Details for 'Vesper Flights' by Helen Macdonald

Vesper Flights

by Helen Macdonald
Essays detailing a very personal response to the wonders of animals, plants, the natural world - this will delight time and again. A joy to read.
Vesper Flights
by Helen Macdonald
My review:

If you've read 'H is for Hawk' you'll either be desperate to get a copy of this book or approaching it with some trepidation. How could Helen Macdonald match that tremendous account of the wonder of nature and the ravages of grief?

This is quite different but it is equally beautiful, fascinating and brilliant.

A collection of essays about the human relationship to the natural world, this is a book to dip into but, arguably, once you start reading, you won't want to stop.

If you've been following Helen Macdonald's writing, you'll be able to enjoy some of her best-loved pieces alongside new essays covering a wide span of subjects. There are swifts, swans and ostriches, foraging for mushrooms, high-rise buildings and spies, as well as tips on how to go to sleep, make decisions and cope with headaches.

It's comforting and stimulating, personal and poignant, uplifting and thought-provoking. So much to mull over and to wonder, and it sets you off in all sorts of other directions too.

Date of my review November 2020
Book publication date: 27th August 2020