How to Catch a Mole

Wisdom from a Life Lived in Nature

By: Marc Hamer

Narrated by: Marc Hamer

Kneeling in a muddy field, clutching something soft and blue-black, Marc Hamer vows he will stop trapping moles - forever. In this earnest, understated, and sublime work of nonfiction literature, the molecatcher shares what led him to this strange career: from sleeping among hedges as a homeless teen, to toiling on the railway, to weeding windswept gardens in Wales.

Hamer infuses his wanderings with radiant poetry and stark, simple observations on nature’s oft-ignored details. He also reveals how to catch a mole - a craft long kept secret by its masters - and burrows into the unusual lives of his muses.

Moles, we learn, are colorblind. Their blood holds unusual amounts of carbon dioxide. Their vast tunnel networks are intricate and deceptive. And, like Hamer, they work alone.

©2019 Marc Hamer (P)2019 Greystone Books

Critic reviews

“This is an extraordinary book: part natural history, part memoir, part poetry - all entirely gorgeous. I've read no other book like this. Its beauty and heartbreak will stay with me for a long time. PS: the author stops killing moles, thank goodness.” (Sy Montgomery, New York Times best-selling author of How to Be a Good Creature and The Soul of an Octopus)

“This is a wonderful book about our relationship with the earth, with other animals and with our own troubled humanity. It has taught me a lot. I feel great love for it.” (Max Porter, author of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers)

“Informative and effortlessly readable... Ultimately a reflection on humanity’s fraught but sustaining relationship with nature.” (Publishers Weekly)

“A beguiling mixture: part autobiography, part handbook, part travel book, part philosophical treatise. I’m happy to report that it succeeds on each level.” (Daily Mail)

Ignore the title, this is a wonderfully told story

If you appreciate nature and the pesky animals that invade gardens, you will love the story of a mole catcher and his life and his observations. So beautifully narrated just listen with an open mind.

Odd, but interesting

I love listening to books read by authors and about nature is why I chose the book. It’s perfect for my audio books since I listen while I walk dogs. I would think it might put you to sleep if you were driving a car because of the author’s sort of sing-song,slow paced voice. Ha a very interesting character and you will
Learn lots about the welsh countryside and ... moles!

So good!

What beautiful prose Marc Hamer writes that often seems like poetry❗️This book should get more stars than Audible provides❗️

Ode to the natural world

I loved the blend of simplicity and elegance, the profound reflections hidden within the quotidian yet rich description

Loved it!

Beautifully written perfectly narrated. I will be listening to this again and again. I can’t wait to listen to the next one in the series.