The Salt Path

[Mothership4two]

Anyone planning to go and watch this? And did you read the book? I am hoping to go in the next couple of weeks. There are four of us going, two have read it and two haven't. Looking forward to the scenery as much as the story.

I loved the book. I read it on holiday when we were camping in North Wales, so that aspect felt quite relatable! I agree that the Winns come across as naive and hippy-dippy, but had she been as practical and sensible as a typical MNetter the book would have been as boring as shit. 🤷🏻‍♀️ There is a level of privilege in being able to choose the wacky option of walking the path instead of emergency council accommodation and a minimum wage job, but I’d definitely prefer the former.

I tried reading The Wild Silence, but it didn’t really do it for me in the same way as it seemed to jump all over the place. I’d like to see the film though, as GA is a goddess and Jason Isaacs is lovely too.

I have read the book and am going to see the film at the weekend, for the scenery mainly. I found the book quite annoying and all about middle class people pretending to be poor.

Just back from watching, I found it a bit slow but pretty true to the book. GA is excessively annoying but having seen Ray in real life I think she was quite close and had probably spent a fair bit of time with her. The gurning and huffing was really off putting though! On the plus side the scenery was beautiful and much better for being seen on a big screen.

In what way were they ‘pretending’ to be poor? They’d lost their farm, home and sole source of income.

You can apply to have a CCJ set aside at any time (ie you can apply after judgment) and it will be, if you have grounds. For example if you're not liable.

Now if I know that, Raynor Winn (or whatever the hell her real name is) sure as shit knows it too.

Pretty weird allegations. She’s used the same name ever since she had a single article published in the Big Issue and had social media at the time of the same name. There was no way at that point she could’ve known what success she was going to go on to. What makes you think she would change her name?

i found it disturbing to read how their skin burned because they had no sunscreen, how they defecated in the bracken by the path, how they smelled so bad from not washing that people recoiled from them, how they scavenged cafe leftovers. I’ve been poor and it didn’t make me feel alive. Her decisions were questionable. A friend who nursed her husband through a brutal terminal illness found the idea you would do this to your husband very upsetting. It was as if they wanted to punish themselves by sinking as low as they could. I saw her talk at a lit fest and it was a total love in from the middle aged middle class audience thrilling to hearing of the “brave” deprivation and degradation they chose. Very close to being poverty porn.

Just read this from a BBC website :

Raynor Winn, a writer who grew up on a farm in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, said a financial dispute meant she had lost her dream home in Wales in 2013 just days after her husband Moth was diagnosed with Corticobasal Degeneration, a rare brain disease.
With nothing to lose, the couple set off on a 630-mile trek from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall.
Their journey across England's largest uninterrupted path has now been made into a film - The Salt Path - featuring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs.

So it sounds like they may have embarked on the walk in 2013 or thereabouts . The book was published in 2018 .

I've also looked up on his terminal condition and the prognosis is 6 /8 years .
So he has continued live for 12 years .

To anyone medical what makes someone live way longer than what is expected from their condition , not just months , but many years ?

You certainly seem to have experienced it as something akin to poverty porn, with your detailed account of the bits that ‘disturbed’ you. What luxurious options do you imagine they were rejecting — emergency homeless accommodation? Have you ever actually seen what this is like?

Yes, I get this. GA is an excellent character actor. For example, when she played Maggie Thatcher she had all the familiar mannerisms. I felt like here she was utilising certain facial expressions and mannerisms that must be very like Winn, but because Winn is not familiar to me, it just came across as kind of odd.

I'm going to seek out recordings of the real Raynor Winn (real name if Companies House is to be believed!) and see how it matches with GA's performance. (Because I like her as an actor, usually!)

Yes I have

And why be so aggressively judgemental and sarcastic? Just mentioning the bits that would have made me unhappy to experience, and interested in the negative reaction of my friend with a terminally ill husband. We don’t all have to share the same view of a book, film or author you know! I enjoyed much of the book and have been reflecting on its huge success and the irony of it making her wealthy. And yes I know what it’s like to be poor and hungry with vulnerable dependents.

Interesting that the majority here seem to dislike the book. I’ve only heard positive things from others but found it really irritating myself. While the illness sounds very difficult I thought the book came across as very naval gazing and a bit smug. I’d watch the film if it streams, as others say, for the scenery!

I can’t see the post now but the poster who said they live by the path and have to suffer the author at literary festival made me laugh. 😆

I have to say that it's the best film I've seen in a long time.
It really showcased resilience. OK there were a couple of bits of artistic licence but I thought it was beautiful.

I haven't read the book. Thought the film was slow. DH said he was worried that as the film ended at the half way point we would have to suffer another 300 miles !

If you're on Instagram look at her account, she irritates me even more now I know what she's like. I can't imagine sitting through a talk by her.

Miley that thought crossed my mind “at this rate we’ll be here all night!” popped into my head!

😂

Yes! I used to pick it up all the time in Waterstone's but, for some reason, never wanted to buy it. It was the cover - much like The Essex Serpent - which used to pull me in. Almost. And then I read on here from all the people who hated it so feel vindicated in not buying it. Still tempted by the film for Jason Isaacs some reason.

He was alright but sorry I don’t really get the swooning about him - he looks just like Dh and my friends husbands ie a pretty standard 50 something man

Yeah they were ridiculously cute fluffy little things 😂

I’m surprised by some comments about the coastal path being unrealistically quiet in the film. Yes, you get very busy parts around many towns and car parks, but you can also walk a very long way and hardly see anyone. That’s what’s so nice about it!

Just watched the film, I really enjoyed it, and my DP (who is somewhat of a film buff) seemed to enjoy it too.

GA’s accent was a little wobbly, and JI was definitely the stronger of the two for me, but I found them both sympathetic and interesting characters. The scenery was beautiful, the people they met along the way rang true as supporting characters, and I didn’t find it slow or unrealistic at all.

As someone at a crossroads in life, I can 100% see myself doing something like this. It was a curious choice for Moth with his illness, but I can also see that it was a way to give them both breathing space while they figured things out, and as presumably active people before this, hiking would have been second nature to them.

I would recommend the film as a love story, the way the two leads interact feels authentic and beautiful.

I think the people who reckon that have probably walked half a mile out of Newquay or St Ives and back 😏

Not read the book, but tempted to watch the film for location spotting.