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Reviews tagging 'Suicide'
Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout by Philip Connors
3 reviews
sage_bee's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Suicide, and Animal death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Racism
hmatt's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
2.75
I found the parts of this book that describe the author's experiences manning a fire lookout quite interesting, and I thought these connected well with some (SOME) of the historical accounts. Unfortunately, a lot of times these accounts devolve into Kerouac (/insert other old white naturalist writer) fanboy narratives. The overly-poetic musings on life felt forced and just don't match the narrative, in my opinion. I also didn't care for the kids-these-days tone the author used when referring to people who, shock horror, deigned to own a cell phone or something equally below him.
I wish the author had stuck more to the narrative memoir, because I enjoyed reading about his experiences and the history of fire management in the United States.
I wish the author had stuck more to the narrative memoir, because I enjoyed reading about his experiences and the history of fire management in the United States.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
forsan's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Philip Connors discusses life as a fire lookout in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness. The book is organized to follow the chronology of a fire season in New Mexico; we follow Connors from his arrival at the Apache Peak lookout station in his fifth(ish) year on the job through his departure at the end of fire season. Along the way, Connors discusses various parts of his life and his philosophy about the wilderness.
I definitely enjoyed this, which I listened to as an audiobook while riding my bike. It's really meditative and winding -- we cover a wide range of topics (from Connors' boyhood on a Midwestern farm, to his experiences while living in New York during 9/11, to Jack Kerouac's time as a lookout on Desolation Peak in the North Cascades), not always in a particularly straightforward path. For the most part, it wasn't too repetitive, and I think it fits well into the Edward Abbey-style tradition of nature writing.
I definitely enjoyed this, which I listened to as an audiobook while riding my bike. It's really meditative and winding -- we cover a wide range of topics (from Connors' boyhood on a Midwestern farm, to his experiences while living in New York during 9/11, to Jack Kerouac's time as a lookout on Desolation Peak in the North Cascades), not always in a particularly straightforward path. For the most part, it wasn't too repetitive, and I think it fits well into the Edward Abbey-style tradition of nature writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol
Discusses 9/11 in New York and a family member's death by suicide.
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