Reviews
A Bookseller and Waterstones Book of the Month "A dazzling piece of work: deeply affecting, utterly fascinating and blazing with love and intelligence . . . a deeply human work shot through, like cloth of gold, with intelligence and compassion—an exemplar of the mysterious alchemy by which suffering can be transmuted into beauty. I will be surprised if a better book than H is for Hawk is published this year." — Melissa Harrison, Financial Times "More than any other writer I know, including her beloved [T.H.] White, Macdonald is able to summon the mental world of a bird of prey . . . she extends the boundaries of nature writing. As a naturalist she has somehow acquired her bird's laser-like visual acuity. As a writer she combines a lexicographer's pleasure in words as carefully curated objects with an inventive passion for new words or for ways of releasing fresh effects from the old stock. . . . Macdonald looks set to revive the genre." — Mark Cocker, Guardian "What [Macdonald] has achieved is a very rare thing in literature—a completely realistic account of a human relationship with animal consciousness. . . . Her training of Mabel has the suspense and tension of the here and now. You are gripped by the slightest movement, by the turn of every feather. It is a soaring performance and Mabel is the star." — John Carey, Sunday Times "The magnificent H is for Hawk [has] grabbed me by its talons . . . [it's] nature writing, but not as you know it. Astounding." — Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller "It sings . I couldn't stop reading." — Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Spot of Bother "This beautiful book is at once heartfelt and clever in the way it mixes elegy with celebration: elegy for a father lost, celebration of a hawk found - and in the finding also a celebration of countryside, forbears of one kind and another, life-in-death. At a time of very distinguished writing about the relationship between human kind and the environment, it is immediately pre-eminent." — Andrew Motion, author of In the Blood "A deep, dark work of terrible beauty that will open fissures in the stoniest heart. . . . Macdonald is a survivor . . . she has produced one of the most eloquent accounts of bereavement you could hope to read . . . A grief memoir with wings." — The Bookseller "A book made from the heart that goes to the heart . . . It combines old and new nature and human nature with great originality. No one who has looked up to see a bird of prey cross the sky could read it and not have their life shifted." — Tim Dee, author of The Running Sky "The most magical book I have ever read." — Olivia Laing, author of The Trip to Echo Springs, "Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk is delicious. Rich with the poetry of ideation, the narrative flows through the author's deeply textured story of personal loss like a mountain wind, swirling seamlessly through fields of literature, biology, natural history, and the art of hunting with hawks. Readers might do well to absorb this book a bite at a time—but be prepared for a full meal." — Lynn Schooler, author of The Blue Bear "A dazzling piece of work: deeply affecting, utterly fascinating and blazing with love and intelligence . . . a deeply human work shot through, like cloth of gold, with intelligence and compassion—an exemplar of the mysterious alchemy by which suffering can be transmuted into beauty. I will be surprised if a better book than H is for Hawk is published this year." — Melissa Harrison, Financial Times "More than any other writer I know, including her beloved [T.H.] White, Macdonald is able to summon the mental world of a bird of prey . . . she extends the boundaries of nature writing. As a naturalist she has somehow acquired her bird''s laser-like visual acuity. As a writer she combines a lexicographer''s pleasure in words as carefully curated objects with an inventive passion for new words or for ways of releasing fresh effects from the old stock. . . . Macdonald looks set to revive the genre." — Mark Cocker, Guardian "A talon-sharp memoir that will thrill and chill you to the bone . . . Macdonald has just the right blend of the scientist and the poet, of observing on the one hand and feeling on the other." — Craig Brown, Daily Mail "What [Macdonald] has achieved is a very rare thing in literature—a completely realistic account of a human relationship with animal consciousness. . . . Her training of Mabel has the suspense and tension of the here and now. You are gripped by the slightest movement, by the turn of every feather. It is a soaring performance and Mabel is the star." — John Carey, Sunday Times "A well-wrought book, one part memoir, one part gorgeous evocation of the natural world and one part literary meditation . . . lit with flashes of grace, a grace that sweeps down to the reader to hold her wrist tight with beautiful, terrible claws. The discovery of the season." — Erica Wagner, Economist "The magnificent H is for Hawk [has] grabbed me by its talons . . . [it's] nature writing, but not as you know it. Astounding." — Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller "It sings . I couldn't stop reading." — Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Spot of Bother "This beautiful book is at once heartfelt and clever in the way it mixes elegy with celebration: elegy for a father lost, celebration of a hawk found - and in the finding also a celebration of countryside, forbears of one kind and another, life-in-death. At a time of very distinguished writing about the relationship between human kind and the environment, it is immediately pre-eminent." — Andrew Motion, author of In the Blood "A deep, dark work of terrible beauty that will open fissures in the stoniest heart. . . . Macdonald is a survivor . . . she has produced one of the most eloquent accounts of bereavement you could hope to read . . . A grief memoir with wings." — The Bookseller "A book made from the heart that goes to the heart . . . It combines old and new nature and human nature with great originality. No one who has looked up to see a bird of prey cross the sky could read it and not have their life shifted." — Tim Dee, author of The Running Sky "The most magical book I have ever read." — Olivia Laing, author of The Trip to Echo Springs, A Bookseller and Waterstones Book of the Month "A dazzling piece of work: deeply affecting, utterly fascinating and blazing with love and intelligence . . . a deeply human work shot through, like cloth of gold, with intelligence and compassion—an exemplar of the mysterious alchemy by which suffering can be transmuted into beauty. I will be surprised if a better book than H is for Hawk is published this year." — Melissa Harrison, Financial Times "More than any other writer I know, including her beloved [T.H.] White, Macdonald is able to summon the mental world of a bird of prey . . . she extends the boundaries of nature writing. As a naturalist she has somehow acquired her bird's laser-like visual acuity. As a writer she combines a lexicographer's pleasure in words as carefully curated objects with an inventive passion for new words or for ways of releasing fresh effects from the old stock. . . . Macdonald looks set to revive the genre." — Mark Cocker, Guardian "A talon-sharp memoir that will thrill and chill you to the bone . . . Macdonald has just the right blend of the scientist and the poet, of observing on the one hand and feeling on the other." — Craig Brown, Daily Mail "What [Macdonald] has achieved is a very rare thing in literature—a completely realistic account of a human relationship with animal consciousness. . . . Her training of Mabel has the suspense and tension of the here and now. You are gripped by the slightest movement, by the turn of every feather. It is a soaring performance and Mabel is the star." — John Carey, Sunday Times "A well-wrought book, one part memoir, one part gorgeous evocation of the natural world and one part literary meditation . . . lit with flashes of grace, a grace that sweeps down to the reader to hold her wrist tight with beautiful, terrible claws. The discovery of the season." — Erica Wagner, Economist "The magnificent H is for Hawk [has] grabbed me by its talons . . . [it's] nature writing, but not as you know it. Astounding." — Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller "It sings . I couldn't stop reading." — Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Spot of Bother "This beautiful book is at once heartfelt and clever in the way it mixes elegy with celebration: elegy for a father lost, celebration of a hawk found - and in the finding also a celebration of countryside, forbears of one kind and another, life-in-death. At a time of very distinguished writing about the relationship between human kind and the environment, it is immediately pre-eminent." — Andrew Motion, author of In the Blood "A deep, dark work of terrible beauty that will open fissures in the stoniest heart. . . . Macdonald is a survivor . . . she has produced one of the most eloquent accounts of bereavement you could hope to read . . . A grief memoir with wings." — The Bookseller "A book made from the heart that goes to the heart . . . It combines old and new nature and human nature with great originality. No one who has looked up to see a bird of prey cross the sky could read it and not have their life shifted." — Tim Dee, author of The Running Sky "The most magical book I have ever read." — Olivia Laing, author of The Trip to Echo Springs, A Bookseller and Waterstones Book of the Month "The magnificent H is for Hawk [has] grabbed me by its talons . . . [it's] nature writing, but not as you know it. Astounding." — Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller "It sings . I couldn't stop reading." — Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and A Spot of Bother "This beautiful book is at once heartfelt and clever in the way it mixes elegy with celebration: elegy for a father lost, celebration of a hawk found - and in the finding also a celebration of countryside, forbears of one kind and another, life-in-death. At a time of very distinguished writing about the relationship between human kind and the environment, it is immediately pre-eminent." — Andrew Motion, author of In the Blood "A deep, dark work of terrible beauty that will open fissures in the stoniest heart. . . . Macdonald is a survivor . . . she has produced one of the most eloquent accounts of bereavement you could hope to read . . . A grief memoir with wings." — The Bookseller "A book made from the heart that goes to the heart . . . It combines old and new nature and human nature with great originality. No one who has looked up to see a bird of prey cross the sky could read it and not have their life shifted." — Tim Dee, author of The Running Sky "The most magical book I have ever read." — Olivia Laing, author of The Trip to Echo Springs
