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The Catch
- Fishing for Ted Hughes
- Narrated by: Mark Wormald
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
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The Catch
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Summary
Bloomsbury presents The Catch by Mark Wormald, read by Mark Wormald.
It is in the midst of a swirling river, casting a line, that Mark Wormald meets Ted Hughes.
He stands where the poet stood, 40 years ago, because fishing was Ted Hughes’ way of breathing—and because Ted’s writing has made Mark understand that it has always been his way of breathing, too.
Using Ted Hughes’s collection of poems, River, and his fishing diaries as a guide, Mark returns again and again to the places where Ted Hughes fished. At times, he uses the fly patterns Ted recommended, at others, he uses his rods. It is an obsession, a fundamental connection to nature, a thrilling wildness, an elemental pursuit. But it is also a release and a consolation, as he fishes after the sudden death of his mother and during the slow fading of his father.
A brilliant blend of memoir and biography, The Catch is a stunning meditation on poetry and nature, and a quiet reflection on what it means to be a father and a son.
Critic reviews
"What a marvellous book The Catch is: a time-slipping, genre-shifting exploration of lives and landscapes, in which poetry, memoir and biography swirl and braid most beautifully together. Obsessive, passionate and deep-pooled, Wormald's pursuit of Hughes becomes, over its course, unexpectedly and movingly personal: a journey inwards in spirit as well as backwards in time, moving against the flow. The Catch leaves both its writer and its reader—borrow a phrase from the book itself—wonderfully 'lost in water'." (Robert Macfarlane)
"What an absolute gem this is. Mark Wormald's love of angling and of Ted Hughes’ poetry come together beautifully. I was delightfully lost by the river throughout." (Paul Whitehouse)
"A torrent of a book, its swirling deeps and dark backwaters lit with hard-won insight." (Luke Jennings)
What listeners say about The Catch
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew C.
- 18-03-23
A wonderfully read book that I thoroughly enjoyed
After hearing Mark read a part of his book at The Arundel Arms, I was delighted it was on audible. knowing some of the rivers but having never read any of Ted Hughes' poetry this book has not only introduced me to Ted's work but also changed the way I see the rivers I fish like the West Dart and Taw.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- anthonymartin1054
- 10-04-23
Magnificent truly amazing
If your into fishing you’ll get this ….
Im finding this intoxicating…. What a gift … passionate, listening too this is like romantic meditation a master piece
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ladylise
- 26-09-23
A compelling and unforgettable read
I don't fish myself but I love any book that promises to transport me to a natural landscape and immerse me in a meditative activity, like fishing. I'm also an admirer of Ted Hughes's poetry so The Catch was a rather obvious choice for me. I have not been disappointed. Mark Wormald's passion for his subject - I should say subjects: the book centres on Hughes the man, the poet and, above all, the fisherman - is evident and compelling. He transports his reader back and forth in time, drawing careful, tender comparisons between Hughes's life as a fisherman, father, poet and his own. The touch points are varied and interesting: the same room in a Cambridge college, Devon rivers, poetry, a deep and abiding love of salmon and pike and, most touchingly of all, the deep and unfathomable love between father and son. Wormald explores these complex and vast themes with a searing compassion and honesty. I thoroughly enjoyed his dogged pursuit of Hughes: following his footsteps across meadows, rivers, counties, countries and even continents in his efforts to pin him down; each journey peppered by stillness, by reflection and the kind of deepening Hughes spent his creative life searching for.
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