Menmuir's nature writing is gorgeous, but his novelist's knack for storytelling and character development is what really lifts "The Draw of the Sea" and gives the book its heart. When Wyl Menmuir and his wife move to the Cornish coast to deal with their grief following a family tragedy, he discovers a diverse community of people united by their love for and connection with the sea. The chances are that if I did so now, it would be part of an oceanographic study exploring the distribution of oceanic plastics, but I would most like to find something along the lines of the note the eighteenth-century treasure hunter Chunosuke Matsuyama wrote when he was shipwrecked on an island in the South Pacific. This fun lesson is great for celebrating Valentine’s Day, and your finished artwork can become a sweet homemade card.

He even has a go at free diving, those amazing people who can hold their breath for minutes at a time.This is exactly my kind of non-fiction - a personal account of the natural world starting from a narrow focal point and widening out to everything it touches. It's grim reading in places, but we do also meet people who are trying to make a difference - and the author admits that there can be a sort of syncronicitous beauty in the bizarre findings from beaches, even in all that plastic. His short fiction has appeared in Best British Short Stories and he has been published by Nightjar Press, Kneehigh Theatre and the National Trust. Theirs was a kind of desperate, rough excavation, often taking place right next to signs warning about the erosion of the cliffs and the dangers of rock falls, pleas not to do the sea’s work for it. But what is less common is the sea as told through the eyes of people who work with it, play in it; live their lives in the unassuming everyday of the coastal off-season, barely brushing shoulders with the tourists seeking out shots for the 'gram.

Wyl Menmuir’s first full-length non-fiction book, The Draw of the Sea, offers a lyrical meditation on the human fascination with our oceans.Description Description Wyl Menmuir’s The Draw of the Sea is a beautifully written and deeply moving portrait of the Cornish Coast and the people who make their livings there, examining the ephemeral but universal pull the sea holds over the human imagination. Welcome to Halfman, Halfbook for my stop on the Blog Tour for The Draw Of The Sea by Wyl Menmuir and published by Aurum. It feels strange to be excited to find shaped plastic that has been thrown up or uncovered by the waves. The Draw of the Sea is a meaningful and moving work into how we interact with the environment around us and how it comes to shape the course of our lives . The photographs and maps add to that, ranging from the intimate - beach gleanings or individuals - to the epic - seascapes and wild views.

View image in fullscreen One of Wyl Menmuir’s photographs, of Pedn Vounder beach in Cornwall, from The Draw of the Sea. As I made my way west along the beach from the lobster pot, I set about making my usual internal bargain. Wyl considers what the ocean and the shoreline mean to the many people who live and work in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The ocean fires our imagination, provides joy, solace and play but also wields immense destructive power.Starting from his own fascination with the coast – a draw that sees him settle on the south-west coast – The Draw of the Sea follows Wyl as he travels around Cornwall and the Scilly Isles meeting other people whose lives are intimately involved with the sea. From the wreckers who scour secret beaches for modern day ‘plunder’ to the free divers who can hold their breaths for minutes at a time, Wyl’s journey sees him meeting with an eclectic group of people who have one thing in common: they love the sea and its inhabitants as much as he does. He is the author of the Man-Booker nominated novel and Observer Best Fiction of the year pick,The Many, and Fox Fires.