Marie Brown's three books about her family's life on a narrow boat in England are wonderful reading. They are obviously self-published and could do with a bit of editing, especially with punctuation, but she's so good that that didn't really bother me. The first is "Narrow Margins", wherein her husband's business goes bust and they're looking at alternatives - jobs, homes, lifestyles...They end up buying a narrow boat and she describes the adjustments and accommodations necessary to live on the water. "Narrow Minds" follows them after they've sold their first narrow boat and decide to buy another one, and "Narrow Escape" details a year on a narrow boat. She had me laughing out loud, and I loved reading about her kids, her excellent relationship with her long-suffering and immensely thoughtful husband, and all the scrapes they got into.
With its month by month and tongue in cheek look at the liveaboard year, Narrow Escape sets out to dispel the commonly held myths about this ‘idyllic’ lifestyle. “Oh, you live on a boat? That must be really cold in the winter...” Or, “Oh, you live on a boat? It must be great being so close to nature...” Or, “Oh, you live on a boat? It must be fantastic to be able to go wherever you like, whenever you like...” Narrow Escape sets out to dispel these commonly held public myths. From how to avoid assassination by ninja stealth ducklings, through definitive proof that kittens are aliens and the best way to sleep at forty-five degrees, to the importance of having the right boating equipment; (a child’s plastic sledge and a never ending supply of cotton wool balls). This month by month account of one family’s liveaboard year takes a firmly tongue in cheek look at what it takes to enjoy the ‘idyllic’ lifestyle.
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