Walking on Ripples: The Angling Life, by David Murphy

A fusion of fact and fiction, the eleven chapters in Walking on Ripples feature tales of angling in Cork, Donegal, Fermanagh, Dublin, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and elsewhere. All of the chapters are linked thematically, dealing with the art of fishing, but overall the book is about a lot more than angling. The factual chapters act as a unifying force that binds the whole into a unit greater than the sum of the parts. The text also provides an insightful view into the creative processes that go on in the mind of a writer. A unique approach that defies labelling, Walking on Ripples is a lyrical tribute to the angling life.

“Some fishermen thrive on numbers. Good luck to them. That’s what floats their boat. Give me an hour, or two or even three, with nothing. Then one little fish to save the day. Give this to me any time, more fun than the relentless reeling in of bucket loads of suicidal fish. Grant me time to take a break from casting, to sit on flat rocks and contemplate the land, the water, the birds that fly and cartwheel in overhead sky. Allow my eyes time to examine what floats as flotsam in the ripples at my feet. Let me jettison the jetsam of my life, and get on with taking in the great world that surrounds. The inhaling of things that matter, like smell of salt spray; tang of it in my nostrils of a windy day when I stand thirty feet up to be truly safe from breakers smashing into the rocks beneath …” – From Walking on Ripples

About the Author

Cork-born David Murphy has lived north of Dublin for the past thirty-five years. His award-winning short fiction has been published and translated worldwide, including a full-length short story collection brought out in Dublin in 2004 (re-issued 2013). His short stories have, thus far, been published over one hundred times including magazine and anthology appearances.