Yo ho, yo ho, the life at sea’s for me...

As someone who loves the seas and oceans and felt drawn to the coasts since teenage years, reading this book was an absolute pleasure and a fully immersive experience. I felt as if the author was sitting right next to me, telling me all these stories and showing me the pictures included on the pages of this book.

‘The draw of the sea’ is definitely an ode to the sea, coastlines, sailors and all the people who feel drawn to the beauty of deep waters. The author’s adoration for the coasts and the sea has really shined through, making me feel longing for all the places he mentioned and sadness that instead of sitting in a crowded tube where I spend most of my days, I could be diving along with him and learning from professional mermaids, surfing the waves in Cornwall, collecting cowries and watching whales and walruses in Svalbard and watching the tide on the beach.
Lucky for me, I will be able to do at least some of these things very soon...

This book, this memoir took me a while to read but not because it was boring but because it’s hard to read about something so dear to you, when you can’t have it. For someone who loves those massive blue spaces on our lovely planet, this book felt like a warm blanket and cup of tea on a rainy autumn day. It was such a cozy read, even when the author was talking about the negative things caused by human pollution of the waters, problems with overcrowding of the beaches and literal trash and toxic waste being thrown into the sea (FU British government). Ironically, the author used all those bad stories to tell us, the readers about how people can come together in attempt to fight for the health of our seas, how there are whole communities of people collecting whatever plastic things the sea throws out on the beach not as a trash but as a representation of human existence! Not only that, many people track where the plastic from the massive containers swept to the sea ends up, on which beaches and in which countries and how the currents in seas and oceans delivers those things to these places. It’s fascinating!

I could go on and on about how many interesting things the author talks about in this book! I could literally spend hours talking about it but… I won’t. Because I think you all should read this book and find out for yourself.

Wyl Menmuir’s The Draw of the Sea is a book about the fishermen, surfers, swimmers, beachcombers, conservationists, sailors and boatbuilders who make their living on the Cornish Coast.
As the title says it's about the draw, the hold the sea has many people and how their lives are defined by it. It's endearing and intimate and a must for anyone that feels the pull or connection when by the sea.

This book is a beautiful love letter to the sea and the coastal communities in the South West of the UK. Menmuir encountered many people who engage with the water in different ways - from free divers to mermaid swimmers, fishing communities to beach artists - in his exploration of why humanity is drawn to the water. Featuring aspects of his own story and his family's relationship to the coast, he also interviewed many different people whose lives are closely intertwined with the water. Heartfelt and beautifully written, this is a must read for anyone who loves the water or finds peace in its proximity.

This was a fantastic read. I loved ever minute of this book and had to read it all in one day. It was such a fascinating book that I learnt so much from reading it. I don't have any knowledge of Cornwall or the islands off its shores. So it was brilliant exploring them through this book. I don't think any stone was left unturned as we learn about its shorescapes, wildlife and the people who use and roam these areas. I really loving learning about the shore combers or wreckers as they are called and some of the things they find. It was brilliant how each fascinating chapter cover an even more exciting thing. I absolutely loved the authors style of writing not only do you feel like your learning so much in a fun way but I felt like I was experiencing them aswell. The author certainly had plenty of knowledge and had research topics with great passion. I really can't recommend this book enough. If you love the sea and its coastline then this is a book for you. It also has some fantastic maps and pictures to breakup the interesting text. Give you that extra dimension to enjoy. 

Only the highest of praise goes out to the author and publishers for taking us on this fantastic journey of discovery. I will definitely love to read more from this wonderful author. 

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog yesterday https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-draw-of-the-sea-by-wyl-menmuir-quarto-publishing-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

When Wyl Menmuir and his wife move to the Cornish coast to deal with their grief following a family tragedy, he discovers a diverse community of people united by their love for and connection with the sea. "The Draw of the Sea" is a kaleidoscope, of sorts, of their stories, from the beachcombers who track storms and tides to discover and repurpose found objects, to the freedivers who surprisingly are often seeking more than just the thrill of danger, to the birdwatchers, tidepool explorers, rowers, fishermen and artists living their lives in and alongside the ocean--each new chapter turns Menmuir's penetrating eye on facets of community life that click into place to form a dazzling mosaic of his Cornish environs. Menmuir's nature writing is gorgeous, but his novelist's knack for storytelling and character development is what really lifts "The Draw of the Sea" and gives the book its heart. I read this at my home by the sea in New Jersey, sometimes on the beach on lovely sunny days and sometimes from a rocking chair inside my house, looking out at the wind and rain. It perfectly captured my own feelings about the sea, and will be a reading experience that remains with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group/Aurum for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

This is a soothing and soul-restoring read featuring various intriguing personalities and detailing their intimate relationships with the sea. I love the writing, evocative without being indulgent, poetic without being schmaltzy, profound without being overly dramatic, just so nicely done and so calming and comforting to read. The descriptions of the people, the sea and the activities that take place on and next to it are vivid and intriguing, bringing to life the things that the sea provides and the people who use it for work and pleasure. It touches on how important the sea is and how all our lives are connected to, indeed dependent on, it and its health. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about collecting cowrie shells. A lovely book.

Like Wyl Menmuir’s other works this book is wonderful, haunting, lyrical and engrossing. Unfortunately the NetGalley app made it very difficult to read and it didn’t seem to be available on the kindle app. I will definitely be buying a hard copy of this when it comes out.

When I was a child, the family would sometimes go to the seaside (New Brighton) on a winter's day and sit in the car, watching the waves break on the beach. This sounds weird, but I gathers it's actually quite common. Menmuir's book - part memoir, part travelogue, all salty and haunting - explores that same instinct, although it celebrates rather more direct contact with the water.

Here you'll meet beachcombers ('wreckers'), surfers, sailors, fishermen, conservationists, artists and everyone in between. Based in Cornwall, Menmuir has many opportunities to explore the seashore and he draws the results together into a bewitching, hypnotic and all-absorbing hymn to the waves, the shifting pebbles, the animals and plants that make their homes in the water, and the people who do great business - or even small business - in the waters.

It isn't a romanticised or idyllic account. Menmuir makes clear the challenges of the life: for example, physical dangers and hardships (in past times those wreckers depended on what they could scrounge from the shore - and no, they didn't lure ships onto the rocks). He also draws attention to the damage being done to wildlife and ecosystems by modernity or, sometimes, by foolish individuals; to the unimaginable quantities of plastics polluting the seas, the oil spills, overfishing and sheer thoughtlessness of humanity. It's grim reading in places, but we do also meet people who are trying to make a difference and the author admits that there can be a sort of syncronicitous beauty in the bizarre findings from beaches, even in all that plastic.

The chapters are short, focussing on the different ways the sea can be approached, understood or enjoyed and woven into it are Menmuir's own memories, beginning with a life far from the shore and then describing all the facets of his relationship with it now - including resorting there for healing and calm, surely one of the most common reasons for walking the beach or living near the sea. Even that, though, has its drawbacks. We are shown the effect on coastal communities of second-home ownership and overtourism, the impact on humans of humans being strangely similar to that of humans on the wildlife.

In exploring what the sea means to us, and allowing us to hear from those who who work with it, live by it, enjoy it, struggle with it or seek to preserve it, Menmuir presents a wonderful variety of voices and of experiences. There is a great deal of wisdom here, and I loved the way that he lets these different viewpoints speak to one another, sometimes in harmony, sometimes not. The book benefits from the fact that Menmuir is part of the communities described here - this isn't a journalists's fleeting account, it's grounded (maybe I should say watered?) in his lived experience and drips with a gentle authenticity that makes it a joy to read.

The photographs and maps add to that, ranging from the intimate - beach gleanings or individuals - to the epic - seascapes and wild views. Definitely one to hold in one's hands and read, I think!

This was a beautiful story about a topic I’ve never really read about! It was interesting and quite honestly great. It felt like a different read and something fresh from what I’m used. I really enjoyed learning about that part of the world as well and also getting a deeper dive (see what I did there) into this subject. I love the ocean, i love walking on the beach and I love the sand filled wind after a long day in the sun. I quite enjoyed this.