I think you're right! I was trying to think of something to compare it to, and Connie Willis is a better bet than any of the authors name-checked in the back-cover blurbs. File them both under U for Unsuccessful Pandering to English Lit Fans.

There is plenty enough to blame Henry Williamson for at this point in the Chronicle that I don't feel inclined to blame him for wanting to pet all the animals of the waterways of Britain. Go on and play that seal-charming self-insert flute to your heart's content, my man.