Is A River Alive?

Non-Fiction Forum: Words & Wine

Hosted by Peter Lamell & Dianne Jacobs

From celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane comes this brilliant, perspective-shifting new book – which answers a resounding yes to the question of its title.

The book we are reading and discussing: Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

"The author has a pragmatic agenda embedded in his powerful prose: to make an environmental, ethical and aesthetic case for rivers being living subjects that must be endowed with rights. Everyone who has ever found something to love in a river should find something to love in this book. It is a masterpiece." THE ECONOMIST

"The book is a delight ... So stirring, so surprising, so acute." THE TIMES

At its heart is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings – who should be recognised as such in both imagination and law. 

Is a River Alive? (Penguin 2025) takes the reader on an exhilarating exploration of the past, present and futures of this ancient, urgent concept.

The book flows first to northern Ecuador, where a miraculous cloud-forest and its rivers are threatened by goldmining. Then, to the wounded rivers, creeks and lagoons of southern India, where a desperate battle to save the lives of these waterbodies is under way. And finally, to north-eastern Quebec, where a spectacular wild river – the Mutehekau or Magpie – is being defended from death by damming in a river-rights campaign.

At once Macfarlane’s most personal and most political book to date, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, spark debates and lead us to the revelation that our fate flows with that of rivers – and always has.

Read the book, come with an open mind and join us for drinks at this Words & Wine in-person Non-Fiction Forum. The enjoyment of participating in these intimate discussions is that everyone who attends gets to comment on the book we’ve read, exchange ideas with fellow readers and share their perspectives.

Here's the full reading list for the rest of the year.