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shellydennison's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.75
Beautifully written collection of essays.
bluestarfish's review against another edition
5.0
"Between the laundry and the fetching kids from school, that's how birds enter my life. I listen. During a lull in the traffic: oyster-catchers; in the school-playground, sparrows." These beautiful essays link life and anecdote and observations. A passing upward glance catches a comet which then leads to a delightful exploration of the city's roofs. A pocket knife can cut off a (dead) gannet's head. Corncrakes crex-crex away... Delightful stuff, wonderfully written, and a joy to read.
aureliano_100's review against another edition
1.0
I was surprised to see this book has received so many five star reviews - I struggled to make it to the end. Occasionally there were bits that were slightly more interesting but most of it was tediously dull. Maybe I read a different book to everyone else as the poetic language didn't do it for me either.
aquapower's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A relaxing and thought provoking read, but considering the author's status I was expecting something a little more special from it.
The chapter about surgeons hall made me feel almost as ill as I did when I visited it in person though, so well described enough.
The chapter about surgeons hall made me feel almost as ill as I did when I visited it in person though, so well described enough.
dkai's review against another edition
3.0
The traveling thoughts of a middle-aged Scottish woman, Findings, like the source material of Scottish wilderness/ruins, feels very open and a little distant. Though peaceful, there is always a little unease in the back of the thoughts, whether about death, the natural world, or the unnatural world. At times, it falls prey to cliche and heavy use of simile/metaphor (as with many books chronicling thoughts of their authors). Still, there was enough interesting material in there that I did not feel disappointed. I would describe it as a piece that provokes questions, rather than answering them.
emilybh's review against another edition
4.0
‘The island is ringed with beaches of flawless sand, backed by huge dunes [...] the air smells of seaweed. The sea and its surf is never far away, a constant Atlantic soughing, a sense that the land is an interruption in a long conversation between water and sky.’
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I’m reading my way through Kathleen Jamie’s earlier work as I enjoyed Surfacing so much. The essays in this collection map different Scottish landscapes, from the Orkney islands to the skyline of Edinburgh, and consider human and natural rhythms, from salmon movements to shielings. Her writing is thoughtful and detailed, calm and wary of human traces whilst always aware of the presence and flights of animals.
.
I’m reading my way through Kathleen Jamie’s earlier work as I enjoyed Surfacing so much. The essays in this collection map different Scottish landscapes, from the Orkney islands to the skyline of Edinburgh, and consider human and natural rhythms, from salmon movements to shielings. Her writing is thoughtful and detailed, calm and wary of human traces whilst always aware of the presence and flights of animals.