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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
The Outermost House has the makings of a poetic and charming 20-page essay spread at random among 200 pages of tedious catalogues of birds, blades of grass, piles of sand, and yet more birds. One pictures a nearsighted little bore of a man scuttling home each night to scribble down pages of notes on each creature he encountered that day. The prose is at times magnificent, but it is hard to overlook an entire chapter on the shapes of the waves in each type of weather. Worth reading once, especially for anyone who enjoys the beauty of the Cape, but overall it is more an ornithologist's log than a novel.
Some spectacular turns of phrase in here. Nature writing, interesting, but some of the most compelling parts for me had to do with the Coast Guard activities of that time. Might find a book specifically about that, for next year.
Beston’s writing is poetic throughout, and even though it was originally published in 1928, his writing doesn’t feel like it is nearly 100 years old. While living “off the grid” for a full year is most likely more difficult to do now than it was then, his observations and insights sound like something someone could have written in the last ten years. A very peaceful read.
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
I'm really not a fan of the beach in general, but Henry Beston's "The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod" made me long for a little home on the dunes.
The book, written in the 1920's focuses on the natural world found on the Cape where Beston lived for a year to watch the change of seasons. I liked this almost as much as Thoreau's "Walden."
There are lots of descriptions of birds and the landscape, which are beautifully written.
The book, written in the 1920's focuses on the natural world found on the Cape where Beston lived for a year to watch the change of seasons. I liked this almost as much as Thoreau's "Walden."
There are lots of descriptions of birds and the landscape, which are beautifully written.
A nice break from the everyday noise. Though the Cape today would not be quite as quiet for Beston as it was in 1928, I think he would recognize much of it and miss what has been lost.
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This book was just okay for me, I guess I connect better with a book that tells a stronger story. I am amazed that [a:Henry Beston|182465|Henry Beston|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1316594817p2/182465.jpg] was a mere 35 years old when he stayed at his beach house in Cape Code and it was in the 1920s. I cannot image living in a cottage for a year without a bathroom. No bathroom would bother me more than the solidarity.
Henry Beston lived in a simple but well made two room house on Cape Cod for a year. He had the little house made by a local carpenter as an ocasional getaway but decided to spend an entire year living in it. Outermost may have been an understatement, there were no other houses near it on the Cape and Beston's nearest neighbor was a Coast Guard live saving station. The Outermost House is a summary of Beston's diary of the that year which ended with the fall of 1927. The natural world around him was the subject of the book. He also wrote about his contacts with the Captain and men of the Coast Guard Station, the visits from friends and the tragic shipwrecks that were too common on Cape Cod. There were still sailing ships carrying goods along the coast in 1926 and 27. His recording of a year in the natural world is one of the best I've ever read. Henry Beston described the weather, the wildlife and the vegetation of Cape Cod in a poetic manner that makes me want to go see it in every season. His attention to the birds and fish was particularly good. I had never heard of this book before it was suggested for a book discussion course I attend. I would now include it along Walden, A Sand County Almanac and Desert Solitaire as one of the best books about life with the natural world.