The Draw of the Sea

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Adam Farrer, author of Cold Fish Soup 'A beautiful, wise and charming book’ Charlie Carroll, author of The Lip 'Roger Deakin would have been proud to have written it himself. The islands of the archipelago were once a single larger island, Ennor, and Menmuir uses the memory of this place to explore the legend of Lyonesse, the Arthurian Atlantis. It's beautiful and thoughtfully human, a portrait of those lives that revolve around the swell of ocean and tide. There are 13 chapters; each one dedicated to a different person’s relationship with the sea and the coast.

Wyl Menmuir dives deep into a world of sea-souls - swimmers and surfers and sailors, birders, beachcombers and rowers - and with meditative charm addresses that perennial, unanswerable question: what makes us so oblivious to danger and discomfort and pulls us again and again to the water? I would recommend this book to anyone who's ever inexplicably felt drawn to the sea or who would like to know more about life on the Cornish coast and its inhabitants.

In The Draw of the Sea, Wyl Menmuir investigates just that - the invisible force that pulls some of us to the coast, whether to simply gaze in awe at the vastness of the ocean or to fully immerse ourselves in its watery depths, to dive in, to swim, surf or sail. forget about touching grass, i need to touch THE SEA I NEED TO GO INTO THE WATER I NEED TO DIVE INTO THE SEA!As Darke’s widow says to him, these objects “make the whole world seem a whole lot smaller, a lot more connected”. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH).

While I would recommend this to most readers who enjoy creative nonfiction, I would highly recommend it to people who have spent any significant time living near the water. Wyl considers what the ocean and the shoreline mean to the many people who live and work in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. In thirteen interlinked chapters of beautifully written prose, Wyl Menmuir sets out to investigate what it is that draws us to the water’s edge, portraying the lives of fishermen, surfers, sailors, boatbuilders, free-divers, swimmers and artists. Wyl has found a way to the heart of each of these types and brings to life how the sea affects and influences them. The Draw of the Sea is immersive and inviting and filled with people who for all sorts of reasons go to the sea, and reading it will make you want to go with them.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Freedivers take a huge breath of air before plunging into the depths – they look for the stillest, clearest waters in which to commune with the ocean. Perfect for beginners, as well as budding artists, you’ll be amazed how easily you too can bring the ocean to life with this inspiring guide. In fact the book itself is a gorgeous item, the cover a treat to the eye, the endpapers marbled, the photos atmospheric and numinous.