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Salt On Your Tongue

Women and the Sea
3.78 goodreads logo

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( 1,113 ratings, 202 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Salt On Your Tongue by Charlotte Runcie is an evocative exploration of the sea's profound significance, especially to women throughout history. Through mesmerising prose, the book delves into how the ocean has inspired, frightened, and fascinated humanity. Runcie takes readers on a journey alongside Turner, Shakespeare, the Romantic Poets, and shanty-singers, weaving together ancient Greek myths, shipwreck stories, Scottish folktales, and observations of beach life. It celebrates sailors, the women who awaited their return, marine creatures, and coastal wildlife, offering a rich reflection on the wild, untameable waves and what they reveal about our humanity.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in poetry, personal memoirs, women’s history, and nature writing, especially those drawn to maritime themes and cultural reflections on the sea. Fans of lyrical, thoughtful prose and explorations of mythology, art, and familial connections will find this book compelling.

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A lyrical exploration of the sea, how it inspires art, music and literature and how it connects us, from the Daily Telegraph's poetry critic.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'An ode to the ocean, and the generations of women drawn to the waves or left waiting on the shore' - Guardian.

In Salt On Your Tongue, Charlotte Runcie explores what the sea means to us, and particularly what it has meant to women through the ages. In mesmerising prose, she explores how the sea has inspired, fascinated, and terrified us, and how she herself fell in love with the deep blue.

This book is a walk on the beach with Turner, with Shakespeare, with the Romantic Poets and shanty-singers. It's an ode to our oceans - to the sailors who brave their treacherous waters, to the women who lost their loved ones to the waves, to the creatures that dwell in their depths, to beach-combers, swimmers, seabirds, and mermaids.

Navigating through ancient Greek myths, poetry, shipwrecks, and Scottish folktales, Salt On Your Tongue is about how the wild untameable waves can help us understand what it means to be human.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

This book has been praised for its lyrical and poetic style that blends personal memoir with cultural history. The Observer highlights Runcie's "cool confidence and unshowy clarity" and the book's collection of "pocketable treasures". The Times describes it as "intoxicating" and commends Runcie's sensitivity to language and landscape. The Guardian calls it "an ode to the ocean" featuring a "wide, eclectic cast of characters". The Daily Telegraph notes the book's "seductive" merger of memoir and scholarly reportage, emphasising Runcie's "beachcomber's mind and poet's turn of phrase".

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781786891211

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 January 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 264g

Pages: 384

About the Author

Charlotte Runcie is the Daily Telegraph's radio columnist and arts writer. For several years she lived and worked in Edinburgh, where she ran a folk-music choir, and she now lives in the Scottish Borders. She has a secret past as a poet, having been a Foyle Young Poet of the Year with a pamphlet published by tall-lighthouse. Salt On Your Tongue is her first book.

@charlotteruncie | charlotteruncie.com

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