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bluestarfish's review against another edition
5.0
Another beautiful nature/travel writing book, and so, again, I want to be off to all of these exciting places. But to be fair Kathleen Jamie does such a lovely job of taking you there and inviting you to look that I don't feel too hard done by. But I would want to go to St Kilda's and Rona - especially if there are orca's on offer! This is a collection of essays mostly about places in the northern fringes with a delve into a Spanish cave and down a microscope. After her mother's death and after getting frustrated at an environmental conference that exults the polar bear and the "beautiful" nature there is a fascinating account of a pathologists'-eye-view on healthy and ill cells. I found that a particularly moving essay. Even though I still fancy a hot July day watching a gannet colony too. Lovely prose, and there were some spectacular sentances in there given that the style at first seems to deceptively simple and plain. Lovely stuff, pleasure to read. And I'd love to read more.
aquapower's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Lyrical prose which captured the essence of her many trips to remote places
stepasha99's review against another edition
2.0
This book is definitely not for me. I don't really understand what the point of the book is, it didn't give me much information to remember and just seemed like the author only wrote it to write another book.
mscalls's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
opheliapo's review against another edition
4.0
'Its all happening out there, and all you have to do, girl, is get your foot out of your eye.' (p.176)
I came into this book, at first, a little disappointed. I had previously read and very much enjoyed Kathleen Jamie's whimsical poetry, which I felt perfectly captured Scottish mores, so her extended and considerably more symbolistic prose threw me. I enjoyed each story very much, but It so often felt as though she was pushing for something deeper, that simply was not there.
However, as the book drew on I started to appreciate Jamie's way of viewing the world around her more and more. It is innocent, over-imaginative, and at times a little cheesy, but there is a visual wisdom in the way that she expresses herself; a purposeful decision not to mature. It made her interactions with the scientists and naturalists around her all the more obscure, and at times laughable, but it was fun. Hence, regardless of it's flaws, Sightlines did not contain a single dull paragraph.
In particular, the stories about whales struck me the most, as they seemed to strike my storyteller. As close as I felt to them in my mind, I yearned to see through Jamie's eyes in reality. She conjured up a fascination that I didn't know existed within me before, that I believe will stick with me. Even now my heart has plucked up at the thought of these grand mammals, both living and long dead.
In short, Jamie has a plucking nature, a genuine passion, and a narrative I will happily return to.
I came into this book, at first, a little disappointed. I had previously read and very much enjoyed Kathleen Jamie's whimsical poetry, which I felt perfectly captured Scottish mores, so her extended and considerably more symbolistic prose threw me. I enjoyed each story very much, but It so often felt as though she was pushing for something deeper, that simply was not there.
However, as the book drew on I started to appreciate Jamie's way of viewing the world around her more and more. It is innocent, over-imaginative, and at times a little cheesy, but there is a visual wisdom in the way that she expresses herself; a purposeful decision not to mature. It made her interactions with the scientists and naturalists around her all the more obscure, and at times laughable, but it was fun. Hence, regardless of it's flaws, Sightlines did not contain a single dull paragraph.
In particular, the stories about whales struck me the most, as they seemed to strike my storyteller. As close as I felt to them in my mind, I yearned to see through Jamie's eyes in reality. She conjured up a fascination that I didn't know existed within me before, that I believe will stick with me. Even now my heart has plucked up at the thought of these grand mammals, both living and long dead.
In short, Jamie has a plucking nature, a genuine passion, and a narrative I will happily return to.
backpackfullofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
susanlawson's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of essays on aspects of nature, Jamie writes beautifully about a variety of themes which include a recount of her participation in an archaeological dig in Perthshire as a young woman, visits to St Kilda and Rona and a wonderful description of the Hvalsalen in Bergen, a museum filled with whale skeletons. Her writing is vivid, evocative and thoughtful and suffused with the beauty and fragility of life on Earth.
emilybh's review against another edition
4.0
I love Kathleen Jamie's writing - her mix of pragmatism and wonder. Reading these essays, you feel as if you're standing in a hall of whale-bones, looking out to sea or sheltering from the wind on St Kilda with her.
hollymckie's review against another edition
3.0
Great writing, but it's really not my thing (read for university).