The Marches: A Borderland Journey Between England and Scotland

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Book Three: The General Danced on the Lawn about his father, who died at the age of 93, before this book was finished. The whole book is permeated with his love and respect for his father, but this last section is all about Brian Stewart. Reading this book was a real struggle. I found it boring, incoherent, a mess really. Three different parts, none of which deliver what's promised by the title. It makes me wonder why the author didn't adapt his writing when he found out that his original idea wasn't working. Starred Review. Stewart makes it a joy to learn every tree, flower, and butterfly, to explore where Roman forts stood, and to understand the ancient histories of the region. Another winner from a consistently engaging author." - Kirkus Ik weet niet of ik auteur of zijn vader in de dagelijkse omgang sympathiek zou gevonden hebben, maar dat doet er niet toe. Uit elke zin blijkt de liefde en de eerbied die zij voor elkaar voelen en dit wordt zéér goed overgebracht en mooi verwoord. Wat een rijkdom om zo een relatie met een ouder te mogen hebben. Ik was, toen het onvermijdelijke gebeurde, ook echt ontroerd.

The Marches : A Borderland Journey Between England and Scotland

Stewart's father, Brian, is present throughout the book. In his early 90s as the book takes place, Brian Stewart serves as a bridge between the British Empire and Britain of today. A WWII veteran, a diplomat, and a high-ranking director of MI6 in the mid-70s. He was "Q". And as the journey deepens, and the end approaches, Brian and Rory fight to match, step by step, modern voices, nationalisms and contemporary settlements to the natural beauty of the Marches, and a fierce absorption in tradition in their own unconventional lives.Stewart and his father are drawn into unsettling reflections on landscape, their parallel careers in the bygone British Empire and Iraq, and the past, present, and uncertain future of the United Kingdom. And as the end approaches, the elder Stewart's stubborn charm transforms this chronicle of nations into a fierce, exuberant encounter between a father and a son. This is a profound reflection on family, landscape, and history by a powerful and original writer. Meer dan een verhaal over 2 lange wandeltochten, 1 langs Hadrian's Wall, 1 van aan het huis van de auteur in Cumbria tot het huis van zijn vader in Schotland, is dit boek een ode. Een ode aan de hoogbejaarde vader van de auteur (flink in de 90), een ode aan Schotland en meer nog aan The Marches, een gebied tussen Engeland en Schotland dat eerder in de geschiedenis als een aparte regio werd gezien. De auteur gaat ook op zoek naar de geschiedenis van dit gebied, de herkomst van de plaatsnamen, wat de Romeinen, de Vikingen, de Northumbrians, de Kelten, ... er deden en hoe dit alles verder leeft in de overlevering en de tradities. Hij ontdekt echter dat geschiedenis evolueert, dat niets blijft zoals het is en dat de mooiste tradities zijn die je zelf maakt. The first problem, perhaps, is that this is very clearly the product of: "I'm setting out to write another book," rather than, "These experiences and thoughts I've had demand the writing of a book." It is admitted, several times in the text, that the author is having trouble getting that book together, and it shows.

The Marches: A Borderland Journey between England and Scotland

Stewart] anchors his lively mix of history, travelogue, and reportage on local communities in a vibrant portrait of his father, who was both a tartan-wearing Scotsman and a thoroughly British soldier and diplomat.”— Publishers Weekly The miracle of The Marches is not so much the treks Stewart describes, pulling in all possible relevant history, as the monument that emerges to his beloved father." -- NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW I contemplated giving it 5 stars because there are few books that I read at my age that can bring me to tears. Maybe if this book is in my consciousness a year from now, I will bump up to 5 stars. On their six-hundred-mile, thirty-day journey - with Rory on foot, and his father ‘ambushing’ him by car – the pair relive Scottish dances, reflect on Burmese honey-bears, and on the loss of human presence in the British landscape. Stewart reveals the force of myths and traditions and the endurance of ties that are woven into the fabric of the land itself. A meditation on deep history, the pull of national identity, and home, The Marches will be regarded as one of the best books of 2016."-- WAMC-FM, "the Roundtable"Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-01-01 15:15:02 Boxid IA40085911 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier

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Was deeply moved by the third section about his father, although wasn’t too interested in the military history. Travelling across mountain ridges and through housing estates they uncover a forgotten country crushed between England and Scotland: the Middleland. They discover unsettling modern lives, lodged in an ancient place, as their odyssey develops into a history of the British nationhood, a chronicle of contemporary Britain and an exuberant encounter between a father and a son. As a writer, Stewart has a fine sense of the nature of the physical spaces he traverses, as well as the human stories (past and present) that play out in these landscapes." --SIGNATURE Stewart reveals the force of myths and traditions and the endurance of ties that are woven into the fabric of the land itself. A meditation on deep history, the pull of national identity, and home, The Marches will be regarded as one of the best books of 2016. WAMC-FM, the Roundtable Stewart proves to be a captivating tour guide... He brings archaic languages and traditions vividly alive, wrestles with nationalism and nationhood and, in a poignant closing section, traces his father's war years and last days... Beautiful, evocative and wise, The Marches highlights new truths about old countries and the unbreakable bond between a father and son."-- Malcolm Forbes, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

However, the third part - the attitude - was a huge disappointment to me. In Stewart's previous writing, he seemed very sympathetic yet fair-mindedly critical regarding all the people he came across. Here, his attitude reflects that of the book project itself: he had a preconceived notion of what he wanted to find and do, and is resistant and frustrated when the reality doesn't match those preconceived notions. Stewart has a ridiculously romanticized notion of rural British life, and is practically angry when he discovers that rural English folks and Scots are, well, modern people, concerned with their daily lives without secretly harboring old tales and traditions. Those who do love the old tales and traditions repeatedly come under fire from him for being inauthentic and inaccurate (this may be true, but one would think we could appreciate the passion and love these people have, regardless.) Altogether, I found the book fascinating and enjoyed the good fortune Stewart had in his relationship with his father who, in the text, is always calling him "Darling," querying his thinking, and adding his own experience to the mix.

Summary and reviews of The Marches by Rory Stewart - BookBrowse Summary and reviews of The Marches by Rory Stewart - BookBrowse

Stewart and his father are drawn into unsettling reflections on landscape, their parallel careers in the bygone British Empire and Iraq, and the past, present, and uncertain future of the United Kingdom. This is a profound reflection on family, landscape, and history by a powerful and original writer. The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance. It was an attitude to his life, then, and a resilience. I was only half-conscious of the many ways in which he had modestly concealed how he was better than me -- in singing, in his languages, in his sense of engineering or art, and in his promptitude and energy in work. In the end, I felt, his legacy was not some grand philosophical or political vision, but playfulness, and a delight in action." The miracle of The Marches is not so much the treks Stewart describes, pulling in all possible relevant history, as the monument that emerges to his beloved father." -- New York Times Book ReviewAnother theme is the unique nature of the Middleland. Stewart had set out on his Hadrian's Wall hike with some thought that the wall marked a separation between Scots and English peoples. His findings confused him, and he now feels that the people of the "Middleland" -- now defined as stretching from the Humber river to the Highland Line -- make up a distinct third culture, one containing a number of sub-cultures.