponds that are used extensively by wildlife and also by swimmers. They are open all year round and regardless of weather, Alverez has swum in them almost daily.
Better know as a poet and literary critic, in the past he has been an athlete and rock climber and has played quite a bit of poker too. This journal documents every time he swam from 2002 up to 2011. In each entry he has recorded the water temperature, the people and friends he sees there most days as well as the wildlife he encounters whilst swimming around. As he grows older, and suffers a multitude of health issues, the swimming becomes less frequent, and even getting there can be troublesome at times.
It is a brutally honest memoir too. You sense his frustrations with his declining health, his anger at dealing with petty bureaucrats and his writing commitments. What comes across almost every time he swims is the pure pleasure he gets from taking a dip, preferring the cooler months when the water ebbs away his aches and pains. He is keen observer too, noticing the tiniest details in the sky, the colour of the water and the way that the seasons move relentlessly on, as he slips into the water and glides slowly round the pond. The writing is sparse, beautiful, and almost metronomic at times, as he writes about his habitual daily swim. It was a real pleasure to read too.
Better know as a poet and literary critic, in the past he has been an athlete and rock climber and has played quite a bit of poker too. This journal documents every time he swam from 2002 up to 2011. In each entry he has recorded the water temperature, the people and friends he sees there most days as well as the wildlife he encounters whilst swimming around. As he grows older, and suffers a multitude of health issues, the swimming becomes less frequent, and even getting there can be troublesome at times.
It is a brutally honest memoir too. You sense his frustrations with his declining health, his anger at dealing with petty bureaucrats and his writing commitments. What comes across almost every time he swims is the pure pleasure he gets from taking a dip, preferring the cooler months when the water ebbs away his aches and pains. He is keen observer too, noticing the tiniest details in the sky, the colour of the water and the way that the seasons move relentlessly on, as he slips into the water and glides slowly round the pond. The writing is sparse, beautiful, and almost metronomic at times, as he writes about his habitual daily swim. It was a real pleasure to read too.
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