Review: Melanie Challenger's 'Alive' Explores the Meaning of Having a Body

Alive by Melanie Challenger review – a maverick study of what it means to have a body

In this disorienting book, a poet argues we have been looking at nature – and ourselves – the wrong way The eastern breakwater of Granton harbour is almost 1km long, and swimmers can follow its crooked finger, heading straight out into the Firth of Forth, while benefiting from its reassuring presence. One Thursday lunchtime, I thought: why not, let’s give it a go, and headed for its tip. I felt cold, but, as I progressed, I seemed to grow strangely warmer. I did not notice the complaints from...

By Edward Posnett