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h is for hawk - helen macdonald

Back to Books 2016
The most enjoyable part of the book was....       Helen' writing of the great outdoors and of her experience of training her Goshawk  I could almost feel how the different birds felt on my gloved hand again and how heavy an owl and eagle are.  How majestic they are in flight and when they      

 The most important part of the book is..... Helen's ability to bare her soul in a most beautiful way.  How we try and escape ourselves when bad things happen to the detriment of ourselves and those we love and how we come back.

The Ordinary Observation...... I picked this up because it was the Samuel Johnson non fiction prize winner AND the reviews were good on Amazon,  Book awards can be a very useful source to picking up quality books which enrich my reading life and this is a perfect example.

Picture

 Details and Thoughts

Book begins with an early morning walk in the Brecklands near Cambridge observing Goshawks and at the end of the chapter the death of Helen's father - the major themes of the book.

We find out about Helen's childhood passion for Hawking and her dads life as a pro photographer - both requiring a lot of patience!

Helen decides she wants a Goshawk which are very difficult to train and we are introduced to T.H. White (who wrote The Sword In The Stone) and his book The Goshawk which details his failed attempt in 1930's England.  The book then splits and merges these together throughout the book. 

 





read

• Started - Mid September
• Finished - October 6th

KEY FACTS

• Costa Book of the Year 2014
• ​Paperback 279 Pages
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other books

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Score /40

 

Cognitive Ease=     Technical =      Story =      Enjoyment =      Memorable =     Ronseal Effect =     Talkability =     Longivity = 
  • Home
  • The Bookshelf
  • 2020
  • 2019
    • 2019 - Jan - Apr
    • 2019 - May to August
    • 2019 - Sep to Dec
  • 2018
    • 2018 - Jan - June
    • 2018 - July - Dec
  • 2017
    • 2017 Rankings 14-1
    • 2017 Rankings
    • 2017 July - Dec
    • 2017 Jan - June
  • Books of 2016
  • Books of 2015
    • Books of 2015 part 2
    • Books of 2015 The Winner
  • Awards
  • Blog
  • The Best Ever
  • How to get better
  • 12 Tips for Healthy Sleep
  • Podcasts
  • Links
    • Goodreads
  • About
  • Blog
  • Blog
  • 2021