H Is For Hawk
By Helen Macdonald
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 8.5/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
(8.5/10)
283 pages
What’s it about?
This memoir centers equally around grief and the natural world. Helen Macdonald is a young adult when she loses her father. She then loses herself in her grief. She eventually finds her way out with the help of a Goshawk named Mabel.What did I think?
I felt as if I was reading a classic book written at a different point in history. At times it was a little slow (she was fascinated with author T.H. White) but her story was always interesting. I knew nothing about falconry and it’s origins so I learned a lot.
Should you read it?
If you are interested in nature, English history, or the grief process this memoir is a must read. If you just love a book with beautifully constructed sentences then you will also not want to miss “H is for Hawk”.
Quote-
“Here’s a word.Bereavement.Or,Bereaved. Bereft.It’s from the Old Englishbereafian, meaning ‘to deprive of, take away, seize, rob’. Robbed. Seized. It happens to everyone. But you feel it alone. Shocking loss isn’t to be shared, no matter how hard you try. “
“The hawk was a fire that burned my hurts away. There could be no regret or mourning in her. No past or future. She lived in the present only, and that was my refuge.”
What’s it about?
This memoir centers equally around grief and the natural world. Helen Macdonald is a young adult when she loses her father. She then loses herself in her grief. She eventually finds her way out with the help of a Goshawk named Mabel.What did I think?
I felt as if I was reading a classic book written at a different point in history. At times it was a little slow (she was fascinated with author T.H. White) but her story was always interesting. I knew nothing about falconry and it’s origins so I learned a lot.
This memoir centers equally around grief and the natural world. Helen Macdonald is a young adult when she loses her father. She then loses herself in her grief. She eventually finds her way out with the help of a Goshawk named Mabel.What did I think?
I felt as if I was reading a classic book written at a different point in history. At times it was a little slow (she was fascinated with author T.H. White) but her story was always interesting. I knew nothing about falconry and it’s origins so I learned a lot.
Should you read it?
If you are interested in nature, English history, or the grief process this memoir is a must read. If you just love a book with beautifully constructed sentences then you will also not want to miss “H is for Hawk”.
Quote-
“Here’s a word.Bereavement.Or,Bereaved. Bereft.It’s from the Old Englishbereafian, meaning ‘to deprive of, take away, seize, rob’. Robbed. Seized. It happens to everyone. But you feel it alone. Shocking loss isn’t to be shared, no matter how hard you try. “
“The hawk was a fire that burned my hurts away. There could be no regret or mourning in her. No past or future. She lived in the present only, and that was my refuge.”
