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brookemorgan's review against another edition
1.0
Fair warning, this book is 95% about birds. So if you’re down for a bird bio, go for it. The remaining 5% is just pompous privilege manifesting itself in sexism. (I am glad I only paid $6 for it, thank u Rosie).
azra_ro's review against another edition
2.0
In my opinion, there are way to many mentions of birds in these essays. His style of writing is genuinely likable. Reading this, I felt as if I was having a casual conversation with the author. Franzen's nonfiction really isn't my cup of tea, but I do look forward to reading his fiction works.
"One of the mysteries of literature is that personal substance, as perceived by both the writer and the reader, is situated outside the body of either of them, on some kind of page. How can I feel realer to myself in a thing I'm writing than I do inside my body? How can I feel closer to another person when I'm reading her words than I do when I'm sitting next to her?"
"One of the mysteries of literature is that personal substance, as perceived by both the writer and the reader, is situated outside the body of either of them, on some kind of page. How can I feel realer to myself in a thing I'm writing than I do inside my body? How can I feel closer to another person when I'm reading her words than I do when I'm sitting next to her?"
charlottejones952's review against another edition
1.0
*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, this was a struggle to get through and if it wasn't something I had from NetGalley, I would have dnfed it.
From the title, marketing and cover you would expect the majority of these essays to focus on the environment, particularly the climate crisis. Though this was a feature of some of the essays, the main focus throughout was birds. I am interested in the natural world and wildlife, but travelling around the world in order to tick species off a list is not what I was expecting to read about.
Franzen himself comes across as extremely privileged but it's not something he addresses and he is often very judgemental of indigenous populations, criticising the way they interact with the natural world.
Overall, obviously, I would never recommend this. I think that there are probably better books out there about birding and conservation, and there are definitely better books about climate change and the natural world.
1 out of 5 stars!
Unfortunately, this was a struggle to get through and if it wasn't something I had from NetGalley, I would have dnfed it.
From the title, marketing and cover you would expect the majority of these essays to focus on the environment, particularly the climate crisis. Though this was a feature of some of the essays, the main focus throughout was birds. I am interested in the natural world and wildlife, but travelling around the world in order to tick species off a list is not what I was expecting to read about.
Franzen himself comes across as extremely privileged but it's not something he addresses and he is often very judgemental of indigenous populations, criticising the way they interact with the natural world.
Overall, obviously, I would never recommend this. I think that there are probably better books out there about birding and conservation, and there are definitely better books about climate change and the natural world.
1 out of 5 stars!
wastelanderone's review against another edition
4.0
At its best, using birds as a lens to talk about climate change. At its worst, going on a diatribe about a long dead author. Be thinking about this for a while.
sarahc3319's review against another edition
3.0
I know Mr. Franzen is polarizing at best and infuriating to many, but the man can write, and he loves birds. I enjoyed this collection of essays, many of which were about birds or birding, many of which touched on the all-too-real issue of climate change and how it is affecting the world-- people and places outside the US (gasp) and species other than humans (gasp). Other essays poignantly introduced us to family members, introspectively talked about 9/11, and showed proper respect for William Vollman and Edith Wharton. A good collection overall.
philosophie's review against another edition
4.0
Meanwhile the personal essay itself - the formal apparatus of honest self-examination and sustained engagement with ideas, as developed by Montaigne and advanced by Emerson and Woolf and Baldwin - is in eclipse.
Franzen gets into line with the tradition of essayists that share both their ideas and experiences and does so impeccably.
This copy was kindly provided to me in exchange for an honest review by the publisher via NetGalley.
shoaibmnagi's review against another edition
4.0
A quaint collection of essays from Franzen with occasional banality peppered through it. The titular essay is one of the best, so is the one that charts Franzen's friendship with William T. Vollmann.
brookemorgan's review against another edition
1.0
Fair warning, this book is 95% about birds. So if you’re down for a bird bio, go for it. The remaining 5% is just pompous privilege manifesting itself in sexism. (I am glad I only paid $6 for it, thank u Rosie).
zachkuhn's review against another edition
5.0
Franzen doesn't care what you think but he really cares that you don't think he's wrong.