Jane~ The Consolations of the Forest by Sylvain Tesson

Sylvain Tesson found a radical solution to his need to be free and own his own time. As many hermits have done before him he decided to spend six months alone. His location for this solitude was to be found at a cabin in the middle taiga (snow forest) on the shores of Lake Baikal in Siberia.

He is never completely alone. He has the forest, the ice, and the writings of Michel Tournier for daydreaming, Michel Deon for melancholy, D H Lawrence for sensuality, and Yoko Mishima for steely coldness. Poetry books and philosophical writings also join him plus a little crime fiction for relaxation. He explains why he chose these books which along with Havana's, Vodka, and two puppies would decorate his simple existence.

Alone from February to July, he becomes a diarist noting everyday observations of Nature, his thoughts, and philosophies.

Diary entry on 25th June: "Another day of looking at the sky. Swarms of insects in the gold-dust sunlight. Later, a salmon-coloured moon swims up the current of the night to go lay its single monstrous egg in a nest of clouds. Simply put: there's a full and blood-red moon".

As the season changes so does the degree of solitude. During Spring followed by early Summer, the silence is interrupted by Nature forcing her presence into his life. The environment changes beyond his control with bird song, animal life, and plants pushing their way to the sun. Nature is his Mistress.

Sylvian Tesson is a French journalist and travel writer. He won the Prix Medicis for this non-fiction tale of solitude and happiness.

His ode to beauty overwhelmed me. I know I shall keep returning to this book and it's thoughts for many years to come. Perhaps I could read a diary entry each day........

Jane

You can purchase a copy here.