Torbjørn Lysebo Ekelund

Ekelund's perambulations inspire him to write down the kind of trite, simplistic observations that sound like fortune-cookie wisdom ("Regardless of how rapidly one walks, it will always be at a much slower pace than someone who is running or driving a car"; "Everything that happens must happen in a place"). Along the way he surmises that crows can see nearly the entire forest from high up in the trees, and he tells us so. By citing Rebecca Solnit and Bruce Chatwin, he inadvertently reminds us of what a good writer could do with similar material.… (altro)

3.5 "Where culture generates stress, nature offers rest. Where culture produces narrowmindedness, nature offers a bird's-eye perspective. Where culture makes people feel isolated, nature makes them feel free."

I just love the above quote by the author. A man who is a freelance writer, often secluded in his house, remembers when as a youth his best times were spent outside, in nature. He decides to spend one night a month in the forest and return, if only for a short time, to what made him so happy in his youth. Living in Norway, nature was only a short walk away. These essays convey his thoughts, his observations and his feelings. I enjoyed reading them and though I would not spend a new guy alone sleeping in the woods, I am lucky enough to live a short walk down a hill to a river. Nature has been my solace too, so for me, this was a meaningful book.

ARC from Edelweiss.… (altro)