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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I was seriously disappointed by this book. I listened to the audio, which is read by the author. This book rambles on and just doesn’t get anywhere. Yes it was interesting to hear of her her goshawk, but she kept saying how she had all this experience with falconry yet didn’t seem to really know what she was doing. She tried making connections between this and the shocking death of her father, but I don’t see it. I have no idea how long ago this happened, how old she was when her father died, how old he was, or really any info on who she was - she kept talking about being a student, but also her job? I had the most difficult time getting through this book. 2 stars is probably being generous.
informative
sad
slow-paced
I enjoyed learning about falconry by someone that clearly loves her hawk. Helen McDonald seems to be an intelligent writer who shares much information on falconry, the history, her experience and technical aspects. I didn’t like how often she talks about White’s book The Goshawk, frankly I didn’t pick up the book to learn about some other guys old falconry book. While I enjoyed learning about her hawk, I was very disappointed by this book. I understand grief of losing a parent and I wanted more of the connection between her grief experience and the hawk. I felt as though she was not facing her grief and ignoring all her emotions behind the hawk. (Ex: just randomly feeling bad and going on SSRIs) I never felt like she actually faced her grief and instead distracted herself. If this book was just advertised as a book about raising a hawk it would have been fine, but since it was also about grief, I thought it was one of the worst commentaries on grief I’ve ever read.
I’ve owned this for a while but the constant mention of grief when people talk about it put me off. It is sad but also very honest. Grief about her father, grief about the historical White and his awful hawk training. I’m fascinated by birds and love her connection with Mabel but can’t help but think taming wild animals seems wrong.
reflective
slow-paced
Minun olisi pitänyt rakastaa tätä kirjaa. Brittiläistä maaseutua, herrasmiehiä tweed-puvuissa ja metsästyshaukkoja. Kuitenkin kirja osoittautui niin pitkäveteiseksi ja hitaaksi lukea, että vaihdoin kesken kaiken äänikirjamuotoon. Kuuntelemalla sain tarinan loppuun.
Suurin osa kirjasta oli joko "filosofista pohdiskelua" tai tietoa entisaikojen haukkametsästäjistä. Ihan okei teemoja sinänsä, mutta kirjoitustyyli oli sellainen, että minun oli hyvin vaikea pitää mielenkiintoa yllä. Mitä kertojan omaan haukkaharrastukseen tulee, sitä oli loppujen lopuksi aika pieni osa tarinasta, mihin hieman petyin. Plussaa kuitenkin hyvästä tunnelman luomisesta pitkin kirjaa.
Suurin osa kirjasta oli joko "filosofista pohdiskelua" tai tietoa entisaikojen haukkametsästäjistä. Ihan okei teemoja sinänsä, mutta kirjoitustyyli oli sellainen, että minun oli hyvin vaikea pitää mielenkiintoa yllä. Mitä kertojan omaan haukkaharrastukseen tulee, sitä oli loppujen lopuksi aika pieni osa tarinasta, mihin hieman petyin. Plussaa kuitenkin hyvästä tunnelman luomisesta pitkin kirjaa.
Ended up DNFing at 84 pages. I tried, but I just could not get into this book. It really lacked focus and cohesion. The author jumps from thought to thought and quotes T.H. White way too often. I get that the White was a major influence, but I wanted more focus on the author's journey through grief and bonding with the hawk. Plus, if the author is going to reference White, it would have worked better if they had done so by tying it into how it relates to something specific with their own hawk. I didn't pick up this book to get a biography on White. When the author does talk about their hawk, it is disjointed, as are the memories of their father. I really had high hopes, but after struggling through the 84 pages and having to force myself to even pick it up, I decided this book wasn't for me.
Really interesting, unique, and well-written. More of a 3.5.
FYI you can stream this for free on Audible if you have Prime.
FYI you can stream this for free on Audible if you have Prime.
I highly recommend listening to this if you can. It's read by the author and whereas many authors do just fine reading their own work, Macdonald is superb. She reads like a classically-trained narrator. You can hear a sample here to give you an idea of her voice, though not necessarily of the mesmerizing nature of her tale the further it progresses.
I remember when this came across my desk. There hadn't been much information for it available, at the time, and it looked like a children's book on falconry or somesuch, due to the woodcut nature of the cover illustration. I went to my trusty source, Goodreads, to find out more and immediately saw Greg's review, which was, I think, the only review available at the time, but it's a beautiful review, I gleaned all the info I needed, and those pictures! I've thought of this book ever since.
This month, I finally took the time to listen.
This deserves all the praise it has received. It's a complex book broken down simply. It covers grief and depression, falconry, regrets, the ways in which we deceive ourselves, love, healing, and lessons-learned through both Macdonald's struggle after her father dies and T. H. White's struggle with self via his [b:The Goshawk|1188127|The Goshawk|T.H. White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1547026454s/1188127.jpg|105249], which Macdonald re-reads when she decides the best thing for her to do is train a goshawk.
And that goshawk. Mabel.
This story isn't actually about her, even though most everything centers on her. And yet, she steals the show. She's misunderstood in that Macdonald seems to not see her as a bird of prey but as a challenge whose solution will fix Macdonald's myriad of problems. Mabel becomes a surrogate for life, a vicious, primal life, devoid of feelings. She's a distraction, a joy, a focal point, but, for much of the book, she's not a hawk, not a wild animal who just happens to have been bred in captivity much like Macdonald is not suffering from being overwhelmed after the loss of her father, is not falling apart, is not letting everything go. The listener knows, though, that Mabel is a hawk and Macdonald is in terrible pain.
H is for Helen as much as it is for Hawk and Macdonald manages to finally see both of them, their true natures, their real situations.
She is so elegant and honest about this journey. There’s deep self-knowledge and understanding both of herself and her counterpart, T.H. White. His story is sad and troubling but a wonderful backdrop to Macdonald’s own sad and troubling trials.
Here's an interview with Macdonald, in case you want more from the author, herself.
In related news, Helen Macdonald is someone karen can never, ever visit. Her house is full of birds. (Source)
I remember when this came across my desk. There hadn't been much information for it available, at the time, and it looked like a children's book on falconry or somesuch, due to the woodcut nature of the cover illustration. I went to my trusty source, Goodreads, to find out more and immediately saw Greg's review, which was, I think, the only review available at the time, but it's a beautiful review, I gleaned all the info I needed, and those pictures! I've thought of this book ever since.
This month, I finally took the time to listen.
This deserves all the praise it has received. It's a complex book broken down simply. It covers grief and depression, falconry, regrets, the ways in which we deceive ourselves, love, healing, and lessons-learned through both Macdonald's struggle after her father dies and T. H. White's struggle with self via his [b:The Goshawk|1188127|The Goshawk|T.H. White|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1547026454s/1188127.jpg|105249], which Macdonald re-reads when she decides the best thing for her to do is train a goshawk.
And that goshawk. Mabel.
This story isn't actually about her, even though most everything centers on her. And yet, she steals the show. She's misunderstood in that Macdonald seems to not see her as a bird of prey but as a challenge whose solution will fix Macdonald's myriad of problems. Mabel becomes a surrogate for life, a vicious, primal life, devoid of feelings. She's a distraction, a joy, a focal point, but, for much of the book, she's not a hawk, not a wild animal who just happens to have been bred in captivity much like Macdonald is not suffering from being overwhelmed after the loss of her father, is not falling apart, is not letting everything go. The listener knows, though, that Mabel is a hawk and Macdonald is in terrible pain.
H is for Helen as much as it is for Hawk and Macdonald manages to finally see both of them, their true natures, their real situations.
She is so elegant and honest about this journey. There’s deep self-knowledge and understanding both of herself and her counterpart, T.H. White. His story is sad and troubling but a wonderful backdrop to Macdonald’s own sad and troubling trials.
Here's an interview with Macdonald, in case you want more from the author, herself.
In related news, Helen Macdonald is someone karen can never, ever visit. Her house is full of birds. (Source)
So much of this book is about grief and grieving and I love the novel way in which it is explored though hawks.
In the beginning the author's father dies - suddenly and unexpectedly. And all that happens afterwards has direct parallels to this huge sadness she is trying to process.
The tales of falconry and her work with a young Goshawk are fascinating. It was truly absorbing to read about her attempts at understanding her goshawk as she also wrestled with her grief.
What I could've used much, much less of was her inclusion of the author T. S White's own attempts to tame a goshawk decades before.
IMO the book doesn't need his story. Helen Macdonald's own story is enough.
Part of a five book series with the theme of birds/flight from my TBR list:
Book 1: Bluebird, Bluebird
Book 2: H is for Hawk
Book 3: Alchemy of a Blackbird
Book 4: Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Blackman in the Natural World
Book 5: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
In the beginning the author's father dies - suddenly and unexpectedly. And all that happens afterwards has direct parallels to this huge sadness she is trying to process.
The tales of falconry and her work with a young Goshawk are fascinating. It was truly absorbing to read about her attempts at understanding her goshawk as she also wrestled with her grief.
What I could've used much, much less of was her inclusion of the author T. S White's own attempts to tame a goshawk decades before.
IMO the book doesn't need his story. Helen Macdonald's own story is enough.
Part of a five book series with the theme of birds/flight from my TBR list:
Book 1: Bluebird, Bluebird
Book 2: H is for Hawk
Book 3: Alchemy of a Blackbird
Book 4: Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Blackman in the Natural World
Book 5: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
A very informative book about birds of prey and a certain author who had trouble with his goshawk. What really resonated with me though is their reflection on grief and the troublesome journey of having to live on when someone you love passes.
Based on the title, I thought this was a mystery novel. Instead, it is a memoir and a meditation on grief. The book is an interesting mix of this examination of wildness and an analysis of the author T.H White. Macdonald explores his experience attempting to train a goshawk (just as she is doing), and she reads his novels as evidence of his struggles with sadism and homosexuality, which are not related to her struggles at all. I can identify with the need to be analytical and cerebral when facing difficult things, but it does leave the book unbalanced in a way that reminded me of Alison Bechdel's [b:Are You My Mother?|11566956|Are You My Mother?|Alison Bechdel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388205192s/11566956.jpg|16507555].