Description

A captivating, life-affirming memoir of a life in nature that celebrates finding wonder in our world.

‘A wonderful book… It has taught me a lot. I feel great love for it’ MAX PORTER

At the age of sixteen, Marc Hamer left home with only a rucksack and started walking. By day, he observed the animals and birds. By night, he slept under hedges, in woodlands and on riverbanks. It was the beginning of a life in nature.

Years later, now working as a gardener and mole-catcher in the Welsh countryside, Marc tells of the experiences that have shaped him and of the wonders that he encounters each day. He considers, too, the fascinating ways of the mole and the myths that surround this curious creature.

This beautiful, meditative book explores what nature can teach us about ourselves and our search for contentment. It is a celebration of living peacefully and finding joy in the world around us.

‘It is rare to encounter such respect and understanding of nature’ Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows

** Longlisted for The Wainwright Prize 2019 **

(Published in hardback as How to Catch a Mole)

Publisher Review

How to Catch a Mole is a beautiful, elegiac ode to a remarkable creature. It's also an exploration of Hamer's life as he approaches his sunset years. Each page is filled with wonder, love, regret, humility and a sense of wonder (and oneness) with nature. * Washington Post * This is a wonderful book about our relationship with the earth, with other animals and with our own troubled humanity. It has taught me a lot. I feel great love for it. -- Max Porter Not only a compelling meditation on the 'little gentleman in black velvet'...but also a fascinating, lyrical account of the loneliness and beauty of life on the margins, a memoir of vagrancy * Times Literary Supplement * How To Catch A Mole is a beguiling mixture: part autobiography, part handbook, part travel book, part philosophical treatise. I'm happy to report that it succeeds on each level -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday * From the first few words I knew I had encountered loving honesty and no one needs more than that. It is rare to encounter such respect and understanding of nature for herself. -- Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows