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marycamp24's review against another edition
5.0
Helen Macdonald has such a keen, appreciative eye for every small element of nature, which makes for a truly compelling read. I think anyone who enjoys a nice walk in the woods or birding should read this.
dinsdale's review against another edition
4.0
After listening to Helen MacDonald’s excellent book H is for Hawk in 2016 I immediately added Vesper Flights to my TBR list and I finally got around to it. Unlike H is for Hawk, which is about her life with her goshawk Mabel, this book is a series of 41 nature essays which covers a wide variety of topics but primarily are about birds. I again listened in Audible. She has a great voice and her narration is excellent, and really adds to the book especially when she tugs at your emotions.
It seems like she’s been everywhere and has had encounters with a wide variety of beasts. She is British so we learn a lot of the issues faced on the island regarding the struggles of wildlife, birds in particular. But her travels took her all over the world and she seems to have a story for every location.
Some of my favorite essays were: her experience with an ostrich at a farm she worked at as a young person, the tale of Menesh the stork accused of being a spy and "arrested", the rise and fall of orioles in Great Britain, experiences with goats, the story of the arrow-stork, watching bird migration from the top of the Empire State Building, the effects of the 9-11 light beams on birds, and the tradition of swan upping. There are also chapters with interesting information about nests, swifts, wild pigs, mushrooms, cuckoos, berries, and a ton of other subjects. She also veers away from nature at times, writing about her migraines and her friend Nathalie Cabrol, a French NASA astrobiologist who studies lakes on Mars.
Some of the chapters inspire awe and some leave you with a lump in your throat and all you can say is “wow”. Great examples of this are her conclusion to the chapter Nests where she waxes poetically about an unhatched bird as she watches its shadow move around inside its egg and how it will someday rule the skies over our heads, and the whole final chapter What Animals Taught Me where she puts our relationship with nature in perspective. I think she's a great writer and she is the person you want to go on a hike in the woods with.
Like any collection, some topics held my interest more than others but overall this was excellent and listening to the brilliant author read her own words really added to the experience.
It seems like she’s been everywhere and has had encounters with a wide variety of beasts. She is British so we learn a lot of the issues faced on the island regarding the struggles of wildlife, birds in particular. But her travels took her all over the world and she seems to have a story for every location.
Some of my favorite essays were: her experience with an ostrich at a farm she worked at as a young person, the tale of Menesh the stork accused of being a spy and "arrested", the rise and fall of orioles in Great Britain, experiences with goats, the story of the arrow-stork, watching bird migration from the top of the Empire State Building, the effects of the 9-11 light beams on birds, and the tradition of swan upping. There are also chapters with interesting information about nests, swifts, wild pigs, mushrooms, cuckoos, berries, and a ton of other subjects. She also veers away from nature at times, writing about her migraines and her friend Nathalie Cabrol, a French NASA astrobiologist who studies lakes on Mars.
Some of the chapters inspire awe and some leave you with a lump in your throat and all you can say is “wow”. Great examples of this are her conclusion to the chapter Nests where she waxes poetically about an unhatched bird as she watches its shadow move around inside its egg and how it will someday rule the skies over our heads, and the whole final chapter What Animals Taught Me where she puts our relationship with nature in perspective. I think she's a great writer and she is the person you want to go on a hike in the woods with.
Like any collection, some topics held my interest more than others but overall this was excellent and listening to the brilliant author read her own words really added to the experience.
katyboo52's review against another edition
5.0
A book of essays about nature and in particular, our relationship to nature and how what we think about it has a massive impact on our behaviour both environmentally speaking and emotionally. Many of the themes of H is for Hawk are investigated further here including what wildness is, how thinking about animals shapes our responses to them and our understanding of them and ourselves. I am particularly interested in the ideas around borders and immigration which Macdonald explores in terms of creatures like cuckoos for example. I was particularly interested in her interview with an asylum seeker and the parallels she draws between understanding wildness to have a better sense of our humanity. The essays that have stuck with me the most are the ones about swifts. Fascinating stuff.
dclark32's review against another edition
4.0
A lovely collection of highly introspective essays about human relationships to the natural world. It is particularly satisfying when listened to as an audiobook, as the intense emotions to which Macdonald attaches to her experiences really come through in her reading. Most of the essays are short, though that doesn't stop Macdonald from veering in often unexpected directions. She sees in the animals around us - especially birds - wider lessons about both how humans impact our environment, and perhaps most poignantly how the natural world affects us (and herself in particular). When she becomes more explicitly political she sometimes missteps, but in describing the lives of creatures she has few peers. Highly recommended.
4.5/5
Note to self - selections suitable for listening exercises in class by virtue of length, quality, and accessibility:
"Nothing Like a Pig" (used in ELA7-9 with success)
"The Arrow-Stork"
"A Handful of Corn"
4.5/5
Note to self - selections suitable for listening exercises in class by virtue of length, quality, and accessibility:
"Nothing Like a Pig" (used in ELA7-9 with success)
"The Arrow-Stork"
"A Handful of Corn"
allegedarchivist's review against another edition
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
At points, Macdonald’s prose is transcendent. Likewise, many of the essays are incredibly interesting and effective, wonderful portraits of a very specific time and political/social context. If nothing else, it’s a great novel to capture the feeling of the beginning of the 2020s. However, I felt that there was a lack of any real through line, with several essays that echoed each other or repeated similar themes with varying effectiveness. Perhaps an even shorter version would be a bit more potent and drag less - but it’s a wonderful bit of craft, even if it’s a bit messy.
moimaman's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
janey's review against another edition
5.0
I love the way Macdonald thinks and writes. This is a book to savor slowly and return to again and again over time. Also, it's very brave to write about a solar eclipse in spite of the existence of Annie Dillard's essay on the topic which is very different from Macdonald's and yet is impossible to ignore.