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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
beautiful, intimate, and occasionally tough, as accounts of grief can be. rambling and personal at turns, sharply aware and passionate at others. almost too much musing on T.H. White, but I understand why!
Liked the descriptions of the author's hawk training, and the often gorgeous descriptions of the natural world. But got very fed up with TH White.
The overall vibe was Stuffy. This just was boring to me! Surprisingly I actually maybe most liked the drawn out parts about TH White.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I didn’t know what to expect with this book except that it was an anecdote on grief and falconry. This book was not just a memoir, but a visceral experience. Macdonald paints a picture of grief and love that feels so accurate and raw, I was in it with her. I admit the bits about another falconry author White felt random, but I get McDonald’s addition as a deep connection to herself. A slow read, but moving all the same.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I wasn’t a fan of this. Although maybe it was headed in this direction, I kept wanting there to be a more nuanced discussion about falconry than there was. Sure, there was an acknowledgment about the elitism of falconry but nothing more than a brief mention as she continues to try to break (sorry, train) this goshawk. The actual act of owning and training a bird felt in conflict with the admiration she claims to have (which she may have been getting to but I couldn’t bring myself to continue).
I'm trying to read more nonfiction. I looked up a list of best memoirs and this one came up. This book is exactly to my taste. It focuses a lot on the emotional side of Helen training her hawk; it also draws a lot from T. H. White and details his own journey. I felt like I was learning so much about falconry as well as Helen while reading this.
I try to focus on negatives first and end on a positive note. The only one that comes to mind is that sometimes Helen would mention a person and I would think "who?" The person was never mentioned before and there's no explanation to who they are or their relation to Helen. Moments like that drew me out of the story.
Other than that, this was a fantastic read. I got a great sense of Helen's growing connection with Mabel, all the patience and effort that went into training this bird. As I said, the emotion is beautifully conveyed. I went away with so much respect for these birds, and the people who dedicate themselves to training them.
I try to focus on negatives first and end on a positive note. The only one that comes to mind is that sometimes Helen would mention a person and I would think "who?" The person was never mentioned before and there's no explanation to who they are or their relation to Helen. Moments like that drew me out of the story.
Other than that, this was a fantastic read. I got a great sense of Helen's growing connection with Mabel, all the patience and effort that went into training this bird. As I said, the emotion is beautifully conveyed. I went away with so much respect for these birds, and the people who dedicate themselves to training them.