The Last House Before the Sea: One Year on the Ebro Delta

Travel writer Martínez (In the Land of Giants) offers a contemplative account of a year spent on the disappearing island of Buda. Located in Spain’s Ebro river delta, the island is vanishing due to rising sea levels and lack of new sediment deposits. Martínez, one of only two people to sleep on the island (in a “fragile” seaside cabin), spends his days drowsing on the beach and observing the island’s delicate environmental web. He speaks often with the island’s owner, Mateo, who rails against environmental protections that seem to lack understanding of how Buda’s ecosystem actually works. Readers get an in-depth view of Mateo’s politics, history, and love life; indeed, Martínez documents much interpersonal drama amid his grander ruminations on climate change, reporting on the colorful characters who work Buda’s rice fields and eel fisheries. The book can veer into navel-gazing, with musings like “If the Mediterranean could write, I’d ask it to tell a story called The Life of a Wave.” The pace picks up during the interpersonal dramas, and the narrative’s emotional heart lies with the author’s father, who dies during the year. After his death, Martínez finds new vigor in contemplating Buda—which is likewise not going to live forever. There’s much to enjoy here for lovers of nature writing. (Nov.)