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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I really struggled with this book, but wanted to like it because it’s so popular in the naturalist community and general public. It was mostly dull and slightly nonsensical, while at the same time the writing was pretty pretentious. Not everything in life has to be a metaphor. I also could not enjoy the blasé way in which the author wrote about falconry and the stress to and confinement of a large hawk it entailed. And please, for the love of God, stop talking about T. H. White.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Two chapters in and I was wondering what on earth I was doing reading a book about grief when I was still struggling to cope with my own loss. I persisted however and was glad I did. H is for Hawk is unlike any book I've read and tells of the author's life for the year following the sudden death of her father during which she acquires and trains a young female goshawk. A most unusual book, but fascinating in so many ways.
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
The prose was stunning and the story and self reflection was beautiful to read, but the bits about White admittedly had my eyes glossing over and made it tedious to read. I definitely struggled finding motivation to read at times.
This was a really unique read. Slow, but not in a bad way. A story of grief, EB White and falconry.
Having worked with birds of prey for a few years, i related to Helen in a lot of different ways and i really enjoyed her story of working with Mabel. But, the fact that half the book was just T.H. White's story drove me insane lol. I understand how his story was relevant, but i think way more information was added than necessary. I quickly lost interest in his part of the story and it became extremely annoying to have to read. That being said, if the book were to mainly be just Helens story of working with Mabel, i would have given it 5 stars.
My feelings on this book are complicated. For one, it is well-written and you can feel the passion for falconry exuding from each chapter. I thought the personal arc was also compelling. However, I thought that overall it was disjointed. I wasn't initially put off by the T.H. White content, but through the second half it became overbearing and borderline parasocial. I thought the parallels were very interesting, but the way she inserted herself into his life felt a bit awkward to me, and it also messed with the pacing; switching between narratives led chapters to feel stilted. I understand why it was written this way, but it just didn't work completely for me.
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced