octavia_cade's review against another edition
4.0
I had no idea what the hidden city of the title was until I picked up the book, and it's Aberdeen, a place I have never been, and of which my sum total of knowledge was that it was very far north in Scotland, full of granite, and it rained a lot there. (There's a joke of doubtful truth, here in New Zealand, that when the Scots first settled here they chose Nelson, but the weather was too nice there so they went to Dunedin instead. I don't know where I heard that one, but heard it I have.) Woolfson's diary tracks the changes through the year, and it starts and ends in winter. The pages are full of snow, and rain, and her constant desire to see the aurora borealis, a desire which never eventuates though freezing winds are all too common, and not, I think, much compensation.
Most of the focus, though, is given to the creatures that live in her house and garden, the majority of which are birds. There's not a lot of what you'd call fancy wildlife here. Woolfson seems to have a particular predilection for the common and the disdained; she focuses on creatures like pigeons, sparrows, and rats, wondering how far she should go to make room for them in her house. A little mouse who wants to spend the winter inside and steals the odd tiny bit of food from her birds, fine. The rats that make a home under the house are less fine, but the guilt she feels in having them poisoned is constant. There's a strong focus here on learning to value common creatures for themselves, and the moral consequences of choosing to cause them harm. Why are her Aberdeen neighbours so vicious towards the grey squirrel, for example, and so welcoming to the red? (Though it's a late welcoming, given the national history of slaughter towards those same red squirrels.) It's a very thoughtful book, anyway, and if I do find it a tiny bit slow in places, I still really enjoyed it. And I want to visit Aberdeen now, so there's that.
Most of the focus, though, is given to the creatures that live in her house and garden, the majority of which are birds. There's not a lot of what you'd call fancy wildlife here. Woolfson seems to have a particular predilection for the common and the disdained; she focuses on creatures like pigeons, sparrows, and rats, wondering how far she should go to make room for them in her house. A little mouse who wants to spend the winter inside and steals the odd tiny bit of food from her birds, fine. The rats that make a home under the house are less fine, but the guilt she feels in having them poisoned is constant. There's a strong focus here on learning to value common creatures for themselves, and the moral consequences of choosing to cause them harm. Why are her Aberdeen neighbours so vicious towards the grey squirrel, for example, and so welcoming to the red? (Though it's a late welcoming, given the national history of slaughter towards those same red squirrels.) It's a very thoughtful book, anyway, and if I do find it a tiny bit slow in places, I still really enjoyed it. And I want to visit Aberdeen now, so there's that.
ingridboring's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed parts of this. Had to skip the chapter about slugs *shudder* it is definitely a slow read which you can dip in and out of
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
3.0
Written ove the course of a year, Woolfson takes us on a stroll throughout Aberdeen, looking that the natural world around her in this very northern city. Looking at the the wild creatures that inhabit it, and the ones in her house too, she writes short and long entries on subject such as pigeons, slugs foxes and plants.
Some of the passages and entries are beautifully written, they are eloquent and inspirational. There are longer sections of the where she expands on subjects that are she is passionate about, but it feels like these haves been included in to add substance to the book. If only they had just left it as a diary it would have been much better. Really a 2.5 star read.
Some of the passages and entries are beautifully written, they are eloquent and inspirational. There are longer sections of the where she expands on subjects that are she is passionate about, but it feels like these haves been included in to add substance to the book. If only they had just left it as a diary it would have been much better. Really a 2.5 star read.
sandyd's review
5.0
This non-fiction will not be to everyone’s taste, but if you enjoy nature writing or slow, reflexive essays, give it a try. It starts out with winter in Aberdeen in the north of Scotland, so maybe begin the book in June in North America so you aren’t overwhelmed with the cold and dark.
There's a lot about birds in this book - did you know starlings are a threatened species in Britain? That house sparrows are endangered there? Weird to think they're dwindling in their native lands while we think of them as invasive pests. Woolfson probably provides more details about pigeons, crows, rooks, oystercatchers, baby birds, bird rescue, and jackdaws (apparently reviled in Scotland) than most Americans want, but if you're in the right mood it is fascinating.
There are also interesting sections on spiders, arachnophobia, slugs, urban foxes, rats, shrews, native vs. introduced species and red & gray squirrels, some reflections on how we talk about and treat animals and how this relates to how we treat people (invasive species=immigrants), a philosophy of nature, weather, climate change, and Jewish culture and life outdoors.
Wonderful insights, poetic prose, well-grounded research. Now can someone write something like this for the Midwest US?
There's a lot about birds in this book - did you know starlings are a threatened species in Britain? That house sparrows are endangered there? Weird to think they're dwindling in their native lands while we think of them as invasive pests. Woolfson probably provides more details about pigeons, crows, rooks, oystercatchers, baby birds, bird rescue, and jackdaws (apparently reviled in Scotland) than most Americans want, but if you're in the right mood it is fascinating.
There are also interesting sections on spiders, arachnophobia, slugs, urban foxes, rats, shrews, native vs. introduced species and red & gray squirrels, some reflections on how we talk about and treat animals and how this relates to how we treat people (invasive species=immigrants), a philosophy of nature, weather, climate change, and Jewish culture and life outdoors.
Wonderful insights, poetic prose, well-grounded research. Now can someone write something like this for the Midwest US?
halfmanhalfbook's review
3.0
Written ove the course of a year, Woolfson takes us on a stroll throughout Aberdeen, looking that the natural world around her in this very northern city. Looking at the the wild creatures that inhabit it, and the ones in her house too, she writes short and long entries on subject such as pigeons, slugs foxes and plants.
Some of the passages and entries are beautifully written, they are eloquent and inspirational. There are longer sections of the where she expands on subjects that are she is passionate about, but it feels like these haves been included in to add substance to the book. If only they had just left it as a diary it would have been much better. Really a 2.5 star read.
Some of the passages and entries are beautifully written, they are eloquent and inspirational. There are longer sections of the where she expands on subjects that are she is passionate about, but it feels like these haves been included in to add substance to the book. If only they had just left it as a diary it would have been much better. Really a 2.5 star read.
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