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  • The Raven's Nest

  • By: Sarah Thomas
  • Narrated by: Sarah Thomas
  • Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (18 ratings)

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The Raven's Nest

By: Sarah Thomas
Narrated by: Sarah Thomas
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Summary

Visiting Iceland as an anthropologist and film-maker in 2008, Sarah Thomas is spellbound by its otherworldly landscape. An immediate love for this country and for Bjarni, a man she meets there, turns a week-long stay into a transformative half-decade, one which radically alters Sarah's understanding of herself and of the living world.

She embarks on a relationship not only with Bjarni, but with the light, the language and the old wooden house they make their home. She finds a place where the light of the midwinter full moon reflected by snow can be brighter than daylight, where the earth can tremor at any time and where the word for echo—bergmál—translates as 'the language of the mountain'. In the midst of crisis both personal and planetary, as her marriage falls apart, Sarah finds inspiration in the artistry of a raven's nest: a home which persists through breaking and reweaving—over and over.

Written in beautifully vivid prose, The Raven's Nest is a profoundly moving meditation on place, identity and how we might live in an era of environmental disruption.

©2022 Sarah Thomas (P)2022 W. F. Howes Ltd
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Critic reviews

"Fascinating." (Robert Macfarlane, author of The Old Ways)

"Truly a thing of wonder." (Kerri nI Dochartaigh, author of Thin Places)

"Lyrical [and] thoughtful." (Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment)

What listeners say about The Raven's Nest

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Magical

Utterly captivating and so beautifully written. I feel like I know Sarah and feel like I've been to Iceland now (which I have not) This book is deeply personal, thought provoking and very moving. A really interesting dive into Icelandic culture.

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Spellbinding

A beautiful, sensitive and thoughtful piece of work. Thank you for sharing your story and your contemplations.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Take a Journey North

A lovely listen, beautifully written and read by Sarah. Filled with sparkling treasures that will shimmer on long after their reading.

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A truly stunning book

The Raven’s Nest is a stunning book read by Sarah, a talented and natural narrator. Her pace is as luxurious as her voice- and the sing song of her Icelandic is divine- I can’t imagine how I would have faired reading it on the page! Her observations of people and place, of the stunning environment that she bravely immerses herself in is the most magical of tales. Sit back, walk the dog, garden, bake, bathe in her storytelling- I’m sure you will be richer for it!

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A Unique Memoire

This is a unique, moving memoire and true love story. It illuminates Icelandic landscapes and culture through an English woman's journey of assimilation.

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Moving and engaging

What a wonderful book to live alongside for a while. Beautiful language and observations, skilfully weaving contemporary living alongside older traditions and a yearning for a way to exist differently.

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