A review by ury949
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
5.0
I didn't expect to like this book so much - I don't know why - but it was quite beautiful, and I loved it. I think I will give it five stars! I don't know why I'm surprised to find the author's deep love for animals - all hunters love animals. And even though I'm not a hunter and never could be, I love animals and find it thrilling to encounter another human who truly loves all animals, such as Helen Macdonald.
The author refuses to anthropomorphize, which so many people do with pets. Her hawk, Mabel, is not her pet. Interestingly, though, there are moments when she can see the hawk in herself, or the prey in herself, or the hawk reacting to parts of herself she doesn't see are there. The author is grieving, and this struggle trickles throughout the book, creating the distinct story of her first year with Mabel.
The whole experience is contrasted with T. H. White's The Goshawk which tells of his first goshawk. Much of the book is spent summarizing that book and his life struggles, which I didn't like so well, but I did like the descriptions of other falconers' goshawks, especially when they are compared to sulky women. One of my favorite descriptions is of an overweight Mabel as a "hot-tempered, choleric , hot spur on coke, revenge tragedy protagonist goshawk." The writing is beautiful - I never tire of her descriptions of Mabel's ruffled feathers; the pewter sky; the English countryside. I love when she compares holding her new hawk to balancing a stack of china. To write, as she does, so thoughtfully on the topic of patience cannot be easy, and yet is mastered.
True there were parts of the book that were slow or made me cross - her temper seems irrationally short at times, but then I recall that she's grieving, and remember how easy it is to forget how impossibly difficult invisible things can be. That we are all people, as she discovers again and again when she reluctantly allows herself to interact with any community, even while trying with all her might to turn away; humans who need each other; it is almost as easy to forget, for some, as is the fact that all animals are living, more than just objects, complex, not human, unique, important, and vital.
This story, though not perfect, continued to ring true and continued to find its way back to relevance, for me - maybe it's one of those ratings that I should leave blank because my personal opinion is probably quite skewed from most for one reason or another. But I think this is just that sort of book. My recommendation is, I'm not sure if you'll like it or not. But I'm so glad to have read it.
The author refuses to anthropomorphize, which so many people do with pets. Her hawk, Mabel, is not her pet. Interestingly, though, there are moments when she can see the hawk in herself, or the prey in herself, or the hawk reacting to parts of herself she doesn't see are there. The author is grieving, and this struggle trickles throughout the book, creating the distinct story of her first year with Mabel.
The whole experience is contrasted with T. H. White's The Goshawk which tells of his first goshawk. Much of the book is spent summarizing that book and his life struggles, which I didn't like so well, but I did like the descriptions of other falconers' goshawks, especially when they are compared to sulky women. One of my favorite descriptions is of an overweight Mabel as a "hot-tempered, choleric , hot spur on coke, revenge tragedy protagonist goshawk." The writing is beautiful - I never tire of her descriptions of Mabel's ruffled feathers; the pewter sky; the English countryside. I love when she compares holding her new hawk to balancing a stack of china. To write, as she does, so thoughtfully on the topic of patience cannot be easy, and yet is mastered.
True there were parts of the book that were slow or made me cross - her temper seems irrationally short at times, but then I recall that she's grieving, and remember how easy it is to forget how impossibly difficult invisible things can be. That we are all people, as she discovers again and again when she reluctantly allows herself to interact with any community, even while trying with all her might to turn away; humans who need each other; it is almost as easy to forget, for some, as is the fact that all animals are living, more than just objects, complex, not human, unique, important, and vital.
This story, though not perfect, continued to ring true and continued to find its way back to relevance, for me - maybe it's one of those ratings that I should leave blank because my personal opinion is probably quite skewed from most for one reason or another. But I think this is just that sort of book. My recommendation is, I'm not sure if you'll like it or not. But I'm so glad to have read it.