Where the Seals Sing (Hardback)
Susan Richardson (author)Published: 07/07/2022
Springing from the author’s lifelong fascination with seals, this uplifting and captivatingly written nature memoir brings together fascinating tales of loss and rescue – both ecological and personal – and celebrates our connection with this wonderful whiskered, selkie-skinned species.
There are fewer grey seals in the world than endangered African elephants, but the British Isles host almost half of this global population. Every year these charismatic animals, with their expressive eyes and whiskers more sensitive than our fingertips, haul out on our shores to breed and raise their pups.
Susan Richardson has always been entranced by seals; they seem to have surfaced at key junctions throughout her life, comforting her as an anxious child, bringing joy as she began to spread her wings as a writer and helping her to find her way after the loss of her mother. Now she sets out to trace the rhythm of their lives, travelling the coasts clockwise from Cornwall to Norfolk, in line with the autumn pupping season. Along the way she explores the myths surrounding seals, from their shapeshifting selkie skins to the claims that they decimate fish populations, and she discovers that the greatest dangers they face come from co-existing with us.
Brimming with vivid descriptions of the natural world, Where the Seals Sing is a lyrical tale of memory, rescue and rehabilitation. While loss, both personal and ecological, is a recurring theme, the human-seal connection that flows through the story is stirring and uplifting.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008404543
Number of pages: 384
Weight: 620 g
Dimensions: 240 x 159 x 35 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Praise for Susan Richardson 'Cut and precise, archaic and innovative, transcendent and in-the-moment, [Susan Richardson] sees the life of the sea as a mirror of ourselves, and vice versa: always changing, always the same … Vital, glorious and salutary ' Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan ‘[Richardson] writes in prehensile language, capable of grasping something vast, ancient, chthonic: the Earth in must. Jay Griffiths, author of Wild ‘[Richardson] shows how art and writing can furnish both beautiful and challenging reflections on our relationship with animals … Precise and playful; rhapsodic and rebellious’ Andy Brown ‘Sparkling’ Margaret Elphinstone ‘Richardson’s voice swoops – passionate, ribald, funny, fierce – taking you up, on exhilarating flight, out from the cage of the everyday mind.’ Eleanor O’Hanlon, author of Eyes of the Wild ‘[Richardson] balances observation with “unseeing”, science with shamanism and myth’ Chris Kinsey ‘Susan Richardson beautifully marries the landscape of the polar regions with their – and her own – emotional topography.’ Sara Wheeler
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“A beautifully written and engaging look at grey seals”
I approached this topic as a complete novice and finish the book feeling like I’ve gained great insight into the lives of these mammals. Susan Richardson’s writing style and storytelling abilities bring insight,... More
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