Ring The Hill by Tom Cox - Blog Tour Review

Today Life Of A Nerdish Mum is extremely happy to be sharing my review of Ring The Hill by Tom Cox. I fell in love with his writing in Help The Witch and when Anne Cater, of Random Things Tours asked if I'd be interested in reading his next book I'm pretty sure I answered before she finished asking I was so excited!

Ring The Hill

Ring the Hill is a book written around, and about, hills: it includes a northern hill, a European hill, some hills from East Anglia that can barely be called hills at all. Each chapter takes a type of hill – whether it be knoll, cap, cliff, tor, bump or even mere hillock – as a starting point.

These hills can leads to an exploration of an intimate relationship with a beach, a journey into Cox's past or a lesson from an expert in what goes into the mapping of hills themselves. Because a good walk in the hills is never just about the hills; it will take your mind to many other places.

My Review

I don't feel any review of Tom Cox's books would be complete without talking about how beautiful the books themselves are! Ring The Hill has a gorgeous illustration of Glastonbury Tor on the front and Tom's traditional hares are scattered around. Then on the end pages are more hares on a background of soft yellow. Honestly stunning, I'm always proud to display his books.

I'm not sure what you'd expect when someone says they're reading a book about hills, but Ring The Hill is a sometimes whimsical, sometimes joyous, sometimes sentimental take on different kinds of hills and their connections to the town, people and world around them.

The language used is beautiful and almost poetic and the book made me feel gentler and reflective. I live in a very hilly area (if you're ever lost where I live, head downhill and you'll end up in town) and I walk A LOT and I'd never really thought much about hills before other than cursing them when I'm tired and on my way home.

There are gorgeous photos throughout as well as some illustrations. They all match the tone of the book and I could picture myself on adventures, or in the case of the cow, scratching it's friendly nose.

I feel like this is a book I'll return to again and again and one I'll be sharing with both friends and family.

If you haven't read anything by Tom Cox yet, I recommend that you do! I gave this book 5 stars.

About The Author

Tom Cox lives in Norfolk. He is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling The Good, The Bad and The Furry and the William Hill Sports Book long-listed Bring Me the Head of Sergio Garcia. 21st-Century Yokel was long-listed for the Wainwright Prize, and the titular story of Help the Witch won a Shirley Jackson Award.

Don't Forget To Check Out The Rest Of The Tour