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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I typically don't read non-fiction and this was a book to make me rethink my preferences. The author does a great job in not romanticizing the mourning process and painted a realistic portrait of grief. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This book deserves all the praise it has received! Helen, the author and narrator is gripped by grief due to her father's death. Training a hawk is the manifestation of her grieving process. Learning about the process, Hawks, her father's live, her life and the British author (White) of Camelot fame made for a wonderful read. There is sadness in the book, but also hopefulness.
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I love Helen & Mabel sm
This much lauded memoir by a British falconer is a pretty dry read. Readers will be led down three paths: grief, falconry, and the life of author/falconer T.H. White (The Once and Future King and The Sword in the Stone).
The grief for her father is not maudlin, but it is really drawn out. Working with a young goshawk provides her with an outlet. Readers will learn all about equipment, acquiring a bird, food, etc.
The sport of falconry is little known in the USA, but apparently is a big deal in Great Britain, especially among the gentry. This part could be a bit gory as we learn what these raptor birds eat and how they are trained. But they are fascinating birds with great strength and speed.
The third angle concerns revered author T.H. White who turns out to be one troubled man. He was apparently a closet homosexual, an agnostic, an alcoholic, and a sadomasochist. He was quite brutal with his goshawk. This makes for some uncomfortable reading.
Nature writing is normally soothing and lyrical. This was generally dry, not especially lyrical, and falconry does not seem right for these majestic birds any more than foxhunting is. There are interesting sections though and it serves to document the sport of falconry.
The grief for her father is not maudlin, but it is really drawn out. Working with a young goshawk provides her with an outlet. Readers will learn all about equipment, acquiring a bird, food, etc.
The sport of falconry is little known in the USA, but apparently is a big deal in Great Britain, especially among the gentry. This part could be a bit gory as we learn what these raptor birds eat and how they are trained. But they are fascinating birds with great strength and speed.
The third angle concerns revered author T.H. White who turns out to be one troubled man. He was apparently a closet homosexual, an agnostic, an alcoholic, and a sadomasochist. He was quite brutal with his goshawk. This makes for some uncomfortable reading.
Nature writing is normally soothing and lyrical. This was generally dry, not especially lyrical, and falconry does not seem right for these majestic birds any more than foxhunting is. There are interesting sections though and it serves to document the sport of falconry.
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Non-fiction just isn’t really my jam.
Well written book, but I stretched it out about as long as possible.
Well written book, but I stretched it out about as long as possible.
Following the unexpected death of her beloved father, research scholar and experienced falconer Helen Macdonald follows her own path through grief while adopting and training a young hawk. The bird on which she sets her sights is one usually avoided by falconers: a goshawk. Notoriously stubborn and reputedly difficult to train, the goshawk also served as the subject of a memoir by T.H. White, author of the Arthurian retelling The Once and Future King. As Macdonald recalls White's miserable failures with his own goshawk, she stumbles through her bird's training and her own sadness. The exercise is immersive, forcing distance between herself and others, creating a solitude populated only by her winged companion Mabel. She almost becomes birdlike in her isolation, trying to interpret Mabel's actions and facilitating the bird's brutal hunting methods. As human and hawk come to a sort of understanding, going on dangerous forays into the British countryside and trespassing on the property of others, the author begins to grant her hawk, and herself, release.
In this one-of-a-kind book, Helen Macdonald has written a memoir of her grief, a dedication to the art of falconry, and an examination of the life of author T.H. White. While this may sound like an odd mix of subjects, at the heart of her story is an illustration of nature's power to heal. This memoir should inspire readers to look more closely and carefully at the natural world around them, and perhaps seek solace there. H is for Hawk won the 2014 Costa Book of the Year award.
In this one-of-a-kind book, Helen Macdonald has written a memoir of her grief, a dedication to the art of falconry, and an examination of the life of author T.H. White. While this may sound like an odd mix of subjects, at the heart of her story is an illustration of nature's power to heal. This memoir should inspire readers to look more closely and carefully at the natural world around them, and perhaps seek solace there. H is for Hawk won the 2014 Costa Book of the Year award.
reflective
It's fine. Well written, an interesting piece of writing about recovering from grief. A little self indulgent and clearly a very privileged author. We can't all quit our jobs and take up a new hobby to undertake a personal journey. But I enjoyed the story, and getting to know the hawk.