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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Ripped out my insides like a Helen’s gos disemboweling a rabbit.
Since I finished it yesterday, I've been trying to think of what to say about this and I keep coming up blank. It's really really good, and draws a fantastic parallel between the grieving process and, oddly enough, training a goshawk. Probably one of the best memoirs I've ever read.
This is one of the best books I've ever read. The prose is absolutely stunning. I'll be revisiting sentences for many years, memorizing them, hoarding them like glittering fragments of light. It's a grief memoir that doesn't just narrate, but embodies, the author's grief. It's a naturalist book that interrogates and upends the romanticism of the wild. It's an historic study of predators, both avian and human. It's brimming with heart. I loved it.
So here’s the thing: I know I’m supposed to love this book, that all The Smart People and all The Literary People say it’s amazing and breath taking. And I mean, I tried—I really tried!! The writing is immaculate and perfect. Her voice is unique and insightful. The book reads like a giant prose poem. But. I just couldn’t bring myself to care. I wanted to care, but the writing, while lovely, is cold and keeps the reader at an arm’s distance. So despite the hundreds of pages, I never did care about her story or Mabel (much less hawks in general). And if anything I developed a serious distaste for T. H. White rather than a sympathy. If I were more courageous, I’d give it 2 stars, but I don’t want to appear that illiterate.
This was so good. She shares the loss of her father so well. The grief is so real. It is such an intimate book. And Mable is a beautiful bird.
I won this book as a giveaway, and so am writing my very first Goodreads review. I don’t remember why I had put this book on my To-Read shelf. I don’t like non-fiction, for the most part. I don’t often read autobiographies and memoirs. I usually read fiction in order to escape and enjoy a narrative so I was leery of taking on the task of reading and reviewing this book. I hesitated and just couldn’t start reading in earnest for fear of having to slog through a dry book and give a horrible review.
Thankfully, Professor Helen Macdonald’s book is enthralling. Once I was able to give myself the time to immerse myself in her language I was unable to stop reading. Her story is one of loss and love and trying to find herself after the death of her father. Her relationship with her goshawk, Mabel, made me long to start learning more about falconry. She also compares her life and training with that of T.H. White in his novel, [b:The Goshawk|1188127|The Goshawk|T.H. White|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320461488s/1188127.jpg|105249]. The comparisons were wonderful and made me want to read White’s work and biography based on her research and the picture she paints of a man also dealing with loss and love.
Her writing is something to be admired. I felt like she was teaching me, as well as pushing me beyond my comfort zones with her word choices. She moved me to tears a few times, as well as had me laughing aloud at Mabel’s antics. This is a book I plan on lending out to friends who also feel like they would never want to read a memoir in the hopes they will be as enthralled as I was.
Thankfully, Professor Helen Macdonald’s book is enthralling. Once I was able to give myself the time to immerse myself in her language I was unable to stop reading. Her story is one of loss and love and trying to find herself after the death of her father. Her relationship with her goshawk, Mabel, made me long to start learning more about falconry. She also compares her life and training with that of T.H. White in his novel, [b:The Goshawk|1188127|The Goshawk|T.H. White|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320461488s/1188127.jpg|105249]. The comparisons were wonderful and made me want to read White’s work and biography based on her research and the picture she paints of a man also dealing with loss and love.
Her writing is something to be admired. I felt like she was teaching me, as well as pushing me beyond my comfort zones with her word choices. She moved me to tears a few times, as well as had me laughing aloud at Mabel’s antics. This is a book I plan on lending out to friends who also feel like they would never want to read a memoir in the hopes they will be as enthralled as I was.