The Living Mountain (Canons): A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland

A quality piece of travel writing centred around the Cairngorms in Scotland. I think the short book was written in the 1930s + the area was far less touristy than now + consequently she often on her rambles had the whole area to herself. She has a masterly prose style which makes the book exceptional; eg. at one point,contemplating a classic scene of a loch circled by rugged escarpment's, she writes about "the landscape owning the silence." Highly recommended.

I read and thoroughly enjoyed this quite wonderful love letter to the Cairngorms two years ago. Last week, I did something I rarely ever do , I re read it, a result of having taken a short walking holiday in these fascinating mountains in late May with warm sunshine aplenty but still much snow in the corries. Having been there and experienced just a little of this landscape that Nan Shepherd knew and loved so well, what was good now seems to have become inspirational and deeply moving ,in a way I normally only find with a great poem. There are so few places left in these Isles, perhaps none in England where grandeur, solitude, danger and beauty combine to such effect and certainly nowhere which has stirred such empathy, warmth and perceptive writing. Nam takes such pleasure in being in the landscape and for us there is the deep pleasure of sharing this with her. Hopefully, her powerful poems will soon be available on Kindle too but be no in doubt, this book will satisfy you in ways only the finest view or the finest dram or the finest love can ever do

Good read

This has to be one of the best things I’ve read this year. How the author sees the mountains astonishes me, the descriptions, the history! This is the Cairngorms brought to life on the page in vivid emotional detail. The front matter by poet Robert Macfarlane is also stunning.

A book written in the 40s, printed in the 70s and republished more recently. Chapter after chapter of exquisite accounts of the Cairngorms and the animals and people there in a different time. So an important historical document of a much lost world. But Nan Shepherd conjures up paintings through her words. An antidote to the internet everything all at once era.

Like many other reviewers, this short book has had real a affect on me. Although, as the title suggests, its about mountains, (and is specifically about the Cairngorms), more fundamentally it is about nature and our human relationship with nature. For this reason I think anyone interested in nature could get something from it. I always thought I was quite aware of nature, wildlife, light etc. I spend a lot of time outside, walking, cycling, watching wildlife. But this book made me realise I'd hardly even begun to look or listen. I don't even know my own back garden as well as Nan Shepherd got to know a mountain range! Its also so refreshing to read a book about mountainsthat doesn't involve 'conquering' them. There are a few amazing wildlife experiences described but mostly she opens our eyes and our minds to the beauty in the ordinary - things we could all see every day if only we took the time to see them. It has become one of my favourite books ever and I have alreday re-read parts. My copy had a rather long winded introduction by Robert MacFarlane. Nan speaks very well for herself without the need for this!

Nan Shepherd is nothing like a household name, but this is likely to change as I understand her face is about to appear on the Scottish £5 note. This is the only book of hers I have read but it would seem to me that an increase in her profile is well deserved. Although this is a small book, the prose is so beautiful and dense that it is jam packed with thoughts and ideas. Nan Shepherd is a very close observer of the world around her; in this case the Cairngorms mountains on her doorstep. In reading this book I was reminded of books such as Annie Dillard's Pilgrim At Tinker Creek and the Summer and Winter books of Tove Jansson. What these three female writers share is an ability to go deep into the local world around them rather than to travel widely (and inevitably provide a more shallow experience). Although small, the book is very difficult to pin down succinctly because it has many elements to it, including autobiography, philosophy (particularly on the subject of knowledge), sociology and, of course, natural history. This book may well end up being considered a classic of its type and should be read slowly and probably read multiple times.

Fascinating book about the Cairngorms.

I love this book, and I’m puzzled by some of the low starring reviewers irritated by the fact that it isn’t a travel guide to the Cairngorms. It is, as the author writes, “a tale of my traffic with a mountain.” It’s a 108 page meditation on encounter, and as others here testify, it’s extraordinarily beautiful. I only have two complaints, and neither of them have anything to do with Nan Shepherd’s writing. First, Robert Macfarlane’s ponderous introduction nearly drove me away from the book with horsewhips and clouds of biting flies before I had ever reached a single word of the author’s own gracious prose. Also, I can’t tell you how irrationally bothered I am by the fact that my Canongate edition has a photograph of an American pronghorn antelope on the cover. Love the animal, but it doesn’t belong here. I guess someone thought any four-legged thing standing in the snow would do.

I had bought the book for a member of the family. I am informed, it is a very good book on nature and offers a vivid experience.

Fue un regalo de cumpleaños para un escocés que vive fuera de su país. El libro le encantó. Dijo que era como estar en casa, pues las descripciones que hace la autora de los paisajes son una obra de arte que le transportaron a su tierra.

This was one of the books I gave my husband for Christmas. It arrived on time, was well packaged and so was in pristine condition. It is a very beautiful book and he is enjoying it. Many thanks, Mary

Pour la poésie des matières : couleurs, lumières, éléments. La sensualité de la nature par une auteure qui n'a eu de cesse d'arpenter ses montagnes, le massif des Cairngorms en Ecosse.