Waterlog

Inspired by John Cheever's classic short story, "The Swimmer," Roger Deakin set out from his moat in Suffolk to swim through the British Isles. The result of his journey is a maverick work of observation and imagination.

His writing very effectively describes both the athletic demands of his undertaking and things ecological and to do with the natural history of UK waters, in vibrant detail. The sceptics among us are nevertheless buoyed up by his passion for the subject.
In addition, he has researched the local history of most of the swimming venues and is able to account some interesting tidbit with each swim. Deakin entertained me with his various references to other literary works and to more generally celebrated persons or events in the British psyche. This all combines to create a gently nostalgic account of British water-landscapes, which are in the most part lost to the majority of its inhabitants today.

I was left knowing very little about the man, but hungry for more anecdotes of other swims. Quite charming.