A lovely companion for your outdoor adventures.
An observation journal to accompany the author’s essay collection The Comfort of Crows.
In her acclaimed 2023 book, Renkl, who also wrote Late Migrations and Graceland, At Last, contemplated the changes taking place in her backyard in Nashville over the course of the four seasons, with a particular focus on the repeating patterns that occur in nature. Here, the author hopes to inspire others to “pay close, sustained attention to the natural world in whatever form you have access to it.” As Renkl notes, “Before I was a writer, I was an observer, and I still think of myself as an observer first. Every day I go outside and spend at least a little time tuning out the distractions and responsibilities of my life.” Divided by season, the journal offers a space for nature enthusiasts to make notes and observations each week of the year. To help guide readers, the journal also includes passages from The Comfort of Crows, as well as writing prompts based on questions Renkl explored during the same week each year. “In the process,” writes the author, “I hope you will fall in love with your wild neighbors the way I have fallen in love with mine.” While engaging with the natural world, she notes, you will likely encounter events that may be painful to witness, such as the bloody manifestations of the food chain, the effects of climate change, and human-caused habitat destruction. Though often heartbreaking, these elements offer moments for contemplation and reflection. Renkl also includes a resources section to assist beginning observers in identifying plants and animals found in their local areas, offering suggestions for related apps, field guides, and native plant databases. Renkl’s brother, Billy, also contributed to this project, creating the artwork found throughout the book.
A lovely companion for your outdoor adventures.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781954118522
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
This is our life, these are our lighted seasons, and then we die. . . . In the meantime, in between time, we can see. . . we can work at making sense of (what) we see. . . to discover where we so incontrovertibly are. It's common sense; when you-move in, you try to learn the neighborhood." Dillard's "neighborhood" is hilly Virginia country where she lived alone, but essentially it is all those "shreds of creation" with which every human is surrounded, which she is trying to learn, to know — from finite variations to infinite possibilities of being and meaning. A tall order and Dillard doesn't quite fill it. She is too impatient to get about the soul's adventures to stay long with an egg-laying grasshopper, or other bits of flora and fauna, and her snatches from physics and biological/metaphysical studies are this side of frivolous. However, Ms. Dillard has a great deal going for her — in spite of some repetition of words and concepts, her prose is bright, fresh and occasionally emulates (not imitates) the Walden Master in a contemporary context: "Trees. . . extend impressively in both directions, . . . shearing rock and fanning air, doing their real business just out of reach." She has set herself no less a task than understanding emotionally, spiritually and intellectually the force of the creative extravagance of the universe in all its beauty and horhor ("There is a terrible innocence in the benumbed world of the lower animals, reducing life to a universal chomp.") Experience can be focused, and awareness sharpened, by a kind of meditative high. Thus this becomes somewhat exhausting reading, if taken in toto, but even if Dillard's reach exceeds her grasp, her sights are leagues higher than that of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea, regretfully (re her sex), the inevitable comparison.
Pub Date: March 13, 1974
ISBN: 0061233323
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harper's Magazine Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1974
IN THE NEWS
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.
The third volume in the Elephant Whisperer series.
In this follow-up to An Elephant in My Kitchen, Malby-Anthony continues her loving portrait of the Thula Thula wildlife reserve, which she co-founded in 1998 with her late husband, South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who published the first book in the series, The Elephant Whisperer, in 2009. Following his death in 2012, Malby-Anthony sought to honor his legacy by continuing his vision “to create a massive conservancy in Zululand, incorporating our land and other small farms and community land into one great big game park.” At the same time, the elephants gave her “a sense of purpose and direction.” In the Zulu language, thula means quiet, and though the author consistently seeks to provide that calm to her charges, peace and tranquility are not always easy to come by at Thula Thula. In this installment, Malby-Anthony discusses many of the challenges faced by her and her staff, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. These included an aggressive, 2-ton rhino named Thabo; the profound loss felt by all upon the death of their elephant matriarch, Frankie; difficulty obtaining permits and the related risk of having to relocate or cull some of their animals; the fear of looting and fire due to civil unrest in the region; and the ongoing and potentially deadly struggles with poachers. Throughout, the author also shares many warm, lighthearted moments, demonstrating the deep bond felt among the humans and animals at the reserve and the powerful effects of the kindness of strangers. “We are all working in unity for the greater good, for the betterment of Thula Thula and all our wildlife….We are humbled by the generosity and love, both from our guests and friends, and from strangers all around the world,” writes the author. “People’s open-hearted support kept us alive in the darkest times.”
A heartwarming and inspiring story for animal lovers.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781250284259
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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