Salmon out of water

I have very recently finished reading Kings of the Yukon by Adam Weymouth - an account of a beautiful journey, starting in Canada and - 2,000 miles later - finishing in Alaska. The inspiration came from the simple fact I don't really get to go on exciting trips, due to money and, if I'm very honest, company (those I would really choose as travel partners unfortunately have even less time or money than me, and otherwise I'm a total loner). So when I picked up Kings of the Yukon, it suddenly opened my eyes to a whole genre I have so far avoided, albeit unintentionally.

What did I like about it?
I found the visual powers of his writing very strong. Adam is very good at painting a picture not just of the scenery but of the smells, sounds, atmosphere and even his own mindset. This makes the book extremely engaging. From his fear of encountering bears through his awe of nature and to the lives of people he meets, he doesn't let the reader forget that what he is writing about are true events and places.

His entire adventure is fantastical. You get a real sense of just how much he was able to connect with nature on his trip, being surrounded by miles and miles of uninhibited land, and was easily able to make me jealous. It's captivating, and hard to imagine. It reads almost like fiction, being so far away from anything I've ever seen. And the top tip: when I finished, I immediately jumped on Google Earth to scout some pictures of Alaska and the Yukon - not finding much, but what I saw felt like a tale of fiction coming to life. It's amazing that these places and people and traditions actually exist, and Adam brings us right into the middle of it. Recommend watching the BBC's Alaska mini-series afterwards.

Another point is that this book is extremely timely. A lot of the issues discussed here are closely related to global warming and our exploiting natural resources to the last drop - it reminded me of the ideas and predictions in Homo Deus. It's saddening to think that unless we all collaborate - and is that even possible? - our earth, our way of life will continue to change radically.

And finally - in case you were wondering where the salmon comes in - the trip and research is centred around the salmon population of the Yukon, and Earth itself. Not only do we learn fascinating details about the life cycle of the salmon, you will also never look at your supermarket salmon fillet the same way. (Keep an eye out for a juicy secret on M&S salmon especially.)

What was I not massively fond of?
Not much, but I did feel that in some places the structure of the book took an odd turn. That is to say, sometimes Adam would hand over the voice of the narrator to some unintroduced individuals, and although they continue just as well, it still feels a bit odd as a reader. It also jumps back and forth in time a little, which can get confusing.

I also found that sometimes his writing became a bit too poetic for my liking - a little too romantic, a little clichéd, perhaps. It has to be said though that this type of language definitely does not work when spoken out loud - see Adam's TEDx video to get a gist of what I mean (and see if you agree). But then again, that's why he's a travel writer and not a travel public speaker.

Overall...
Despite some personal preferences, I very much enjoyed Adam's book and would highly recommend this beautiful piece of travel writing to anyone dreaming of a wild adventure, or just curious to learn something new. Adam is extremely experienced and has clearly done a massive amount of research in writing the book, and his knowledge comes across crystal clear. Well done to Particular Books for getting this into our hands.

8/10