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georgieleighreads's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
mcflash99's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
ajdrum1788's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
5.0
spittingyarn's review against another edition
5.0
I have loved whales forever. When I was a young teen I was obsessed with them. My favourite book was Heathcote Williams’ poetic, highly-illustrated hymn to whales, “Whale Nation”. These days, my love for the giant creatures is less all-encompassing, but when book recommender par excellence @pennywincer mentioned “Soundings”, it was insta-purchase time.
Nature writing has been a very male dominated discipline and whale writing is no exception, tied up as it is with inhospitable climes, nautical adventures and exploration. So what a relief to read Soundings, BBC climate journalist Doreen Cunningham’s fantastic whale-filled memoir and very much a woman’s story.
Soundings expertly twines two threads: the first - Cunningham’s journey with her two year old son, Max, following the grey whale migration from California to the Arctic. Mother and child had a difficult start, dealing with Cunningham’s unpleasant ex, the family courts and a return to her childhood home in Jersey. The journey feels like an escape from all this but also an opportunity to grow into themselves. The pair are vulnerable and reliant on the kindness of strangers, which is not always forthcoming. And the whales themselves prove difficult to keep up with at times. Cunningham and son are tenacious and determined, spurred on by brief moments of bliss with the whales and the friendships they make on their way.
The second, fascinating strand describes Cunningham’s time living with an Iñupiaq family in Alaska before her son was born. There she formed life-changing bonds with both people and place.
This is a gentle, moving book which has all sorts of things to say, not just about whales but also about being a parent, relationships (human and animal), climate, culture and kindness.
A touching and refreshing read from a distinctive new voice.
Nature writing has been a very male dominated discipline and whale writing is no exception, tied up as it is with inhospitable climes, nautical adventures and exploration. So what a relief to read Soundings, BBC climate journalist Doreen Cunningham’s fantastic whale-filled memoir and very much a woman’s story.
Soundings expertly twines two threads: the first - Cunningham’s journey with her two year old son, Max, following the grey whale migration from California to the Arctic. Mother and child had a difficult start, dealing with Cunningham’s unpleasant ex, the family courts and a return to her childhood home in Jersey. The journey feels like an escape from all this but also an opportunity to grow into themselves. The pair are vulnerable and reliant on the kindness of strangers, which is not always forthcoming. And the whales themselves prove difficult to keep up with at times. Cunningham and son are tenacious and determined, spurred on by brief moments of bliss with the whales and the friendships they make on their way.
The second, fascinating strand describes Cunningham’s time living with an Iñupiaq family in Alaska before her son was born. There she formed life-changing bonds with both people and place.
This is a gentle, moving book which has all sorts of things to say, not just about whales but also about being a parent, relationships (human and animal), climate, culture and kindness.
A touching and refreshing read from a distinctive new voice.
baileybrett's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
4.25
I was the target audience for this book. I love - love -- nature memoirs that bend genres. You want to talk about the history of whaling in the Arctic and tie it into your own life story? I'm here for it.
There's no doubt Doreen is a thoughtful, considerate author, and occasionally her writing and insight rocked. But also... there were so, so many threads in this book. The glimmers where they sort of kind of came together -- they come together if you squint-- were lovely. And also... as a whole, the narrative never fully cohered for me. Worth reading, and plenty of quiet passion, but man, I would have loved to edit this work.
Readalike: Why Fish Don't Exist, by Lulu Miller.
There's no doubt Doreen is a thoughtful, considerate author, and occasionally her writing and insight rocked. But also... there were so, so many threads in this book. The glimmers where they sort of kind of came together -- they come together if you squint-- were lovely. And also... as a whole, the narrative never fully cohered for me. Worth reading, and plenty of quiet passion, but man, I would have loved to edit this work.
Readalike: Why Fish Don't Exist, by Lulu Miller.
kimmyslostchill's review against another edition
I don’t usually like memoirs but I always like whales. I had hoped whales would be enough to tip the scales into loving this but sadly, they did not.
This book came across very much as a lot of rambling circles … a bit of past, a bit of present, sometimes the historical side of the science warning of global warming, to some prenatal whale anatomy to behavior…once we touch on all those items, we circle back through them all again. and again. And again. I made it only 35% but I’m sure the book only continued this pattern so I don’t even need to read anymore
This book came across very much as a lot of rambling circles … a bit of past, a bit of present, sometimes the historical side of the science warning of global warming, to some prenatal whale anatomy to behavior…once we touch on all those items, we circle back through them all again. and again. And again. I made it only 35% but I’m sure the book only continued this pattern so I don’t even need to read anymore