A review by magnetgrrl
Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl

4.0

I didn't think I would even like this book, but actually I loved it.

I didn't know what I was getting into. It's non-fiction, and I wouldn't call it a collection of essays so much as vignettes, tiny meditations on themes. Interspersed with personal meditations about her family history are observations and poignant meditation on nature. They weave together like a nest and cradle a nascent unstated belief that learning to accept the constant change of nature can help you accept the uncontrollable and constant change of life. In observing the good and the "bad" in nature, the inevitability of things humans could frame as dark or tragic next to the myriad of beautiful things looking closely at nature can bring a sense of balance, and peace.

Renkle doesn't harp on balance or try too hard to teach lessons, and also her prose is gorgeous. I'm sending a few copies to people I think would love this, and recommending it to a few friends.

PS I listened to this on audiobook, and as usual, I listened at 1.5 speed. But I have read that the physical book has nature illustrations from the author's brother, and people in my book group who read the physical book had a harder time getting into it than those of us who listened. I'm ordering a copy of the book which I think I'll flip back through or re-read.