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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Helen Macdonald is a fantastic writer. She is a crafter of words for sure. But, I only got half way through this book. I was reading it for my book club and after attending our meeting, I decided I didn't want to read more about the training process of this animal. I think that falconry in England is a tradition with a rich history. I don't, however, like reading about the process of taming a wild animal.
Favorite quote: “The archaeology of grief is not ordered. It is more like earth under a spade, turning up things you had forgotten. Surprising things come to light: not simply memories, but states of mind, emotions, older ways of seeing the world.”
I listened to this book rather than reading it in print form and that made all of the difference for me. My first attempt to read it was in print and I did not stick with it. Listening to the author read it was mesmerizing.
I listened to this book rather than reading it in print form and that made all of the difference for me. My first attempt to read it was in print and I did not stick with it. Listening to the author read it was mesmerizing.
The base plot is very simple, but the execution is extraordinary. This is an autobiography about grief, a reading of White's The Goshawk, a critical reading of many other books about hawking, a history of hawking, a history of England's fauna, a scathing sociological analysis, and so much more. It is so different from everything else I would know how to qualify it.
- Elusive, spectacular, utterly at home, the fact of these British goshawks makes me happy. Their existence gives the lie to the thought that the wild is always something untouched by human hearts and hands. The wild can be human work. -
- And when I think of the U2 pilot up there reading a book about King Arthur...I can't help but think of a line written by the poet Marianne Moore: The cure for loneliness is solitude. And the solitude of of the pilot in the spy-plane, seeing everything, touching nothing, reading The Once and Future King fifty thousand feet above the clouds - that makes my heart break just a little... -
- Sometimes a reckoning comes of all the lives we have lost, and sometimes we take it upon ourselves to burn them to ashes. -
- There is a time in life when you expect the world to be always full of new things. And then comes a day when you realise that is not how it will be at all. You see that life will become a thing made of holes. Absences. Losses. Things that were there and are no longer. And you realise, too, that you have to grow around and between the gaps, thought you can put your hand out to where things were and feel that tense, shining dullness of the space where the memories are. -
- Hands are for other humans to hold. -
- And when I think of the U2 pilot up there reading a book about King Arthur...I can't help but think of a line written by the poet Marianne Moore: The cure for loneliness is solitude. And the solitude of of the pilot in the spy-plane, seeing everything, touching nothing, reading The Once and Future King fifty thousand feet above the clouds - that makes my heart break just a little... -
- Sometimes a reckoning comes of all the lives we have lost, and sometimes we take it upon ourselves to burn them to ashes. -
- There is a time in life when you expect the world to be always full of new things. And then comes a day when you realise that is not how it will be at all. You see that life will become a thing made of holes. Absences. Losses. Things that were there and are no longer. And you realise, too, that you have to grow around and between the gaps, thought you can put your hand out to where things were and feel that tense, shining dullness of the space where the memories are. -
- Hands are for other humans to hold. -
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A book club good that I went through very quickly. Not my usual genre, but I enjoyed the descriptions of nature and found the story compelling. The representation of grief in this book really resonated with me. Even though I had no background knowledge about birds, the information on hawks and falconry was quite interesting!
A deeply moving book, this is a powerful and emotional story of grief, family, loneliness friendship. It's also a fabulous piece of nature writing, and a fascinating memoir. At some point I'll come back and talk more about this book, to suffice to say it will stick with me for a very long time.
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I moving reflection on grief by Macdonald, who deals with the death of her father by deciding to train a goshawk. Highly recommend the audiobook narrated beautifully by Macdonald.