Being a specialist book reviewer, I almost always have a solid understanding of what any given book I sit down to read for review is about, and what I can reasonably expect from it. “Almost always,” that is.
In the case of Jini Reddy‘s 2020 published book Wanderland; A Search for Magic in the Landscape, I’m honestly a bit uncertain regarding either of these points. Already widely praised, and shortlisted for the 2020 Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing as well as the 2021 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award, it’s very clear that many have found in it something to not only like but deem worthy of high honors. But if you ask me what the book is about, I’m not prepared to say just yet, nor am I quite certain what to expect from it.
Perhaps that is part of its point – wandering, searching, allowing oneself to be surprised as the result of an adventure. Not ordinarily one actively to engage in any of these activities – to quote Bilbo Baggins, a noted wandering adventurer as well as one of my long-time role models, I notoriously “have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!” And yet, Ms. Reddy’s book presents intriguing possibilities that I find myself called to investigate.
I’ll let you know what I find – providing, or course, I’m not eaten by a dragon somewhere along the way.
Available from:
