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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Beautiful book! I loved his descriptions of nature, the waves, the birds, the sand.
Lovely book with a meditative pace. I enjoyed most the chapters focusing on the sky, waves, and smells. Also very interesting to read about shipwrecks which were common then (the cape cod canal was in its infancy at the time). Began reading this book while we were on the cape, finished at home and enjoyed it greatly both places; even at home I found it brought me to closer observation of my (wooded, inland) natural surroundings. Poetic, thoughtful, and a wonderful time capsule.
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
This is the kind of book I can read again and again. As vivid as Beston's descriptions are, I wish it had been illustrated. Failing that, I wish I could have lived it myself!
Any naturalist will thrill to this reading and anyone loving the seashore will be delighted. Waldenesque, and touched a deep note of wonder of the universe.
The Outermost House was part of my self-assigned reading homework before my late summer trip to Cape Cod. I fully anticipated being bored to tears and giving the book only a quick skim before returning it to the library from whence it came. But Beston's language is poetry, and his prose is the perfect escape. The rhythm of his words instantaneously put me in a peaceful state, and I found myself transported to another life and time, one where bird migration and tidal changes are supremely fascinating. I'm not sure I fully know the person I was transformed into over the course of these 250-some pages, but this is a book I intend to keep close. It is the cheapest and most effective therapy/vacation you can find.
A lovely book. Oddly enough, I first learned of it because of "Battlestar Galactica"--the title of one of the episodes of the reboot series, "Islanded In A Stream Of Stars," is taken from this book.
The obvious comparison for TOH is "Walden," also a book about living in isolation for a year and appreciating nature. For better or for worse, Beston is a lot less explicitly philosophical about the whole thing than Thoreau was in his book. He talks very little about why he wanted to live in his Cape Cod beach shack--to some extent I feel like he assumed it would be self-evident to the reader. He also doesn't draw much of anything in the way of explicit conclusions from the experience. Instead, the book is a fairly straightforward, if poetic, chronicle of his year on "the great beach," focusing especially on his experience of the sea and of animals. I won't say that it's better or worse than "Walden"; I'm glad both of them exist.
The other closest reference I can think of, again maybe oddly, is the "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" chapter of "The Wind In The Willows." Like that chapter, TOH is unmistakably pagan. Beston has a reverent perspective toward nature but, surprisingly for a New England book from the early 20th century, not a hint of "God's wonderful creation" or anything like that. As the introduction to my copy suggested, there is a fair amount of the book that could reasonably be characterized as sun worship--no mystification or personification, but just a recognition of the way that all life (that we ever encounter) is driven by this unique force. The spirit Pan also plays this role for Kenneth Grahame--an atavistic connection to the countryside and nature in a land that has mostly moved on.
There are not a lot of people in the book, but Beston is great at writing about them too. Shipwrecks play a very important role in the life of the great beach (it surprised me that this was so even in the late 1920s, though I guess the Titanic was only 15 years earlier). One of my favorite parts of the book is Beston's description of how, after a wreck, people would show up on the beach to quietly take away anything useful that could be salvaged. It's clear from his description how the people both recognize that this is nothing to be proud of, and a little grim, but are also not about to let anything go to waste.
The obvious comparison for TOH is "Walden," also a book about living in isolation for a year and appreciating nature. For better or for worse, Beston is a lot less explicitly philosophical about the whole thing than Thoreau was in his book. He talks very little about why he wanted to live in his Cape Cod beach shack--to some extent I feel like he assumed it would be self-evident to the reader. He also doesn't draw much of anything in the way of explicit conclusions from the experience. Instead, the book is a fairly straightforward, if poetic, chronicle of his year on "the great beach," focusing especially on his experience of the sea and of animals. I won't say that it's better or worse than "Walden"; I'm glad both of them exist.
The other closest reference I can think of, again maybe oddly, is the "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" chapter of "The Wind In The Willows." Like that chapter, TOH is unmistakably pagan. Beston has a reverent perspective toward nature but, surprisingly for a New England book from the early 20th century, not a hint of "God's wonderful creation" or anything like that. As the introduction to my copy suggested, there is a fair amount of the book that could reasonably be characterized as sun worship--no mystification or personification, but just a recognition of the way that all life (that we ever encounter) is driven by this unique force. The spirit Pan also plays this role for Kenneth Grahame--an atavistic connection to the countryside and nature in a land that has mostly moved on.
There are not a lot of people in the book, but Beston is great at writing about them too. Shipwrecks play a very important role in the life of the great beach (it surprised me that this was so even in the late 1920s, though I guess the Titanic was only 15 years earlier). One of my favorite parts of the book is Beston's description of how, after a wreck, people would show up on the beach to quietly take away anything useful that could be salvaged. It's clear from his description how the people both recognize that this is nothing to be proud of, and a little grim, but are also not about to let anything go to waste.
I don't think I can add much to the reviews of others who have given this five stars. It is definitely a book that you read and are bummed when it's over. Very relaxing. Highly recommend for beach lovers, bird lovers, nature lovers and fans of beautiful prose.
I spent some time looking for this at used book stores and then happened across it at my grandmother's house on Cape Cod. It was one of those, "Why didn't I look here first?" moments.
Considering how many pages Beston spends writing about sand and birds, I suppose this book would be rather dull for any one who doesn't already love the Cape, but for someone like me who loves and knows the Cape so well, this book transported me to one of my favorite places. Next time I'm on the Cape, I will have to explore the area where the Outermost House used to be.
Considering how many pages Beston spends writing about sand and birds, I suppose this book would be rather dull for any one who doesn't already love the Cape, but for someone like me who loves and knows the Cape so well, this book transported me to one of my favorite places. Next time I'm on the Cape, I will have to explore the area where the Outermost House used to be.
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced