Accepting this book release review, I admittedly had precious little knowledge of Henry David Thoreau. The chance to learn about a prolific author who so many still relate to in a world ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be an enlightening opportunity.

Now Comes Good Sailing assembles 17 writers and their responses on how Thoreau has influenced their lives. Each engages imaginatively with Thoreau, exploring his role as ‘the observer, the romantic, the influencer, the artist, the avid ice- skater, the activist, and the extoller of nature.’ Each adaption of his character is a deeply personal account of how these collaborative minds have been profoundly influenced by Thoreau 200 years after his death. 

The composed essays do not make for easy reading. It is acknowledged by several, beginning with Lauren Groff’s Wild Apples, that Thoreau is one who requires a slow and precise read. Groff admits that ‘under the pressure of Thoreau’s prose,’ her ‘own slow vision lifted out.’ This is a profound compliment to the challenges he poses. It highlights that, whilst Thoreau is not perhaps enjoyable as a writer of fiction, the ‘vision’ and intensity of his ‘wild strangeness’ is compelling and unprecedented. 

At a surface level, it was difficult to relate with several of the early texts. I found each compelling, their appreciation for Thoreau admirable. Beyond that, I was holding each chapter at a distance, reading them slowly. It read like a biography of someone who I instinctively admired and yet scarcely knew. Many of the writers referred to his foundational work Walden. I decided to read around the text at this point, and would advise others to do the same if feeling unfamiliar with his narrative. Jordan Salama’s Twenty-Four Hours on Pea Island makes this abundantly clear when suggesting that ‘most people my own age didn’t seem to get it.’ Indeed, it takes a closer reading and perhaps a degree of context to place Now Comes Good Sailing in a position suitable to be understood and appreciated.

Of all the narratives explored, it was Jennifer Finney Boylan’s If I Had Loved Her Less that I found myself properly able to enjoy. Though Thoreau’s character was not always explored in detail compared to the impact of his work, it was evident that the writer was somewhat of an acquired personality. Boylan includes a comment by his contemporary, Nathanial Hawthorne, who described Thoreau as ‘manly and able, but rarely tender, as if he did not feel himself except in opposition.’ 

At this point in the text, now more than a third of my way through, I had not particularly warmed to Thoreau. Granted, his explorations were compelling, enchanting. I found this quite accurately represented in a line from Geoff Wisner’s contribution, Is it Worth the While. The title of Wisner’s essay alludes to Thoreau’s 1845 Journal, his musings on what makes individual experiences worthwhile, why it will be worth his while ‘to tell why a swamp pleases us.’ It seems a rather obscure rumination, and yet I found that it spoke to me of Thoreau’s true character more than any Wikipedia summary had been able to convince me of thus far.

Here, I select a line from Boylan. The beginning of their essay criticises Thoreau for ‘failing to live up to the very demands he makes on the rest of us,’ his posturing and his aloofness. Indeed, his swamp analogy in particular felt like an introspection that I could not relate to. He does not tell us ‘why a swamp’ could possibly be pleasing, nor why it might be worth our while to consider. He makes ambiguous demands of us and, as Hawthorne writes, is ‘rarely tender,’ and this makes for a distant feeling. 

However, as Boylan highlights, his melancholy is relatable. ‘Most of us can’t ditch everything to live alone in a cabin, much as we might like,’ Boylan admits, but concludes by asking if there is ‘anything more human,’ this longing for solitude, the fear of following what you really desire in your heart.

Ultimately, then, Boylan’s essay humanised Thoreau in a way I had not imagined. It placed him in a relatable body, a man who could not simply live and do as he wished, who felt the pressures of a society that is not always worth our while. In light of this reflection, I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in Thoreau first, but also to anybody who feels rather adrift.

The world is at a crossroads, one that is felt deeply by so many. Whilst I would advise some prior knowledge of Thoreau’s character, these essays depict him as a man who keenly felt these difficulties in life and amongst his peers. We are often surrounded by people who do not ‘seem to get’ us, and desires we cannot fulfil. As Boylan illustrates, there is nothing ‘more human’ than this. 

Now Comes Good Sailing is available for purchase here.

Enjoyed This? Read more from Redbrick Culture here!

The Battle of Artefacts: Legality Over Morality?

New Book Release: Jane Austen, Early and Late

Musical Review: Bat Out Of Hell – A Double Perspective