Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
NYRB Classics (2020), 336 pages
Description
Tarka the otter pursues an active life, sometimes playful and sometimes dangerous, in the Devonshire countryside.
User reviews
LibraryThing member tripleblessings
The life of an otter, told as realistically as possible, up to its death in battle with a hunting dog. Supposed to be a children's book, but more suitable for youths over 10 years old.
LibraryThing member Smiley
Wonderful forward by the actor Paul Scofield. Beautiful descriptions of nature and an engaging story. Hampered somewhat by dialect words from West country England and ultimately a sad story.
LibraryThing member Prop2gether
Reading this book was like watching Disney's True-Life Adventures years ago--fascinating, thrilling, sometimes horrifying. The birth to death saga of an otter in the West Country of England in the early part of the 1900's is full of local language and customs, as well as a study of the wildlife
Show More
which, even then, was rapidly disappearing. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bridgey
Tarka the Otter - Henry Williamson ****
Been meaning to read this book for years. Finally got around to it after I saw a copy going cheap.
The novel tells the trials faced by an otter in the Devonshire countryside.
Taka is born 1 of 3 cubs, practically as soon as he is born he begins to recognise the
The book explores nature and the harshness encountered through both the wild and also mans interference. Nothing is left out or to the imagination. Often harrowing, the story details Tarka’s constant battle with the otter hounds, and in particular their fearsome leader Deadlock.
In many ways Williamson’s bleak writing of the English countryside reminded me of Cormac Macarthy, in particular the Orchard Keeper.
The only reason I gave this book 4 stars, not 5, is that the local dialect used for various landscape features got a bit tiresome and repetitive.
All in all, a very good read, but also a sad one which causes the reader to reflect on mans wrongful treatment of nature more than any other book I have read.
Been meaning to read this book for years. Finally got around to it after I saw a copy going cheap.
The novel tells the trials faced by an otter in the Devonshire countryside.
Taka is born 1 of 3 cubs, practically as soon as he is born he begins to recognise the
Show More
dangers that will dictate and eventually end his life.The book explores nature and the harshness encountered through both the wild and also mans interference. Nothing is left out or to the imagination. Often harrowing, the story details Tarka’s constant battle with the otter hounds, and in particular their fearsome leader Deadlock.
In many ways Williamson’s bleak writing of the English countryside reminded me of Cormac Macarthy, in particular the Orchard Keeper.
The only reason I gave this book 4 stars, not 5, is that the local dialect used for various landscape features got a bit tiresome and repetitive.
All in all, a very good read, but also a sad one which causes the reader to reflect on mans wrongful treatment of nature more than any other book I have read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member overthemoon
Though I knew Tarka was going to get killed at the end I was still overcome with grief when I reached the last pages. I had been slowing down my reading as if to make Tarka's life last a little longer. Grief and anger; shame upon anyone who kills an animal in the name of sport.
LibraryThing member Kristelh
This book was written in 1927. I give it four stars because it is ahead of its time as a fictional work that addresses ecology and other scientific premises so much that it begins to feel like a true story. It is set in the West Country of England or the county of Devon. Devonshire is about 200
Show More
miles from London. The language is a bit hard on the American reader because it uses a lot of words that defy meaning even in the dictionary such as fitch which I think is a weasel. The author also lists the location on every page of the book giving the story a sense of place. The reader follows Tarka up and down the Two Rivers area and the Severn Sea. The author's use of language is an important part of the book and the imagery is nature-nature as man plays only a minor unbecoming part in the book. The reader is also immersed in the cycle of life and death. Tarka is the protagonist and his life is but four years. His short life was quite exhausting for the reader as well as the otter. The author's title is Tarka the Otter His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of Two Rivers. The introduction b y Robert Finch states, "By convincing us of Tarka's joy, it may prepare us to change out sympathies, that is ,our notion of what constitutes joy." I would recommend this book if you enjoy prose and nature. Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson is the classic story of an otter living by the Torridge River in North Devon. Originally published in 1927, this book captures life in the wild as seen through the eyes of an otter. Tarka means water wanderer and although this name gives a certain character to
This book is more of a nature documentary than an “animal story”. The writing is beautiful in it’s description of the Devon countryside with it’s wooded valleys, rich farmland and gentle waterways. Many call this book an early “environmentalist” book, as the scenes of otter hunting and baiting called attention to the fact that otters were being systematically destroyed and by the 1960’s had almost become extinct. Although not written as a conservation book, it has helped to effect change and today otters are making a comeback.
Timeless and evocative, Tarka the Otter is a delightful read. The story is enhanced by the accompanying illustrations by Annabel Large. Although this book was not originally written as a children’s story over the years has become a beloved children’s classic and hasn’t been out of print once in it’s long existence.
Show More
the otter, the author keeps the story’s atmosphere and detail on the side of reality. This isn’t a cute story about an animal with human characteristics, this otter is a creature of the wild and the author doesn’t hesitate to show the rawness of nature. This book is more of a nature documentary than an “animal story”. The writing is beautiful in it’s description of the Devon countryside with it’s wooded valleys, rich farmland and gentle waterways. Many call this book an early “environmentalist” book, as the scenes of otter hunting and baiting called attention to the fact that otters were being systematically destroyed and by the 1960’s had almost become extinct. Although not written as a conservation book, it has helped to effect change and today otters are making a comeback.
Timeless and evocative, Tarka the Otter is a delightful read. The story is enhanced by the accompanying illustrations by Annabel Large. Although this book was not originally written as a children’s story over the years has become a beloved children’s classic and hasn’t been out of print once in it’s long existence.
Show Less
LibraryThing member PilgrimJess
"Pity acts through the imagination, the higher light of the world, and imagination arises from the world of things, as a rainbow from the sun."
Starting with his birth, the book takes us almost day by day through Tarka's life — learning to swim and fish, wrestling and sliding down riverbanks with
This is one of the best known nature novels but its not a sanitised Disneyesque nature. There is beauty is everywhere but there is also danger everywhere. Everything tries to eat everything else and the local farmers and water-bailiffs hunt otters, which they see as vermin. The sub-title of the novel, 'His Joyful Water-Life and Death' , tells us what the inevitable ending will be but beforehand gives a highly realistic insight into an otter’s life, its joys and perils. Williamson spent years tramping the riverways of Devon studying otters so whilst this is fiction its based on fact and close observation.
The writing is beautiful, in particular when Tarka was in the water, I could almost visualise it. Its sometime easy to think of otters as cute fish eating creatures but we mustn't forget that they are carnivores that will eat birds, frogs and other mammals as well. The book was first published in 1927 and thankfully attitudes have changed and despite the ending is neither sad nor depressing. It's a classic for a reason. My only real grumble was the constant use of local slang for many of the creatures that featured, whilst he initially tells us what the proper name is when they reoccurred later on I had forgotten it. The glossary could have been more expansive I felt.
“Time flowed with the sunlight of the still green place. The summer drake-flies, whose wings were as the most delicate transparent leaves, hatched from their cases on the water and danced over the shadowed surface.”
Starting with his birth, the book takes us almost day by day through Tarka's life — learning to swim and fish, wrestling and sliding down riverbanks with
Show More
his sisters and mother, before heading off alone to find himself a mate, around the estuaries of Devon. This is one of the best known nature novels but its not a sanitised Disneyesque nature. There is beauty is everywhere but there is also danger everywhere. Everything tries to eat everything else and the local farmers and water-bailiffs hunt otters, which they see as vermin. The sub-title of the novel, 'His Joyful Water-Life and Death' , tells us what the inevitable ending will be but beforehand gives a highly realistic insight into an otter’s life, its joys and perils. Williamson spent years tramping the riverways of Devon studying otters so whilst this is fiction its based on fact and close observation.
The writing is beautiful, in particular when Tarka was in the water, I could almost visualise it. Its sometime easy to think of otters as cute fish eating creatures but we mustn't forget that they are carnivores that will eat birds, frogs and other mammals as well. The book was first published in 1927 and thankfully attitudes have changed and despite the ending is neither sad nor depressing. It's a classic for a reason. My only real grumble was the constant use of local slang for many of the creatures that featured, whilst he initially tells us what the proper name is when they reoccurred later on I had forgotten it. The glossary could have been more expansive I felt.
“Time flowed with the sunlight of the still green place. The summer drake-flies, whose wings were as the most delicate transparent leaves, hatched from their cases on the water and danced over the shadowed surface.”
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1927
1978
Physical description
336 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
1681374242 / 9781681374246