The Stream

by Brian Clarke

A few protesters aside, the announcement of an industrial park in a depressed rural area is widely welcomed, bringing with it the promise of new jobs, new blood and a return to prosperity. A few miles away, in a small valley with a stream running through it, the management of a farm passes from father to son after years of wrangling between them about the way it should be run. Over time - and unnoticed by anyone - the impact of the new development on the surrounding land and the effects on the valley of the way the farm is now managed begin to compound one another. The pressures are felt most powerfully in the stream. Little by little, the small creatures that live there, and the birds and animals dependent on it, become sucked into a mute and desperate struggle for survival...With this remarkable novel, Brian Clarke brings the lives that real animals lead into focus. THE STREAM follows the dramatic events that result when, little by little, creatures able to act solely by instinct fall victim to the everyday activities of the human beings around them. There are no villains in this story. What happens occurs quite by chance. But as the drama unfolds, THE STREAM raises powerful questions about priorities and about the kind of world we want - and are creating...

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[L.G. Cullens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars actually.

It's been awhile since I read this book, but reading a paper today on the multiple of ecosystem collapse causes brought it to mind.

The human characters in this story aren't well developed, intentionally so I believe in being indicative of broader human perception. It's a stream that is the focus, and its biodiversity which come to life. A different approach to presenting a story, the seeming repetition in this book depicts the gradual deterioration of the stream and its biodiversity.

Even without the synopsis, it isn't hard to know how the story ends.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book years ago. Sorry I don't remember details, but I do remember being amazed that the writing could convey such beautiful - and ominous - messages. The memory is vivid enough that I've put it on my To Be Read Again list.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll never look at life in and around a stream in the same way. It was beautifully depicted in this unusual, and rather sad, novel.

[Mark Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how to review this book and do it justice, but it's a wonderful, beautiful and extremely saddening read. If everyone could just read it, and if it could be compulsory reading in schools, maybe we might just learn something and be better custodians of the planet.
It's superbly written, and if you've any heart at all it will stay with you for a very long time. Clarke's understanding, and descriptions, of the the natural processes all living things go through, their irresistible drives, their delicate and critical inter-dependencies (and heartbreakingly how easily, carelessly and ignorantly they're all destroyed by man's parallel activities) are wonderfully and beautifully brought to the page. He avoids sentimentality or mawkishness, he doesn't take a side, he simply writes about what goes on in one fictional stream - and he writes it in such a way that you are drawn in and spellbound.
It's a short book, but with massive impact. Both a joy and a sadness to read. If you can read it and be the same person at the end that you were at the beginning, you have no heart or soul.
Read this book. Pass it on. Recommend it.

[Patrick Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s both a beautifully written book and a dire warning about man’s arrogance and stupidity driven solely by the profit motivation of capitalism. Without changing our value system to truly take into account the natural world and how it supports humans then we’re all doomed, it may not be in my lifetime or the next but eventually we’ll “use up” and destroy our environment.

[Sonia Fletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy read, but interesting. It's definitely worth a read if you're interested in the effect of climate change.

[Frederic · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, was too long, didn't finish it... Just couldn't catch my attention