Late Light cover art

Late Light

WINNER OF THE 2024 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

Late Light

By: Michael Malay
Narrated by: Michael Malay
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £13.16

Buy Now for £13.16

WINNER OF THE 2024 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE
WINNER OF THE 2023 RICHARD JEFFERIES AWARD FOR NATURE WRITING

'Inspirational' - THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE
'A bright, fierce hope for the future' - THE IRISH TIMES
'An astonishing read' - AMY LIPTROT
'Irresistible' - SARA BAUME
'Will leave you aching with world-love' - ABI ANDREWS
'Simply mesmerising' - JESSICA J. LEE
'A tender, marvellous book' - NICK HUNT


This is a book about falling in love with vanishing things

Late Light is the story of Michael Malay's own journey, an Indonesian Australian making a home for himself in England and finding strange parallels between his life and the lives of the animals he examines. Mixing natural history with memoir, this book explores the mystery of our animal neighbours, in all their richness and variety. It is about the wonder these animals inspired in our ancestors, the hope they inspire in us, and the joy they might still hold for our children.

Late Light is about migration, belonging and extinction. Through the close examination of four particular 'unloved' animals - eels, moths, crickets and mussels - Michael Malay tells the story of the economic, political and cultural events that have shaped the modern landscape of Britain.

For readers of Robert Macfarlane, Raynor Winn and Helen Macdonald, Late Light is a rich blend of memoir, natural history, nature writing, and a meditation on being and belonging, from a vibrant new voice. Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
I loved the thoughtfulness and style of writing the author applies, and the window into the world of rarely promoted species. I do feel there could have been a more thorough edit - nothing major just small repetitions and bits that weren’t quite clear. I didn’t come away with a singular clear idea what the main message was. I say this only because as a wainwright winner I didn’t expect to notice them - that doesn’t detract from the book overall. The author makes good points about the state of the planet and the impact of humans and shows you can learn to love a land by knowing it and its non-human inhabitants.

Great book about unloved species

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.