by Fred Argue
Even well-known author Richard Macfarlane answers his own question early in the book with an expected, Yes! The other question to get out of the way would be, “Is this a good book to read?” Again, Yes! Or you could answer “Depends” and get more details from this review.
There are three rivers in question: one under threat by a gold mining proposal in the cloud forest of Ecuador, a second being polluted and encroached upon by a dense population in southeast India, and a third (the Magpie) that was slated for hydro development in eastern Quebec.
As a reader mainly of historical fiction this story didn’t fit my normal genre of getting facts along with fictitious characters and details to deliver a story that draws one through the pages with interest. This book is all true, thus more of a documentary … but has a revealing aspect of the author, thus somewhat a biography too. The blend works well. This means the title is misleading as the book’s focus is on the social or political activists who are out to save each waterway. This would be true also for the first part of Chapter Three on the Magpie River. The second part of this chapter has an actual trip report of going down the river.
The quality of the writing is what one would expect from a Cambridge University English Department professor. Thus, is blended a true talent for the written word with a deep and educated interest in many things in our natural physical world such as mountains and rivers. One is rewarded with a contribution towards a good education by reading this book.
Macfarlane gives much credit to the Maoris of New Zealand for establishing a model of getting government to enshrine into law rights for a river, just as they would be assigned to Kiwi citizens. The indigenous community fought for 140 years to protect the Whanganui River, giving it the same legal rights as human beings. Hence, it must be treated as a living entity.
Throughout the book, breaks between chapters are marked by descriptions of The Springs located near Macfarlane’s English home. It is these Springs we suppose that created an interest in water. This site is visited in various seasons and reveals details that can be found at all times of the year.
Chapter One. With the first river, Rio Los Cedros in Ecuador, a central character is Giliana, a multilingual and hardcore scientist who has a fascination with bioluminescent mushrooms. Also joining Macfarlane journeying into the source region were Cosmo, a musician and sound engineer, and Cesar a Columbian lawyer. There had been a wave of reformist energy around 2007 that lead to legislated protection for Indigenous peoples and a recognition of water as a public good – and a declared “right to water” was given due to its importance to all living things. When gold mining initiatives were made, citizens evoked established rights of water and successfully fended off mining development. A new concept for me was introduced where a river exists on three levels … first in the air to fall as moisture to establish the source of rivers, the river itself, and a surrounding waterway in the watershed ground that nurtures plant life of all sorts.
Chapter Two. “The river had to be killed for the city to live.” (Yuvan Aves 2023) The Adyar River flows into the Indian Ocean flowing through an area called Chennai, population 6.5 million. In fact, three rivers flow in the region sourced in the Eastern Ghats hills. An estimated 55 M litres of effluents and sewage are discharged directly into the city’s waterways every day. Yuvan, a local teacher and naturalist, a mentor of local children, is the curator of this section of the book. Many stories relating to the origin of the region and its long history and modern challenges are fascinating. The breadth of interest of Yuvan is remarkable, particularly with insects. The section ends at the ocean beach with a detailed revealing of the lives of Olive Ridley sea turtles and the work of Arun Venkatraman, who leads volunteers to benefit the turtles. He forms a Turtle Patrol that walks the beach looking for nesting turtles to rescue their eggs for removal to a safe incubation zone.
Chapter Three. The third and longest most relevant section to most readers of Nastawgan deals with the Mutehekau Shipu or Magpie River, which flows from the boreal forest near the Quebec-Labrador border some 160 km down to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Justly, the Magpie receives two treatments, first as the political establishment of it being a waterway with rights, and second as it being one of the top ten world destinations for canoe/kayak/rafting water sports having Class III, IV and V rapids. As one would expect, the Magpie gaining protected status is dealt with best. Normally in Canada rivers gain protection by being encased in a National or Provincial Park, or as captured in environmental standards legislation. It could be said that the Magpie was fought for politically and was designated as a linear park. The book reveals and honours the Indigenous proponents for protecting the river.
The environs of many rivers in Quebec are heavily utilized by Hydro-Quebec, the world’s 4th largest provider of hydropower. In May 2011, Plan Nord revealed further plans for hydro development on the Magpie, however, much of this territory was unceded land of the Cree, Innu and Inuit. Hydro-Quebec wanted to add 850 megawatts to the existing network by further building several Magpie dams and generating stations. The nearby Romaine River, some 100 km to the east, already had seen this sort of development. Those affected successfully resisted the damming of the Magpie by granting the river itself ‘legal personhood’.
With respect to Macfarlane’s second treatment, treating the river as a water-sport destination on a wild river, kayaks were used and two of the five travelers were new to paddling and three were very seasoned. Further, the perspective of the journey is that of a naturalist and not an athlete.
In this case the author traveled with his old friend, Wayne Chambliss. Friend Wayne hailing from Texas, earns several pages of description to lay out his skills, interests and brilliance. The plan was to walk and kayak the river in ten to fourteen days. The trip starts at the coastal township of Ekuanitshit, which is largely inhabited by the Innu people. A description of the road trip from Montreal to the river is also provided.
Going down the Magpie were knowledgeable locals Raph (The Salmon) and Danny (The Boss). At the last minute, a third local, a fisherman, is added: Ilya (The Bear) who had paddled the breadth of Canada – Pacific to Newfoundland’s east coast. A De Havilland DHC-3, an Otter, flight was organized to take the five men, gear and kayaks to the far end of Magpie Lake to start the journey. A trip report is written rich in the lore given to the paddlers by Rita, an inhabitant met in the debarkation town and who rightfully gets much attention in the book. Consequently, ritual gifts of tobacco are made to land and water, and great respect is given to the richness of the landscape, wildlife and Innu traditions. As the water level was up, the kayaking was explosive and dangerous: more sections than usual needed lining or portaging. As Macfarlane is a better writer than paddler, the story is well told, rich in many dimensions. but not of particular use to people planning to replicate the trip.
Summary. There is a heavy spiritual underpinning to this whole book. The conclusion was that the paddlers were rivered. This was a new term for me; understandable, given writings of an international scope garnering reverence for all waterways.
Editors Note: This book was read by Rachel Crummy during her July, 2025, trip on the Hart River, and it influenced her thoughts when composing her article, here, in this issue of Nastawgan.