Playing with Water: Passion and Solitude on a Philippine Island (Twentieth Century Lives)

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James Hamilton-Paterson

Used from £20.66

Pages: 288 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0941533824

Pub: New Amsterdam Books

Pub date: 1990-01-28

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 946181

Reader Reviews:

a little known work of art (2/2 people found this helpful)

This is a beautifully written story; Hamilton-Paterson writes about the complexities of the supposedly simple paradise of a tropical island, bringing the environment above and below the water, and the characters and character, of The Philippines to life.

Alongside the salt encrusted humidity of his tropical life, we learn about New Elizabethan England; finding ourselves in tunnels at school, blowing up water butts and recalling some of the moments in childhood that become so important in later life.

A great introduction to Hamilton-Paterson's wonderful writing.

Read this if you're thinking of being shipwrecked (2/3 people found this helpful)

If you're inspired to go to tropical places after watching "The Beach", then this story might make you think again! It's full of the complex struggle to survive on a tropical island and reveals some of the home-sickness you might expect when so far from everything you know best. The author's spirit of adventure and survival is both realistic and at times esoteric. It shows how thoroughly inventive you need to be and also goes back in time to an interesting middle-class upbringing in 1950's London. Altogether a very interesting and enjoyable account.

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