The Ponies At The Edge Of The World: On nature, belonging and finding home

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The author, an anthropologist, transports you to Shetland with her descriptions of the landscape in beautiful language. Shetlanders describe the islands as being a part of them, as being in their blood, and that wherever they go in the world they will always call the islands home.” Memories of books read long ago and relationships that ended return to haunt the narrator of this prize-winning Swedish novel when she is laid low with a fever. Often, they’re inextricably linked: a copy of Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy, for instance, is inscribed to her girlfriend, while a waterlogged copy of Birgitta Trotzig’s The Marsh King’s Daughter is all that remains of her friendship with former housemate Niki. The nonlinear narrative renders the protagonist both vivid and obscure – the perfect conduit for this compelling, uncannily precise meditation on transience. Uprooting Against Munro’s journey to understand the ponies is set her own desire to have a family. When tragedy hits it is the natural world and the animals that inhabit it that provide the comfort and hope she needs to move forward.

Munro is an anthropologist by training. She has an affinity and connection with the Shetland Isles, and a fascination with its native animals, particularly Shetland ponies. Her PhD was specifically about the relationship between the islanders who breed and maintain the integrity of the ponies, and the animals they are fostering. For her research, she spent more than a year living on one of the islands, and visiting others to spend time with the pony communities – both the people and the equines. This is an account of all that, and of intense changes, both of loss, and of personal growth, which she found. I have newfound appreciation for Shetland’s remarkable animals after reading this. I also have greater awareness of my own connection to nature and the world around me. The Ponies at the Edge of the World is equal parts magic, moving, and pretentious, but overall, I enjoyed my time there and look forward to visiting this remarkable part of the world someday. When faced with personal loss, Catherine finds comfort and connection in the shared lives of the people, animals and wild landscapes of Shetland. The Ponies at the Edge of the World is a heartfelt love letter to the beauty and resilience of these magical ponies and their native land. This is a stunning book on community, hope and finding home. Despite vivid descriptions, I found myself Googling areas to gain better understanding of the landscape and locations. Some photos, maps or a few sketches would’ve really helped. Munro, in my mind, joins with Olivia Laing and Helen Macdonald, in her ability to write precisely and beautifully about place, inform and educate, but in a very dynamic and engaged manner. She herself is changed and expanded by her subject matter, and her readers become similarly engaged and present in relationship with the subject

CATEGORIES

A meditative, exultant sojourn that illuminates the importance of working with nature, and of its importance in all we do and experience, and of living in the moment.' Polly Pullar, author of A DROP IN THE OCEAN I was glad to gain knowledge on a part of the world I knew next to nothing about but really wound up mesmerized by the loving exchanges between the different species bringing a true sense of symbiosis between man and nature. The author shares a beautiful journey to try and understand the island and all the living creatures that compose it. This is such a wonderful book and I will definitely be reading it again to see what I missed first time round.

Catherine Munro and her husband move to Shetland for a year so that she can study the Shetland ponies for a thesis she is writing. This book beautifully interweaves the information she garners about the ponies and those who care for them with her experience of adapting to island life and her own personal journey toward a place of belonging. The Shetland isles and Shetland ponies, the double-down dream, woven with admiration, the narrator's craft, and some healthy, clear-eyed insight. I damn loved it' John Lewis-Stempel, bestselling author of MEADOWLAND I so enjoyed this beautifully wise reflection on how the lives and existences of humans and animals are inextricably linked. Set on the wild, wind-blown hills of Shetland, this is a wonderful journey of exploration into the lives of Shetland ponies and the people that love them, care for them and breed them. It is such a celebration of man and nature existing together, her descriptions of the natural world so precise and vivid, it made me long to visit these remote and wild islands at the edge of the world. At the Edge of the World is a 2008 documentary which chronicles the efforts of animal rights activist Paul Watson and 45 other volunteers, who set out in two Sea Shepherd ships to hinder the Japanese whaling fleet in the waters around Antarctica. The film won Best Environmental Film at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Director and Producer Dan Stone would later produce the first season of Whale Wars. It depicts what went on during this excursion, with clips of beautiful scenery, news clips, whaling in action, and life on the ship.Intelligent in observation and precise and elegant in her writing, Catherine Munro shows how people and animals live and respond to each other, particularly in island communities like Shetland. She shows great insight into the way both the seasons and the sea's strong winds affect people in places like these' Donald S Murray, author of In a Veil of Mist Catherine moves to Shetland as part of research for her Ph.D., studying the relationships between animals and humans. This is a beautiful account of her time among the islanders, both human and animal.

I had drifted, gotten lost, strayed from the paths and places I love. I felt Shetland calling me, and in this moment, I began my slow, imperfect journey towards finding home.

It will get you thinking about your own encounters with animals and where your place is, the one that most represents ‘home’ and your own sense of belonging. It’s impossible not to reflect on this, such is the thought-provoking exploration of these themes by Catherine. It also got me thinking of my grandfather and his close bonds to farm animals and nature’s signs. Catherine Munro’s wondrous book is in a particular genre I adore, when it is done well. And this is. The genre is factual, often about history, the natural world, the arts – but what is special is that the author, however well researched and informative they are, observe their own involvement and engagement with the subject being written about, A meditation on connection between humans and animals, and the homes we make in wild places. I was completely immersed in this remote landscape' Katherine May, bestselling author of WINTERING

I also liked her thoughts on the ways in which both people and animals are connected to the environment they call home and how both can ultimately suffer if they are removed to a different environment. One breeder talks about the importance of ponies finding the right work to do, explaining that different animals are suited for different roles, and she speaks of one pony needing to 'find herself'. It's impossible not to see Catherine's own time in Shetland as being part of the same process. We are almost half way through the year and this has definitely been one of the stand out reads for me so far in 2022. ‘The Ponies at the Edge of the World’ is an ethnography on Shetland’s Shetland Ponies. The book explores themes of belonging, roots and community, tradition, our relationship to the land (and sea) as well as our relationship to animals and their relationship to us.

On a final anthropology point Munro brings out the islands themselves as an active participant in her research. This worked amazingly well and made me think a lot about how I view place and how so often we don’t take into account one of the biggest actors in our everyday lives. I also thought she drew some very interesting theories about balancing domesticity of animals and their wildness and the dangers of too much one way or another. The importance as well of animal and human reciprocity was really well argued. It reminded me in many ways of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s work. Catherine included many interesting facts. I had no idea the King of Denmark pawned Orkney and Shetland to Scotland. I also learnt of the distaste for which many Shetlanders view symbols of Scottishness! My favourite chapter was on Foula, an island off Shetland with thirty residents. It combined all the best parts of the book - remote island communities, poetic scenery and beautiful animals. I thoroughly enjoyed my glimpse into this amazing world. Her book immediately felt relaxing, poetic and meditative. It made me feel like I was there too, with the wind blowing in my face and the skylark calls in the air. So many beautiful descriptions of nature. It’s as much about finding our place in the world, a place that feels like home, as it is Shetland ponies.