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emilyandthewhippet's review against another edition
slow-paced
4.0
It's a beautiful book, largely about the author's grief around loosing her father, closely followed by a retelling of the biography of a horrible, flawed man and his hawk from the past. The passages about her hawk are so real you feel she's preening her feathers in front of you but these are third to the aforementioned.
Perhaps I'd built this book up too much in my head. After all, it's on a subject I find so interesting and I've had it on my shelf a good four years before it was read. It was slow and I found myself disappointed that the book neatly finished, only to start yet ANOTHER chapter. I wouldn't read it again.
Perhaps I'd built this book up too much in my head. After all, it's on a subject I find so interesting and I've had it on my shelf a good four years before it was read. It was slow and I found myself disappointed that the book neatly finished, only to start yet ANOTHER chapter. I wouldn't read it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Depression, antidepressants, hunting, hunting of animals, guns, misogynycaramiaculpa's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Read this for Defector Reads a Book and was not disappointed. Yes, it’s a mix of biography, memoir, and treatise on grief. Beautifully written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Outing, Colonisation, and War
shreyavolety's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.5
"I’d look down on the world below, basking in the fierce calm that comes from being invisible but seeing everything. Watching, not doing. Seeking safety in not being seen. It’s a habit you can fall into, willing yourself into invisibility. And it doesn’t serve you well in life. Believe me it doesn’t."
I could either write a review that spans thousands of words, or I could say nothing to at all, and it still wouldn't really capture how much this strange memoir impacted me. This deserves a re-read, and the only reason it's at 4.5 stars is because I intend to come back some time again later this year, to bump that to 5. I am novice to nature writing, and I never expected a book about losing a father and FALCONRY, of all things, to be my entry point. But here we are. I may have highlighted almost everything in this book. Helen Macdonald is a treasure, and so is Mabel, her glorious hawk. I never expected to learn this much T.H. White, Goshawks, Arthurianian legend, and human isolation from one memoir, but I have. And it was a complete delight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness
kathycz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
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