Kærligheden, Kildevandet

Having read Wind, Sand and Stars and then The Long Way I was recommended Kærligheden, Kildevandet as the classic Danish sailing book. Looking back, it suffers from the same problem that The Long Way does: once all the sailing is underway not a whole lot happens at sea. It’s water, wind and changing conditions, but not really much to write about. Writing about sailing and traveling inevitably becomes about the inner dialogue, punctuated by the highlights of the destinations.

This is clearly felt. The narrative is quite strong in the first half where Nordkaperen is being resorted and Kløvedal’s backstory is told. Around the middle, this narrative is exhausted and we are left with destination vignettes, political musings and what is at best hallucinations.

With all that said, I found great joy in how contemporary the book is: it refers to literature, art, architecture, movements and people who do not seem that distant. When the ships library has books of Saint-Exupéry and Marques, I suddenly felt that I too could travel with the free-spirited crew of Nordkaperen.