New Swedish Books, autumn 2020 1
New Swedish Books 62 The Six Walls of Life The ju
ry: Absolutely wonderful! Lovely essays with stylistic flair. From Nina Burton, the 2016 winner of the August Prize for Non-Fiction, comes a beguiling and in many ways exceptional nature memoir, an homage to the natural world around us. What begins with a renovation of Nina Burton’s summer cottage swiftly turns into an exploration of nature, life and philosophy in the hands of this award-winning essayist. Within the walls, the ceiling and the floor of the cottage as well as its surrounding garden we encounter a host of animals—ants, honey bees, foxes, squirrels, blackbirds, badgers, pigeons and deer—making her house their home. This prompts Nina to explore all that is awe-inspiring and often delightfully surprising about each species. For instance, did you know that there are more Nina Burton ants in the world than there are seconds that have passed since the Big Bang? And that in relation to the size of an ant their anthill cities can be larger than London and New York? Or, that a bird’s migratory instinct is so strong that an injured stork who had escaped captivity was once found six weeks later having walked 150 kilometres, following the migratory path of his flock on foot? This and many other remarkable musings are woven together with scientific exploration in the absolutely captivating The Six Walls of Life. Here Nina reveals the inner lives and hitherto unknown habits of the animals with which she shares her enchanted space. An obvious heiress to the Swedish style of nature writing first made famous by Kerstin Ekman, Nina Burton writes with boundless enthusiasm and an inspiring curiosity, while enlightening the reader about the wider natural world. She transports us into her chirping, buzzing, humming sanctuary, letting us in on the hidden secrets of the animals who take up residence on our doorsteps and, through her book, also in our hearts. Nature Writing, 272 p. Nina Burton Publisher Albert Bonniers Förlag Rights Bonnier Rights Elisabet Brännström elisabet.brannstrom @bonnerrights.se Rights sold to Denmark/Kristeligt Dagblad. Germany/btb Verlag. Finland/Schildts & Söderströms Photo: Sara Mac Key