ashenlar's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
The author's relationship with birds and rural England/nature tied together with her relationship with her dad and her emotions around his death make for a powerful memoir reflecting on grief and depression - a tough, emotional read but incredibly rewarding with beautiful, precise prose
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, and Death
zeef's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
geoffry's review against another edition
5.0
Hoe omgaan met rouw en depressie? Helen MacDonald haalt een havik in huis nadat haar vader overlijdt en verliest zichzelf haast in de obsessieve training die ze het beest geeft. Tegelijk helpt de havik, Mabel, haar ook om overeind te blijven in een wereld die zo onwezenlijk en wreed lijkt nadat je iemand dierbaar verloren hebt.
Dit is een boek voor iedereen die verlies kende en eventjes niet meer wist hoe het verder moest.
Dit is een boek voor iedereen die verlies kende en eventjes niet meer wist hoe het verder moest.
jtisgreen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
gorecki's review against another edition
2.0
I’ve heard and read a lot of great reviews for H is for Hawk and I must admit this raised my expectations quite a bit, but after reading this book, I unfortunately don’t feel the same way about it as so many others do.
Let’s start with the fact that I’m not a big fan of non-fiction. The only times I read non-fiction is when I want to learn new things and hit the books for the purpose of studying. As this book is not really a manual, nor a guide book in any particular field of studies, I was not able to approach the text in it as a “study book” and I read it quite as I would read a novel.
Reading it as a memoir or a personal story was also hard – I had no previous knowledge of Helen MacDonald, which made it hard for me to be interested in her personal story the way I would be interested in the life of a painter, writer, or artist – someone I know and like and would love to read more about. I could not relate to her personal loss and the way she copes with it either.
As a novel it did not grab my attention because the plot and topic stand far from me – I have never had any particular interest in birds, apart from admiring their prettiness or chirruping if I see one around me. Plus, the structure and way of writing actually made it impossible for me to read as fiction. Even though I did find the parts dealing with White and his goshawk interesting, and a lot of the facts and knowledge MacDonald shares about the history of falconry and the training of a hawk very informative and interesting, I sometimes felt the writing was chaotic and random – part study, part memoir, part literary analysis, and history paper.
I am very happy to see that this book brings much enjoyment and happiness to other readers, but unfortunately I was not one of them.
Let’s start with the fact that I’m not a big fan of non-fiction. The only times I read non-fiction is when I want to learn new things and hit the books for the purpose of studying. As this book is not really a manual, nor a guide book in any particular field of studies, I was not able to approach the text in it as a “study book” and I read it quite as I would read a novel.
Reading it as a memoir or a personal story was also hard – I had no previous knowledge of Helen MacDonald, which made it hard for me to be interested in her personal story the way I would be interested in the life of a painter, writer, or artist – someone I know and like and would love to read more about. I could not relate to her personal loss and the way she copes with it either.
As a novel it did not grab my attention because the plot and topic stand far from me – I have never had any particular interest in birds, apart from admiring their prettiness or chirruping if I see one around me. Plus, the structure and way of writing actually made it impossible for me to read as fiction. Even though I did find the parts dealing with White and his goshawk interesting, and a lot of the facts and knowledge MacDonald shares about the history of falconry and the training of a hawk very informative and interesting, I sometimes felt the writing was chaotic and random – part study, part memoir, part literary analysis, and history paper.
I am very happy to see that this book brings much enjoyment and happiness to other readers, but unfortunately I was not one of them.
insectinthecity's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75