A review by ehmannky
H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
It's weird because there's so much going on in this book and I feel like it shouldn't really work as well as it does. Because it's about falconry, it's about T.H. White, it's about goshawks and creating a bond with nature that is respectful, it's about one woman's specific journey to coping with the sudden and traumatic loss of her father. And it shouldn't work, but the overarching theme of grief really just ties everything together.
There were parts (especially some of the falconry parts) where I felt myself just sort of skimming, but then they'd be followed by moments of grief I felt were so relatable that I had to put my book down for a moment before I could continue reading. It's a lovely book, and I recommend it to others who are grieving but are put off by the overwhelmingly Christian religious grief-coping books.
There were parts (especially some of the falconry parts) where I felt myself just sort of skimming, but then they'd be followed by moments of grief I felt were so relatable that I had to put my book down for a moment before I could continue reading. It's a lovely book, and I recommend it to others who are grieving but are put off by the overwhelmingly Christian religious grief-coping books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Death of parent