Nature Cure
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Review
`Richard Mabey charts the primacy of the imagination in a sensual re-engagement with nature.'
--Telegraph Weekend
--Telegraph Weekend
Review
"* 'A book of which only he could have written a single page... marvellously observed, deeply felt from sentence to sentence. The writing is exquisite.' - David Sexton, Evening Standard * 'A brilliant, candid and heartfelt memoir...The account of how he broke free of depression, reshaped his life and reconnected with the wild becomes nothing short of a manifesto for living... Mabey's particular vision, informed by a lifetime's reading and observation, is ultimately optimistic. It is also what makes his voice so appealing amid all the froth and flam of the eco-debate.' - Philip Marsden, Sunday Times * 'Written in the radiant, tingle-making prose that has earned Mabey literary prizes and a multitude of fans... both a wake-up call and an example of how the love of nature can electrify and heal the imagination.' - Val Hennessy, Daily Mail * 'What good company is Richard Mabey - and how utterly necessary...like Seamus Heaney, he is one of those writers whose language is pressed very close to the world. It's exact and attentive, not a "dirty glass" which divides us from nature.' - Kathleen Jamie, Scotland on Sunday * 'Nature Cure moves between the nervous breakdown of an individual and the madness of the modern world with a prescience akin to that of TS Eliot's Waste Land.' - Jonathan Bate, Guardian * 'Mabey is a radical, inheritor of an old English tradition...The core of the book is his exploration of his new landscape. It feels a privilege to share it, watching him unpick the layers of watery Norfolk, with dazzling skill and the warmest of hearts, as his troubled mind heals.' - Michael McCarthy, Independent * 'He has rediscovered the credo that in his black moments he feared he had lost for ever: a belief in the importance of a sensual engagement with the world and a conviction that, to remain on an even keel in life, it is foolish to ignore the links that exist between feelings, the imagination and intelligence.' - Caroline Moorehead, Spectator * 'Part autobiography, part meditation on the relationship between nature and culture. It's a dense, meandering work, a bit like Norfolk, with rivers of shining, sinuous prose suddenly emerging from intriguing thickets of opinion and memory... Mabey understands that beautiful writing is a matter of never being bigger than your subject...and has not lost the childlike pleasure in nature that transports him and his readers to the gates of heaven.' - Will Cohu, Daily Telegraph"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
92 of 94 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I can't praise Nature Cure highly enough. It is billed as a journey through depression but it really isn't an inward looking self analysis - and his illness and cure take up very little of the book. He reveals what he needs to about himself but the real story is his examination of man's inner relationships with the natural world. And he is a person who has access to a fantastic store of knowledge about nature.
It is very readable and one of the most thought provoking books I've read for a long time. I am carrying around a wealth of new information, which I find myself retrieving and considering throughout the day. Mabey has a deep and comprehensive affinity with the countryside and ecology and writes quite beautifully. I will be re-reading this very soon.
He is part of my interwoven trio of rural writers that I recommend frequently and enthusiastically - the other two being Ronald Blythe and Roger Deakin.
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I enjoyed this book immensely. The author's emotional and physical journey from one beloved and known landscape, through pain and loss, to the renewing strength of another quite different place, is expressed with courage and a disarming honesty that utterly convinces.
I learnt much from the author's thought-provoking meditations on nature and even more about what it is to be human. Thank you Richard Mabey!
I learnt much from the author's thought-provoking meditations on nature and even more about what it is to be human. Thank you Richard Mabey!
35 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There is no denying that Richard Mabey is a talented author and naturalist, so its no surprise that the combination of these two qualities produce a book that is both eloquent and imaginative, and will for some people be the epitome of what a thought-provoking 'nature book' should be.
However I was first introduced to Nature Cure through Mabey's column in BBC Wildlife of the same name, and found it to be not only pessimistic but also somewhat dismissive of efforts to aid the natural world. So upon embarking on the book I was prepared for much more of the same, and I wasn't disappointed.
From the word go Mabey seems intent on reminding us of what we have lost rather than what we still have and what it can do for us. Although he describes swift sightings and deer encounters with heart-warming enthusiasm, it is always followed by a lengthy account of how out of tune we have become with nature, or a depressing metaphor for mankind's fall from grace!
Even the title is somewhat misleading. I expected the theme of Nature Cure to be a description of how the power of the natural world helped Mabey overcome depression. However it begins with Mabey already recovered, with barely a glimpse back into his life before recovery. As such the book meanders its way through what can only be described as a rather uneventful 'recuperation' period. Mabey's talent for describing natural events kept me interested enough to see it through to the end but it did become a chore and left me far from inspired.
There are some people who will find the book wonderful. There are beautiful descriptions and evocative thoughts which will make the more romantic nature lover's day. But for the more practical wildlife enthusiasts (like me) who like to learn and experience, it was rather disappointing.
For me Nature Cure was not an exhilarating literary venture in the way Mabey's Flora Britannica was, but it is something a little different, and for that reason is both refreshing and worth a try.
However I was first introduced to Nature Cure through Mabey's column in BBC Wildlife of the same name, and found it to be not only pessimistic but also somewhat dismissive of efforts to aid the natural world. So upon embarking on the book I was prepared for much more of the same, and I wasn't disappointed.
From the word go Mabey seems intent on reminding us of what we have lost rather than what we still have and what it can do for us. Although he describes swift sightings and deer encounters with heart-warming enthusiasm, it is always followed by a lengthy account of how out of tune we have become with nature, or a depressing metaphor for mankind's fall from grace!
Even the title is somewhat misleading. I expected the theme of Nature Cure to be a description of how the power of the natural world helped Mabey overcome depression. However it begins with Mabey already recovered, with barely a glimpse back into his life before recovery. As such the book meanders its way through what can only be described as a rather uneventful 'recuperation' period. Mabey's talent for describing natural events kept me interested enough to see it through to the end but it did become a chore and left me far from inspired.
There are some people who will find the book wonderful. There are beautiful descriptions and evocative thoughts which will make the more romantic nature lover's day. But for the more practical wildlife enthusiasts (like me) who like to learn and experience, it was rather disappointing.
For me Nature Cure was not an exhilarating literary venture in the way Mabey's Flora Britannica was, but it is something a little different, and for that reason is both refreshing and worth a try.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Captivating
A fascinating and engaging book. Unlike anything I've read before. Written with intelligence and passion. I'm looking forward to reading it again.
Published on 9 May 2010 by P. Gill
A book of re-connections.
Nature Cure is an account of Richard Mabey's move from the Chilterns to East Anglia and of his recovery from depression. Read more
Published on 15 April 2010 by SCM
Nature Cure
A beautifully written book by one of my favourite authors. His description of deep depression is disturbingly accurate - an awful state of mind that seems to come from nowhere and... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2009 by Peter Collins
Doesn't 'do what it says on the tin'
I really wanted to love this book. Depression is a vile, destructive thing, and also something of a mystery, and any tale of its defeat should be both inspiring and informative. Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2008 by Christopher West
Ignore the title, just enjoy the contents
You can imagine the scene. One of Britains most respected and brilliant nature writers having recovered from a bout of severe depression turns up for a meeting with his publishers... Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2006 by C. R. Cheesman
Disappointing
The author is a repected naturalist and nature writer of long standing, so maybe I should have guessed in advance that this book would not quite offer what the title and blurb... Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2005
Disappointing and poorly researched in parts
After reading good reviews for this book I thought it sounded like just the thing for me. However, I was soon disappointed to find several problems with Mabey's knowledge (lazy... Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2005 by Gavin Fidler
Wonderful Story
This is one of those inspirational stories that are hard to put down. The auhtor charts his life and what led him to his various addictions, then shows us the reader how he came... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2005 by Graphic Dreamer
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