For years (and years) my favorite Barbara Kingsolver book was The Poisonwood Bible, followed by Prodigal Summer. And then I read Flight Behavior and I believe that I have a new favorite. I have enjoyed everything I’ve ever read by Kingsolver, but there is a timeliness to Flight Behavior that makes it extra special. The story features Dellarobia Turnbow, a slight-statured, red-haired farmwife in rural, western Tennessee. Dellarobia has no family outside the family she’s made with her gentle giant of a husband, Cub, and […]
Good Medicine
When I was eight, I spent the entire summer running around Indiana. My great uncle had a few acres in a rural part of the state. One day he handed me a hatchet and gestured towards the woods and off I went. I spent most of the day by myself, riding my bike down to the creek, crawling through brush and carving out a little fort with my hatchet, picking berries, and finally watching fireflies glow. It was easily my favorite summer. I learned how to […]
Star Wormwood blazes and each one of you that steps out that door will be torn apart!
Stephen King and I are still in love! My introduction this year to his writing involved some seriously epic shit, with It and The Stand, and now I get to The Mist, and it’s super short, and takes place over 2 days, and doesn’t actually end? Gah. I’m not saying I’m unsatisfied; I’m actually mostly saying that I’m glad that I did this one when I did it, because now there’s a whole new King to love. The man is super prolific, so I’m delighted that […]
“The world is full of happy people, but no one ever hears of them.”
There’s a certain genre of books for young girls that all follow the same formula. The protagonist has a childhood marked by deprivation, poverty, and hardships, but somehow still maintains an upbeat disposition and inner strength. She grows up (these girls are usually plain growing up, but later blossom into great beauties), finds incredible success in her chosen field, and eventually reaches a point where she no longer has to worry about money, or much of anything really. Her success may be partially attributed to […]
A Tale of Love, Loss and Hawks
I’m not sure how to review this book. I’m not even sure how to categorize it. Is it about a woman’s depression following the unexpected death of her father? About an intense relationship between woman and hawk? About the seemingly impossible projects we like to focus on when confronted with an unbearable reality? I guess those descriptions are all close, but they don’t seem like enough when trying to explain Helen MacDonald’s stellar H is for Hawk. Here’s the inadequate summary: After her photographer father’s […]
So. Fucking. Good.
Well this little gem of a memoir is definitely making my end of year best books list. I usually view nonfiction as a (sometimes enjoyable) chore, but this one latched onto my heart and wouldn’t let go. Macdonald’s writing is both electric and soothing. Apparently she’s written poetry in the past and from her lyrical writing style, I can believe it. This woman has a way with words. And birds. H is for Hawk is about the year after her father died when she became […]