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60° Nord
Das Buch erzählt von den Landschaften – in Grönland, Alaska, Sibirien, Finnland - und den Menschen dort, ihrer Geschichte und der wechselseitigen Prägung durch Mensch und Natur. Es ist jedoch auch eine intime Reise: Malachy Tallack hat den Verlust seines Vaters zu betrauern, und er hadert mit seiner Heimat. Durch die Auseinandersetzung mit den Themen Wildnis und Gemeinschaft, Isolation und Dialog, Exil und Gedächtnis, durch seinen klaren, kritischen Blick und die offene Selbsterforschung wird der Reisebericht des schottischen Autors zu einem anschaulichen, spannenden und sehr persönlichen Memoir.
Malachy Tallack begibt sich auf eine Reise entlang des 60. nördlichen Breitengrades, einmal rund um die Welt, und er beginnt und endet in Shetland, wo er den Großteil seines Lebens verbracht hat.
Malachy Tallack begibt sich auf eine Reise entlang des 60. nördlichen Breitengrades, einmal rund um die Welt, und er beginnt und endet in Shetland, wo er den Großteil seines Lebens verbracht hat.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2015
38 people are currently reading
1719 people want to read
About the author
Malachy Tallack
12 books120 followersMalachy Tallack has written three works of non-fiction – Sixty Degrees North, The Un-Discovered Islands and Illuminated by Water – and two novels, The Valley at the Centre of the World and That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz. He won a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust in 2014, and the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship in 2015. As a singer-songwriter he has released five albums and an EP, and performed in venues across the UK. He is from Shetland, and currently lives in Fife.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
July 15, 2016
You could probably hand me a phonebook from a cold weather island location and I would devour it. In this book the author writes about several places along the "sixty degrees north" parallel, with the unique fact that he comes from one of them. So he is writing about home and family (with the recent loss of his father) alongside the remote and unforgiving landscapes.
One of the cities he visits (Turku, Finland) is where one of my uncles is from. And I had yet to read anything set in the Shetland Islands, and they are now inching toward the top of the list of places I really want to see.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy through Edelweiss.
One of the cities he visits (Turku, Finland) is where one of my uncles is from. And I had yet to read anything set in the Shetland Islands, and they are now inching toward the top of the list of places I really want to see.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy through Edelweiss.
June 15, 2019
Sixty Degrees North is a travel book written in the 2000’s that was based on the author’s visits to each of the eight nations that lie along this northern parallel.
I enjoy books based on places. In this book the chapters on Finland, Sweden, Norway and Greenland were the most interesting. The Scandinavian towns were quaint and the author shared a great deal of interesting history particularly on Finland.
The chapters on the United States (Kenai peninsula), Canada (the Slave river) and Russia (Kamchatka) were not particularly interesting, too much 1st person. Unless it is humorous or dangerous then sharing stories on car rides, bus rides or hitchhiking experiences usually makes for a boring read. The author missed a real opportunity to share more about the environment and surroundings of the natural world, particularly in these very beautiful countries. I have been to the Alaskan towns in the book and they are much more scenic than described.
3 stars. While at times the history lessons were interesting a strong tie-in between the places and the 60th parallel was lacking. What did these places have in common other than lying on the same line of latitude. As far as rants, some chapters were written largely in the third person and others were written in 1st person — annoying. At the paragraph level the writing itself was fine and I did learn enough about a few areas that I’ve since added them to my travel bucket-list.
I enjoy books based on places. In this book the chapters on Finland, Sweden, Norway and Greenland were the most interesting. The Scandinavian towns were quaint and the author shared a great deal of interesting history particularly on Finland.
The chapters on the United States (Kenai peninsula), Canada (the Slave river) and Russia (Kamchatka) were not particularly interesting, too much 1st person. Unless it is humorous or dangerous then sharing stories on car rides, bus rides or hitchhiking experiences usually makes for a boring read. The author missed a real opportunity to share more about the environment and surroundings of the natural world, particularly in these very beautiful countries. I have been to the Alaskan towns in the book and they are much more scenic than described.
3 stars. While at times the history lessons were interesting a strong tie-in between the places and the 60th parallel was lacking. What did these places have in common other than lying on the same line of latitude. As far as rants, some chapters were written largely in the third person and others were written in 1st person — annoying. At the paragraph level the writing itself was fine and I did learn enough about a few areas that I’ve since added them to my travel bucket-list.
January 3, 2017
I didn't realise from the description of this book, that so much of it would be about the impact on the author of the death of his father when he was a teenager, and his search to resolve his feelings about this, and to find somewhere to live that felt like home. I wasn't interested in these parts.
The parts of the book that were actually about the countries that Malachy Tallack visited, were interesting in general. I was most interested in the sections about places that I have never visited, such as Greenland and Åland. I didn't learn much that was new to me about the places that I have already visited, such as Alaska and Canada.
There were some nice nature descriptions, and Malachy Tallack had a pleasant writing style in this book.
The parts of the book that were actually about the countries that Malachy Tallack visited, were interesting in general. I was most interested in the sections about places that I have never visited, such as Greenland and Åland. I didn't learn much that was new to me about the places that I have already visited, such as Alaska and Canada.
There were some nice nature descriptions, and Malachy Tallack had a pleasant writing style in this book.
December 16, 2015
When living and studying London Tallack’s father was sadly killed in a car accident. At a total loss he feels the pull of the Northern world once again. Once there he has trouble finding peace, feeling hollowed out by grief. Shetland is on the sixtieth latitude, just short of the Artic circle, and it crosses Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Siberia and Russia and Northern Europe. Whilst standing by a window looking out over the Atlantic begun to wonder what the other place were like that touched this line as it circled the earth.
He takes time to root himself in the place that is Shetland, travelling to places that are significant to him, marvelling at the Mousa Broch, an Iron age structure still standing, before beginning his odyssey travelling west around the world. But to get to the next country, Greenland, involves a fairly horrendous journey via Denmark and the Netherlands, and flying back over Shetland once again.
Greenland is vast, truly vast, and much colder than Shetland as it isn’t warmed by the Gulf Stream. It is wild too, something that he discovers when he meets the locals, who feel threatened by outsiders who wish to dictate how they should now live. The natives treasure their land, and until outside influences intruded, managed to live with some sort of balance. These external influences mean that the younger generation are now starting to loose some of their instincts for living in the harsh environment. Next is Canada, a country where 40% of its land is above the 60th parallel. It is a place of danger, but of refuge too; a place where people can truly escape the trials and tribulations of modern life. More worryingly for Tallak are bears. Lots of them. And as he is intending on camping at one point, he is getting really worried. Guided by the locals he discovers more than he was expecting about this place.
Alaska beckons. He fishes in a pristine river, with a guy he met in Copenhagen when he was an exchange student there. Spending a lot of his time driving around he comes to know the state and its astonishing scenery. Next is Siberia and Russia, that enormous landmass that reaches from the edge of Alaska to the European landmass and home to only 40 million people. It is a place that holds the ghosts of millions though having been the place of no return that Russians were banished too by regime after regime. The contrast between there and St Petersburg is startling. Built by Peter the Great, its access to the Baltic meant that it was a gateway to the west and is radically different to most other Russian cities. Tallack moves around the city on foot and on the metro discovering how the city lives and breathes.
Finally he crosses the border into Europe, and into Finland, Aland then Norway and Sweden. Finland is pretty unique, it has an utterly different language to its immediate neighbours, and has only been a separate country since the twentieth century. Partaking in a sauna was high on his agenda, not easy with his British reserve though. Aland is different again. It is owned by Finland, feels like Sweden but they themselves say how they are run. The final two countries are almost rushed though as the desire to return home gets more intense.
At times it feels like a regular travel book; author meets and greets the locals; sees the sights; collects some photos and makes you feel a little bit jealous that you are not there too. Usual travelogue fare, but with this book there is a lot more depth too. When Tallack is writing on the loss of his father and the emotional turmoil that this had on his life, there is a rawness and intimacy that you rarely come across in travel books. As he travels away from Shetland he is exploring his own feelings as much as the places he sees. There are few flaws, it is occasionally a little heavy on the history and sometimes the prose can seem a little wooden. Then every now and again you come across a short passage that makes you pause. Then the writing soars and really shows his talent as an author. Well worth reading, provided you don’t mind a little melancholy.
He takes time to root himself in the place that is Shetland, travelling to places that are significant to him, marvelling at the Mousa Broch, an Iron age structure still standing, before beginning his odyssey travelling west around the world. But to get to the next country, Greenland, involves a fairly horrendous journey via Denmark and the Netherlands, and flying back over Shetland once again.
Greenland is vast, truly vast, and much colder than Shetland as it isn’t warmed by the Gulf Stream. It is wild too, something that he discovers when he meets the locals, who feel threatened by outsiders who wish to dictate how they should now live. The natives treasure their land, and until outside influences intruded, managed to live with some sort of balance. These external influences mean that the younger generation are now starting to loose some of their instincts for living in the harsh environment. Next is Canada, a country where 40% of its land is above the 60th parallel. It is a place of danger, but of refuge too; a place where people can truly escape the trials and tribulations of modern life. More worryingly for Tallak are bears. Lots of them. And as he is intending on camping at one point, he is getting really worried. Guided by the locals he discovers more than he was expecting about this place.
Alaska beckons. He fishes in a pristine river, with a guy he met in Copenhagen when he was an exchange student there. Spending a lot of his time driving around he comes to know the state and its astonishing scenery. Next is Siberia and Russia, that enormous landmass that reaches from the edge of Alaska to the European landmass and home to only 40 million people. It is a place that holds the ghosts of millions though having been the place of no return that Russians were banished too by regime after regime. The contrast between there and St Petersburg is startling. Built by Peter the Great, its access to the Baltic meant that it was a gateway to the west and is radically different to most other Russian cities. Tallack moves around the city on foot and on the metro discovering how the city lives and breathes.
Finally he crosses the border into Europe, and into Finland, Aland then Norway and Sweden. Finland is pretty unique, it has an utterly different language to its immediate neighbours, and has only been a separate country since the twentieth century. Partaking in a sauna was high on his agenda, not easy with his British reserve though. Aland is different again. It is owned by Finland, feels like Sweden but they themselves say how they are run. The final two countries are almost rushed though as the desire to return home gets more intense.
At times it feels like a regular travel book; author meets and greets the locals; sees the sights; collects some photos and makes you feel a little bit jealous that you are not there too. Usual travelogue fare, but with this book there is a lot more depth too. When Tallack is writing on the loss of his father and the emotional turmoil that this had on his life, there is a rawness and intimacy that you rarely come across in travel books. As he travels away from Shetland he is exploring his own feelings as much as the places he sees. There are few flaws, it is occasionally a little heavy on the history and sometimes the prose can seem a little wooden. Then every now and again you come across a short passage that makes you pause. Then the writing soars and really shows his talent as an author. Well worth reading, provided you don’t mind a little melancholy.
October 11, 2018
“Geography begins at the only point of which we can be certain. It begins inside. And from there, from inside, rises a single question: where am I?” Tallack muses. This is a beautifully introspective book about the search for home and identity amidst the changes of time and the trappings of place. The goal of traveling across cold northern places makes it reminiscent of Joanna Kavenna’s The Ice Museum. However, a more telling comparison is with George Mackay Brown, chronicler of the Orkney Islands; like Brown, Tallack is interested in islands, both literally and metaphorically, as places of both isolation and authentic community.
See my full review at Nudge.
Related reading: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald and The Fish Ladder by Katharine Norbury similarly blend the nature book/travelogue genre with autobiographical material.
See my full review at Nudge.
Related reading: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald and The Fish Ladder by Katharine Norbury similarly blend the nature book/travelogue genre with autobiographical material.
March 10, 2016
"Home is not a place only but a condition of the heart"
After reading the first few pages of this book I could clearly see why Tallack would choose to write about home and the meaning of home and place.
Although he emphasises he was surrounded by love, his early years couldn't fail to affect him deeply. His parents separated and lived at different ends of the country. And then as a teenager he loses his dad in tragic circumstances - Tallack spends the day fishing and waits for his dad to pick him up. He never arrives - killed in a car accident. I doubt this book would ever have been written if this tragedy hadn't happened.
I really love the current popular genre of travel, personal memoir and history writing, and this is really superb. Thank goodness it doesn't have the often misguided attempts at humour and comedy writing that can mar other books. In fact this is a serious book, very introspective and shot through with a sadness and restlessness that can often feel sobering.
Maybe it's because I have a son a similar age to Tallack, but my mothering instincts often came to the fore. I worried about him as a mother worries. He can seem a little like a lost soul at times.
I really loved reading about his travels along the sixtieth parallel, often going way off any usual tourist trail. He's brave, determined, talented and a beautiful, thoughtful writer. Recommended.
After reading the first few pages of this book I could clearly see why Tallack would choose to write about home and the meaning of home and place.
Although he emphasises he was surrounded by love, his early years couldn't fail to affect him deeply. His parents separated and lived at different ends of the country. And then as a teenager he loses his dad in tragic circumstances - Tallack spends the day fishing and waits for his dad to pick him up. He never arrives - killed in a car accident. I doubt this book would ever have been written if this tragedy hadn't happened.
I really love the current popular genre of travel, personal memoir and history writing, and this is really superb. Thank goodness it doesn't have the often misguided attempts at humour and comedy writing that can mar other books. In fact this is a serious book, very introspective and shot through with a sadness and restlessness that can often feel sobering.
Maybe it's because I have a son a similar age to Tallack, but my mothering instincts often came to the fore. I worried about him as a mother worries. He can seem a little like a lost soul at times.
I really loved reading about his travels along the sixtieth parallel, often going way off any usual tourist trail. He's brave, determined, talented and a beautiful, thoughtful writer. Recommended.
February 7, 2017
Decent writing, but I didn't get (missed) a unifying theme. Struck me more as impressions of discrete locations, with a bit of memoir thrown in.
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December 16, 2018Reseña completa: https://ajustedeletras.wordpress.com/...
Harry W. Paige afirmaba que <>. Esto no significa que podamos encontrar el hogar en cualquier parte, sino que la relación entre las personas y los lugares es emocional …Es un proceso de arraigo en el que tiene que involucrarse el corazón
En 60 Grados Norte, su autor comienza el viaje, por un lado, como forma de dar respuesta a la pérdida de su padre; por otro como búsqueda vital en un intento de encontrar ese lugar al que llamar hogar. Además de ese hilo conductor que es duelo, el autor nos cuenta muchísimas curiosidades sobre los diferentes lugares que visita, el entorno y el respeto a la naturaleza son una constante en este viaje. Una de esas lecturas especiales y enriquecedoras que voy a tardar en olvidar.
July 17, 2015
BOTW
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b061q92dDescription: Marking a borderland between 'near' and 'far north', the sixtieth parallel wraps itself around the lower reaches of Finland, Sweden and Norway; it crosses the tip of Greenland and of South Central Alaska; it cuts the great spaces of Russia and Canada in half. The parallel also passes through Shetland, at the very top of the British Isles.
Writer Malachy Tallack travelled to some of the places that share this latitude, beginning in Shetland, where he has spent most of his life. Wrestling with notions of home and belonging, he hoped that the journey would help him come to terms with his father's untimely death. Focusing on the landscapes and natural environments of the parallel, and the way that people have interacted with those landscapes, Tallack explores themes of wildness and community, of isolation and engagement, of exile and memory.
Reader: Sandy Grierson
Writer: Malachy Tallack
Abridger: Laurence Wareing
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.
August 26, 2024
Sarebbero tre stelle e mezzo, quasi quattro perché ho trovato il libro piuttosto intrigante: mischia riflessioni e personaggi con luoghi inospitali e remoti immancabilmente su a nord ovvero quel super-luogo che rappresenta una dimensione del pensiero oltre a quella brutalmente fisica.
Ho trovato un pó dispersiva la tendenza all'introspezione continua dell'autore anche se comprendo che in un libro debba poterci stare anche questo: diciamo che assistere continuamente ad un rimuginamento personale a tratti non aiuta a seguire il percorso fisico e di pensiero del libro.
Comunque una lettura piacevole.
Ho trovato un pó dispersiva la tendenza all'introspezione continua dell'autore anche se comprendo che in un libro debba poterci stare anche questo: diciamo che assistere continuamente ad un rimuginamento personale a tratti non aiuta a seguire il percorso fisico e di pensiero del libro.
Comunque una lettura piacevole.
March 23, 2021
This is a travel book of the northern part of the world. Tallick starting off in Shetland visits Greenland, Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden and Finland. It is a mixture of culture, history and anthropology and examination of people’s relationship with the north.
I enjoyed this, it took me a little bit to properly get into, but then it was suddenly fascinating. I especially liked Tallicks observations of people and landscape. A brilliant travel book with a twist on normal themes.
I enjoyed this, it took me a little bit to properly get into, but then it was suddenly fascinating. I especially liked Tallicks observations of people and landscape. A brilliant travel book with a twist on normal themes.
July 17, 2015
From BBc Radio 4 - Book of the Week:
Marking a borderland between 'near' and 'far north', the sixtieth parallel wraps itself around the lower reaches of Finland, Sweden and Norway; it crosses the tip of Greenland and of South Central Alaska; it cuts the great spaces of Russia and Canada in half. The parallel also passes through Shetland, at the very top of the British Isles.
Marking a borderland between 'near' and 'far north', the sixtieth parallel wraps itself around the lower reaches of Finland, Sweden and Norway; it crosses the tip of Greenland and of South Central Alaska; it cuts the great spaces of Russia and Canada in half. The parallel also passes through Shetland, at the very top of the British Isles.
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January 10, 2023>>Von der Faszination des Nordens und der Suche nach einem Zuhause<<
"60°Nord" von Malachy Tallack ist leider ein Buch, das ich abgebrochen habe... Innerhalb dieses Reiseberichtes erzählt der schöttische Autor Malachy Tallack von wilden, geheimnisvollen Landschaften, von Grönland, Alaska, Sibirien und Finnland. Er berichtet über seine Reise und seine Begegnungen, während er dem 60. Grad nördlicher Breite folgt und doch mochte ich ihm nicht bis zum Ende folgen.
Neben schönen Beschreibungen der Landschaft etc. und interessanten Begegnungen blieb mir doch der zündende Funke verwehrt, der mir einfach etwas geben konnte. Sei es im Bezug auf die Natur, als auch die Dinge, die Tallack für sich mitnimmt auf dieser besonderen Reise.
Reiseberichte haben es grundsätzlich schwer, meinen Lesenerv an den richtigen Stellen zu treffen und hier fehlte leider eben auch das Maß an Tiefe, Gefühl und die Greifbarkeit dieser Reise.
Es fällt mir sehr schwer in Worte zu fassen, was genau für mich hier das Problem war... letztlich denke ich, wird das Buch sehr sehr vielen sehr gefallen, mein Buch war es einfach nicht...
"60°Nord" von Malachy Tallack ist leider ein Buch, das ich abgebrochen habe... Innerhalb dieses Reiseberichtes erzählt der schöttische Autor Malachy Tallack von wilden, geheimnisvollen Landschaften, von Grönland, Alaska, Sibirien und Finnland. Er berichtet über seine Reise und seine Begegnungen, während er dem 60. Grad nördlicher Breite folgt und doch mochte ich ihm nicht bis zum Ende folgen.
Neben schönen Beschreibungen der Landschaft etc. und interessanten Begegnungen blieb mir doch der zündende Funke verwehrt, der mir einfach etwas geben konnte. Sei es im Bezug auf die Natur, als auch die Dinge, die Tallack für sich mitnimmt auf dieser besonderen Reise.
Reiseberichte haben es grundsätzlich schwer, meinen Lesenerv an den richtigen Stellen zu treffen und hier fehlte leider eben auch das Maß an Tiefe, Gefühl und die Greifbarkeit dieser Reise.
Es fällt mir sehr schwer in Worte zu fassen, was genau für mich hier das Problem war... letztlich denke ich, wird das Buch sehr sehr vielen sehr gefallen, mein Buch war es einfach nicht...
July 8, 2016
Probably a 4.5.
This was a really lovely book and a joy to read. The prose is stunning and the premise engaging-- Tallack follows the 60th parallel westward, from his home in Shetland through Canada, Alaska, Siberia, St. Petersburg, and the Scandinavian countries back to home again. He's propelled by his grief and homesickness-- his father died when he was 16 and during the immediate months after, he dreams of following the 60th parallel. This dream slowly morphs into a certainty that if he were to do this, that the restlessness he felt at "home" would disappear and he'd be content, finally, to settle down in Shetland. Yet the journey does not accomplish this and ultimately he realizes that home isn't where you're born and raised, it's where you are most engaged.
This was a really lovely book and a joy to read. The prose is stunning and the premise engaging-- Tallack follows the 60th parallel westward, from his home in Shetland through Canada, Alaska, Siberia, St. Petersburg, and the Scandinavian countries back to home again. He's propelled by his grief and homesickness-- his father died when he was 16 and during the immediate months after, he dreams of following the 60th parallel. This dream slowly morphs into a certainty that if he were to do this, that the restlessness he felt at "home" would disappear and he'd be content, finally, to settle down in Shetland. Yet the journey does not accomplish this and ultimately he realizes that home isn't where you're born and raised, it's where you are most engaged.
February 11, 2024
Around the Globe in 52 Books
[Prompt: A Book with a Blue Cover]
Sixty Degrees North is about a man traveling across the Sixtieth Parallel in search of belonging. Prompted by his father's death many years ago, Malachy Tallack is attempting to cure his sense of homesickness, depression, and wanderlust soul by searching across the globe for a place to call his own. There are some great landmark places explored here (Shetland, Scotland, Alaska, Canada), and Malachy does a great job of not only representing the commoners here but as well as the history of the people and the land. There are plenty of amazing facts here that are very interesting, and he shares plenty of relatable stories with the locals that he meets, often restricted by language barriers and other social barriers as well. This book is very heartwarming and wonderful at times.
However for me, I admit this book felt a bit dry at times. I don't know if I really related to what Malachy was trying to say, or perhaps I just wasn't able to pick out some of the more important symbology and meanings he was trying to convey. This book is still a wonderful read, but it didn't just connect with me in a profoundly deep way.
[Prompt: A Book with a Blue Cover]
Sixty Degrees North is about a man traveling across the Sixtieth Parallel in search of belonging. Prompted by his father's death many years ago, Malachy Tallack is attempting to cure his sense of homesickness, depression, and wanderlust soul by searching across the globe for a place to call his own. There are some great landmark places explored here (Shetland, Scotland, Alaska, Canada), and Malachy does a great job of not only representing the commoners here but as well as the history of the people and the land. There are plenty of amazing facts here that are very interesting, and he shares plenty of relatable stories with the locals that he meets, often restricted by language barriers and other social barriers as well. This book is very heartwarming and wonderful at times.
However for me, I admit this book felt a bit dry at times. I don't know if I really related to what Malachy was trying to say, or perhaps I just wasn't able to pick out some of the more important symbology and meanings he was trying to convey. This book is still a wonderful read, but it didn't just connect with me in a profoundly deep way.
March 26, 2024
Racconto che ho trovato piacevole da leggere, ma un po' altalenante come stile e come contenuti.
Il libro racconta il viaggio del protagonista e autore lungo il 60 parallelo, dalle Shetland alla Groenlandia, al Canada, all'Alaska ecc. ecc fino a ritornare a "casa". Di ogni paese attraversato (ma dovrei dire toccato, in realtà il viaggio si focalizza sui punti attraversati dal 60 parallelo) l'autore racconta ciò che lo ha colpito, a volte un accenno di storia, altro di geografia, altro ancora un incontro, ma non approfondisce mai. Nel mezzo qualche racconto relativo alla sua vita, a spizzichi e mozzichi.
Un viaggio altrove e dento se stesso che però, nonostante il finale (almeno su carta) consolatorio non mi ha convinto del tutto. Ho avvertito pesantemente l'inquiestudine di Malachy Tallack, che almeno in questo agile volume non ha equilibrio o, per dirlo in musica, un centro di gravità pemanente o temporaneo.
Mi sono piaciute le descrizioni, anche evocative, a volte, e alcuni episodi, ma, pur trovandolo una lettura anche piacevole non mi ha del tutto convinta.
Il libro racconta il viaggio del protagonista e autore lungo il 60 parallelo, dalle Shetland alla Groenlandia, al Canada, all'Alaska ecc. ecc fino a ritornare a "casa". Di ogni paese attraversato (ma dovrei dire toccato, in realtà il viaggio si focalizza sui punti attraversati dal 60 parallelo) l'autore racconta ciò che lo ha colpito, a volte un accenno di storia, altro di geografia, altro ancora un incontro, ma non approfondisce mai. Nel mezzo qualche racconto relativo alla sua vita, a spizzichi e mozzichi.
Un viaggio altrove e dento se stesso che però, nonostante il finale (almeno su carta) consolatorio non mi ha convinto del tutto. Ho avvertito pesantemente l'inquiestudine di Malachy Tallack, che almeno in questo agile volume non ha equilibrio o, per dirlo in musica, un centro di gravità pemanente o temporaneo.
Mi sono piaciute le descrizioni, anche evocative, a volte, e alcuni episodi, ma, pur trovandolo una lettura anche piacevole non mi ha del tutto convinta.
November 1, 2018
Malachy Tallack's Sixty Degrees North: Around the World in Search of Home immediately appealed to me, and has been on my radar for such a long time. In it, the author charts his own journey as close as he can get to the sixty degree line - or sixtieth parallel - beginning his journey in his home on Shetland, a place which the line also passes through. This sixtieth parallel 'marks a borderland between the northern and southern worlds. Wrapping itself around the lower reaches of Finland, Sweden and Norway, it crosses the tip of Greenland and the southern coast of Alaska, and slices the great expanses of Russia and Canada in half.'
Robert Macfarlane calls this 'a brave book... and a beautiful book'. The Scotsman believes it to be 'so original, and so compelling'. Kirkus Reviews writes: 'A memoir remarkable for its intimacy, wisdom, and radiant prose... an enthralling meditation on place.' For me, the idea is quite an original one. I have read rather a lot of travelogues and travel memoirs, but no author whom I have come across to date has approached their journey in quite the way that Tallack has.
In Sixty Degrees North, 'Tallack travels westwards, exploring the differing landscapes to be found on the parallel, and the ways that different people have interacted with these landscapes, highlighting themes of wildness and community, isolation and engagement, exile and memory.' On beginning his journey, Tallack ruminates thus: 'Shetland lies at sixty degrees north of the equator, and the world map on our kitchen wall had taught me that, if I could see far enough, I could look out from that window across the North Sea to Norway, and to Sweden, then over the Baltic to Finland, to St Petersburg, then Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. If I could see far enough, my eyes would eventually bring me back, across the Atlantic Ocean, to where I was standing.'
Of his decision to travel around the sixty degree line, Tallack writes: 'It was curiosity, first of all. I wanted to explore the parallel, and to see those places to which my own place was tied. I wanted to learn about where I was and what it meant to be there. But finally, and perhaps most potently, it was homesickness that made me go. It was a desire to return to somewhere I belonged. My relationship with Shetland had always been fraught and undermined by my own past, and somehow I imagined that by going - by following the parallel around the world - that could change.' Woven throughout his travels, and the conversations which he has with those who inhabit the sixtieth parallel, is a dialogue about what home means, and how one can define it.
Tallack's writing throughout is rich and informative, and this is particularly so with regard to the descriptions which he weaves in to his narrative. He has such an understanding of, and an appreciation for, the natural world around him, and this comes through strongly in Sixty Degrees North. When beginning his journey in Shetland, he writes: 'Soon, the lavish green that had fringed the shore gave way to this heather and dark, peaty ground. The land flattened into a plateau of purple and olive, trenched and terraced where the turf had been cut. White tufts of bog cotton lay strewn about the hill. Shallow pools of black water crowded below the banks of peat and in the narrow channels that lolled between. I hopped from island to island of solid ground, trying to keep my coat dry...'.
Tallack also has an awareness of the history of each place which he visits, and the importance and impact which it still has. 'Shetland,' for instance, 'like other remote parts of Scotland, is scarred by the remnants of the past, by history made solid in the landscape. Rocks, reordered and rearranged, carry shadows of the people that moved them. They are the islands' memory. From the ancient field dykes and boundary lines, burnt mounds and forts, to the crumbling craft houses, abandoned by the thousands who emigrated at the end of the nineteenth century, the land is witness to every change, but it is loss that it remembers most clearly.' He realises not only the positive aspects of the places in which he finds himself, but also the negatives; he does not sugarcoat anything.
There is such a purpose to Tallack's travelogue, and he recognises just how unusual his choice of journey may seem to a lot of people. He writes: 'The journey north - in history, in literature, in the imagination - is a journey away from the centre of civilisation and culture, towards the unknown and the other.' Indeed, suggests Tallack, the north is often at odds with the south: 'The north is all that it contains. It is a place capable of change and diversity, a place immeasurable. It holds the preconceived, yes, but also the unimagined and the unimaginable.'
I have been lucky enough to travel to the majority of the countries which Tallack's journey covers, and it was fascinating to compare his experiences of each place with my own. I very much enjoyed Tallack's reflective writing style, which is layered with the details of geographical and personal history. He is insightful and fair as an author, and Sixty Degrees North is measured and immersive.
Robert Macfarlane calls this 'a brave book... and a beautiful book'. The Scotsman believes it to be 'so original, and so compelling'. Kirkus Reviews writes: 'A memoir remarkable for its intimacy, wisdom, and radiant prose... an enthralling meditation on place.' For me, the idea is quite an original one. I have read rather a lot of travelogues and travel memoirs, but no author whom I have come across to date has approached their journey in quite the way that Tallack has.
In Sixty Degrees North, 'Tallack travels westwards, exploring the differing landscapes to be found on the parallel, and the ways that different people have interacted with these landscapes, highlighting themes of wildness and community, isolation and engagement, exile and memory.' On beginning his journey, Tallack ruminates thus: 'Shetland lies at sixty degrees north of the equator, and the world map on our kitchen wall had taught me that, if I could see far enough, I could look out from that window across the North Sea to Norway, and to Sweden, then over the Baltic to Finland, to St Petersburg, then Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. If I could see far enough, my eyes would eventually bring me back, across the Atlantic Ocean, to where I was standing.'
Of his decision to travel around the sixty degree line, Tallack writes: 'It was curiosity, first of all. I wanted to explore the parallel, and to see those places to which my own place was tied. I wanted to learn about where I was and what it meant to be there. But finally, and perhaps most potently, it was homesickness that made me go. It was a desire to return to somewhere I belonged. My relationship with Shetland had always been fraught and undermined by my own past, and somehow I imagined that by going - by following the parallel around the world - that could change.' Woven throughout his travels, and the conversations which he has with those who inhabit the sixtieth parallel, is a dialogue about what home means, and how one can define it.
Tallack's writing throughout is rich and informative, and this is particularly so with regard to the descriptions which he weaves in to his narrative. He has such an understanding of, and an appreciation for, the natural world around him, and this comes through strongly in Sixty Degrees North. When beginning his journey in Shetland, he writes: 'Soon, the lavish green that had fringed the shore gave way to this heather and dark, peaty ground. The land flattened into a plateau of purple and olive, trenched and terraced where the turf had been cut. White tufts of bog cotton lay strewn about the hill. Shallow pools of black water crowded below the banks of peat and in the narrow channels that lolled between. I hopped from island to island of solid ground, trying to keep my coat dry...'.
Tallack also has an awareness of the history of each place which he visits, and the importance and impact which it still has. 'Shetland,' for instance, 'like other remote parts of Scotland, is scarred by the remnants of the past, by history made solid in the landscape. Rocks, reordered and rearranged, carry shadows of the people that moved them. They are the islands' memory. From the ancient field dykes and boundary lines, burnt mounds and forts, to the crumbling craft houses, abandoned by the thousands who emigrated at the end of the nineteenth century, the land is witness to every change, but it is loss that it remembers most clearly.' He realises not only the positive aspects of the places in which he finds himself, but also the negatives; he does not sugarcoat anything.
There is such a purpose to Tallack's travelogue, and he recognises just how unusual his choice of journey may seem to a lot of people. He writes: 'The journey north - in history, in literature, in the imagination - is a journey away from the centre of civilisation and culture, towards the unknown and the other.' Indeed, suggests Tallack, the north is often at odds with the south: 'The north is all that it contains. It is a place capable of change and diversity, a place immeasurable. It holds the preconceived, yes, but also the unimagined and the unimaginable.'
I have been lucky enough to travel to the majority of the countries which Tallack's journey covers, and it was fascinating to compare his experiences of each place with my own. I very much enjoyed Tallack's reflective writing style, which is layered with the details of geographical and personal history. He is insightful and fair as an author, and Sixty Degrees North is measured and immersive.
February 3, 2022
I liked the idea of this book. Often, as a child, I used to trace my finger round the globe and try to imagine the places and people who existed on the same latitude as I did. And I’ve always felt drawn to places further north. Tallack’s description of the Carta Marina of Olaus Magnus – the first proper map of Scandinavia – encouraged me to read more about it.
Some other reviewers feel that there is a bit too much introspection about the author’s loss of his father when he was a teenager. I disagree: I didn’t feel this was overdone, but on the contrary rather moving – the ending in particular. The only thing I didn’t really like was that occasionally there are some boringly predictable political musings which remind one the author wrote for the Guardian. Nevertheless, this is an interesting meditation not just about interesting places and people but about grief, loss, and what it means to be “at home”.
Some other reviewers feel that there is a bit too much introspection about the author’s loss of his father when he was a teenager. I disagree: I didn’t feel this was overdone, but on the contrary rather moving – the ending in particular. The only thing I didn’t really like was that occasionally there are some boringly predictable political musings which remind one the author wrote for the Guardian. Nevertheless, this is an interesting meditation not just about interesting places and people but about grief, loss, and what it means to be “at home”.
Read
February 20, 2020A mixture of a travelogue and an (approaching) mid-life memoir, Mallachy Tallack's journey around the 60th parallel is a great read. He intersperses great description of northern stop-offs (sometimes you want to read sentences over and over again they're so vivid) with expertly observed snippets of other people's lives.
But it's when he reflects on his own life, before and after the early death of his father, and how this trip is both an escape and reappreciation of his Shetland home (and whether home really ever is home) that 60 Degrees North really shines.
For lovers of travel and words in equal measures. A really solid debut.
But it's when he reflects on his own life, before and after the early death of his father, and how this trip is both an escape and reappreciation of his Shetland home (and whether home really ever is home) that 60 Degrees North really shines.
For lovers of travel and words in equal measures. A really solid debut.
February 9, 2023
60 Grad Nord. Was ist da für ein Leben? Diesem Entdeckungsdrank begibt sich Mallachy Talleck und besucht mit seinen Messgeräten die Punkte dieser Breitengrade. Er reist nach Sibirien, Norwegen, Schweden und sämtliche andere Ortschaften, die ganz besondere Lebensbedingungen haben.
Es ist ein Buch geprägt von persönlichen Anekdoten und Memoiren mit zeitgleich geschichtlichen Backgrounds zu den Orten.
Es ist ein Buch geprägt von persönlichen Anekdoten und Memoiren mit zeitgleich geschichtlichen Backgrounds zu den Orten.
July 10, 2015
I bought this book as I suspected it would resonate with me and my own background/struggle with identity around the concept of 'home' and that it did. For that reason it'll resonate with many. Tallack's writing is fluid but also factual, emotional without being heavy handed. A treat to read.
March 21, 2025
I am envious of the author undertaking this journey, though I have spent time in many of the destinations he visits, and intend to spend far more time in Shetland, Norway, Finland and Canada in the next years.
However, Tallack's writing is not inspirational. He regurgitates history without getting across any real feel for it. His anecdotes are ordinary. He relates too few accounts of meeting local people and experiencing their culture. But most of all, he can't get across to the reader his love of anywhere except his home.
There are a few travel writers who have taken on similar journeys, I think of Sara Maitland and Erika Fatland, and their accounts are far superior to this.
However, Tallack's writing is not inspirational. He regurgitates history without getting across any real feel for it. His anecdotes are ordinary. He relates too few accounts of meeting local people and experiencing their culture. But most of all, he can't get across to the reader his love of anywhere except his home.
There are a few travel writers who have taken on similar journeys, I think of Sara Maitland and Erika Fatland, and their accounts are far superior to this.
August 4, 2017
My daughter gave me this for my birthday, but would not have recognised that the quote from Robert McFarlane on the cover made it immediately attractive to me. It is a travel book, like so many describing a particular journey, this time westwards along the 60th parallel from, and, very significantly, back to Shetland. But it is much more than that, it is about home, for Tallack himself and many of the peoples he comes into contact with on his journey. Whilst it does not reach, or even attempt, MacFarlane's lyricism, the writing is always interesting. I learned a lot about places, some of which I had never even heard of before, and I enjoyed reading it. I will keep an eye out for more of his writing and will seek out his music.
March 29, 2023
Die Shetlandinseln waren lange die Heimat des Schriftstellers und Songwriters Malachy Tallack. Er ist aus Liebe auf eine der kleineren Inseln der Shetlands gezogen, aber seine Heimat hat er dort noch nicht wirklich gefunden. Doch das ist nur einer der Gründe, warum er sich auf eine ungewöhnliche Reise begibt. Er reist von den Shetlands rund um die Welt, immer entlang des 60. nördlichsten Breitengrads, auf dem auch seine Heimatinseln liegen. So ist er immer mit dem Ausgangspunkt seiner Reise verbunden- egal, wo er sich auch gerade befindet.
"Wo bin ich?", das ist die zentrale Frage des Buchs. Damit meint Malachy Tallack nicht nur einen Punkt auf der Landkarte, sondern auch den Punkt, an dem er sich gerade in seinem Leben befindet. Auf der Landkarte führt ihn sein Weg nach Grönland, Alaska, Sibirien, Russland und zwischendurch auch immer wieder nach Hause. Manchmal ist es eine Reise in die Vergangenheit, denn einige Orte hat er schon einmal besucht.
So wird die Reise auch eine Reise zu sich selbst. Malachy Tallack gibt viel Privates preis. Er erzählt von der Trennung seiner Eltern, dem Tod seines Vaters und auch immer wieder der Suche nach sich selbst. Je länger er unterwegs ist, desto mehr erkennt er, dass die Wildnis nicht unbedingt immer weit entfernt von der Zivilisation ist. Und manchmal erlebt man auch auf einer typischen Touristenunternehmung etwas Besonderes und Unerwartetes, man muss nur die Augen offenhalten. Und je länger er von den Shetlands entfernt ist, desto mehr erkennt Malachy, wie sehr er dort verwurzelt ist.
Trotzdem gibt es für ihn und die Inseln kein Happy End. Er hat die Inseln verlassen und lebt jetzt in Stirlingshire und muss erkennen, dass man erst wirklich über den Norden schreiben kann, wenn man ihn verlassen hat.
Malachy Tallack hat einen besonderen Reisebericht geschrieben. Er erzählt von den Orten, die er bereist und von den Menschen, die er trifft. Außerdem wirft er bei jedem Land immer einen Blick auf Geschichte und Kultur des jeweiligen Landes. Dabei ist er sehr offen und hat mich an seinen Gedanken und Erinnerungen teilhaben lassen. So hatte ich mehr das Gefühl, ihn auf seinen Reisen zu begleiten, als nur darüber zu lesen. Das hat das Buch für mich zu einer runden Sache gemacht.
"Wo bin ich?", das ist die zentrale Frage des Buchs. Damit meint Malachy Tallack nicht nur einen Punkt auf der Landkarte, sondern auch den Punkt, an dem er sich gerade in seinem Leben befindet. Auf der Landkarte führt ihn sein Weg nach Grönland, Alaska, Sibirien, Russland und zwischendurch auch immer wieder nach Hause. Manchmal ist es eine Reise in die Vergangenheit, denn einige Orte hat er schon einmal besucht.
So wird die Reise auch eine Reise zu sich selbst. Malachy Tallack gibt viel Privates preis. Er erzählt von der Trennung seiner Eltern, dem Tod seines Vaters und auch immer wieder der Suche nach sich selbst. Je länger er unterwegs ist, desto mehr erkennt er, dass die Wildnis nicht unbedingt immer weit entfernt von der Zivilisation ist. Und manchmal erlebt man auch auf einer typischen Touristenunternehmung etwas Besonderes und Unerwartetes, man muss nur die Augen offenhalten. Und je länger er von den Shetlands entfernt ist, desto mehr erkennt Malachy, wie sehr er dort verwurzelt ist.
Trotzdem gibt es für ihn und die Inseln kein Happy End. Er hat die Inseln verlassen und lebt jetzt in Stirlingshire und muss erkennen, dass man erst wirklich über den Norden schreiben kann, wenn man ihn verlassen hat.
Malachy Tallack hat einen besonderen Reisebericht geschrieben. Er erzählt von den Orten, die er bereist und von den Menschen, die er trifft. Außerdem wirft er bei jedem Land immer einen Blick auf Geschichte und Kultur des jeweiligen Landes. Dabei ist er sehr offen und hat mich an seinen Gedanken und Erinnerungen teilhaben lassen. So hatte ich mehr das Gefühl, ihn auf seinen Reisen zu begleiten, als nur darüber zu lesen. Das hat das Buch für mich zu einer runden Sache gemacht.
July 6, 2019
por FIN se acabó. mi parte favorita era la última línea
December 27, 2019
In some ways this introspective book is as much about the author as the places he goes along the 60th parallel north, though it is an adequate travel book as such. It's a very quick read.
August 18, 2024
È splendido, di una delicatezza incredibile. Immagino che le 3 e le 4 stelline arrivino da persone che non hanno la stessa sintonia emotiva e spirituale con il Nord che ha l'autore (e anche io).
March 11, 2018
I am in big fat love with this book. It's an engrossing, personal narrative with a good overview of the history of the places traveled to. Favorite quotes:
"They held on to their way of life even as it became impossible, as though familiarity itself could offer them some kind of protection."
"They created monuments to selective memory, and to the terrible absence of doubt."
Amazing and highly recommended.
"They held on to their way of life even as it became impossible, as though familiarity itself could offer them some kind of protection."
"They created monuments to selective memory, and to the terrible absence of doubt."
Amazing and highly recommended.
August 6, 2017
A beautiful book. Billed as travel writing (it was a notable NY Times book in that category I believe), for me it really is more a blend of nature writing (closely observed and deeply felt) and poetry mixed with a sense of how place and history, even pre-history, defines us and our longing to belong. The author travels around the world looking for home in the aftermath of his father's sudden death in a car crash. He starts out in the Shetland Islands, where he moved to live with his mother after his parents had divorced before his father's untimely death, and follows the latitude that defines that place to spots in Iceland, Canada, Alaska, Russia, and Finland, not necessarily in that order.
October 21, 2018
Mallachy Tallack has spent a lot of his life in Shetland. Shetland is on the Northern Hemisphere's 60 degrees parallel. In this book he travels round the world, exploring the different places where this particular parallel hits land. First to Greenland and Canada, through Alaska, and then Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
There are some interesting bits and pieces, but this was really not what I wanted. I've been finding this more and more in non-fiction, both in books and in TV, where it seems to be frowned upon to just have it be about the particular topic, and there's more and more emphasis on the person creating the work. You get a bit about the topic that drew you in and made you buy the book or watch the programme, but this comes along a big helping of "the journey" of the creator, or their musings on whatever... grief, the loneliness of modern life, environmental degradation. The thing is, most times, I don't care! That was the case here. The personal stuff was not why I picked up the book. I wanted to know about these places! Seriously, this approach seems to be everywhere. Have you ever searched for a recipe online and ended up having to read through paragraphs and paragraphs about how the writer's daughter loves this food and how the first time they made it it reminded them of their childhood? Well, that, but in a more literary style.
If the musings had been what I was after, I may have enjoyed this book. As it was, I didn't much. To be completely fair, there is a hint of what's inside on the back cover blurb. I should have read it more carefully and avoided.
MY GRADE: A C-.
There are some interesting bits and pieces, but this was really not what I wanted. I've been finding this more and more in non-fiction, both in books and in TV, where it seems to be frowned upon to just have it be about the particular topic, and there's more and more emphasis on the person creating the work. You get a bit about the topic that drew you in and made you buy the book or watch the programme, but this comes along a big helping of "the journey" of the creator, or their musings on whatever... grief, the loneliness of modern life, environmental degradation. The thing is, most times, I don't care! That was the case here. The personal stuff was not why I picked up the book. I wanted to know about these places! Seriously, this approach seems to be everywhere. Have you ever searched for a recipe online and ended up having to read through paragraphs and paragraphs about how the writer's daughter loves this food and how the first time they made it it reminded them of their childhood? Well, that, but in a more literary style.
If the musings had been what I was after, I may have enjoyed this book. As it was, I didn't much. To be completely fair, there is a hint of what's inside on the back cover blurb. I should have read it more carefully and avoided.
MY GRADE: A C-.
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