H is for Hawk: The Sunday Times bestseller and Costa and Samuel Johnson Prize Winner
Jul 2014 · Random House
4.5star
70 reviewsreport
Ebook
320
Pages
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About this ebook
Discover the number one bestselling phenomenon that is a powerful and profound mediation on grief expressed through the trials of training a goshawk.
**WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR**
** WINNER OF THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION**
As a child, Helen Macdonald was determined to become a falconer, learning the arcane terminology and reading all the classic books. Years later, when her father died and she was struck deeply by grief, she became obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk. She bought Mabel for £800 on a Scottish quayside and took her home to Cambridge, ready to embark on the long, strange business of trying to train this wildest of animals.
H is for Hawk is an unflinchingly honest account of Macdonald's struggle with grief during the difficult process of the hawk's taming and her own untaming. This is a book about memory, nature and nation, and how it might be possible to reconcile death with life and love.
**SELECTED BY CARIAD LLOYD ON BBC TWO'S BETWEEN THE COVERS**
'This beautiful book is at once heartfelt and clever in the way it mixes elegy with celebration' Andrew Motion
'It just sings. I couldn't stop reading' Mark Haddon, bestselling author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
'Dazzling... Deeply affecting, utterly fascinating and blazing with love and intelligence' Financial Times
**WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR**
** WINNER OF THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION**
As a child, Helen Macdonald was determined to become a falconer, learning the arcane terminology and reading all the classic books. Years later, when her father died and she was struck deeply by grief, she became obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk. She bought Mabel for £800 on a Scottish quayside and took her home to Cambridge, ready to embark on the long, strange business of trying to train this wildest of animals.
H is for Hawk is an unflinchingly honest account of Macdonald's struggle with grief during the difficult process of the hawk's taming and her own untaming. This is a book about memory, nature and nation, and how it might be possible to reconcile death with life and love.
**SELECTED BY CARIAD LLOYD ON BBC TWO'S BETWEEN THE COVERS**
'This beautiful book is at once heartfelt and clever in the way it mixes elegy with celebration' Andrew Motion
'It just sings. I couldn't stop reading' Mark Haddon, bestselling author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
'Dazzling... Deeply affecting, utterly fascinating and blazing with love and intelligence' Financial Times
Ratings and reviews
4.5
70 reviews
AdamSkiHawk
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July 15, 2015
An amazing and beautiful memoir exploring the concept of grief and how it can be mended with love, I was gripped by the story of Helen and her goshawk, Mabel, from start to finish. An absolute must-read!
3 people found this review helpful
Samual Haber
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February 19, 2016
Helen is a talented writer. The story can be a bit boring but the messages Helen has to say and worth reading
6 people found this review helpful
Kelsie Thomas
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August 20, 2014
What a excellent read, the book grips you from start to finish. I would definitely recommend this book to one of my friends
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Helen Macdonald is a writer, poet, naturalist and historian of science. Their books include H is for Hawk, which won many prizes including the Costa Book of the Year and the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, and the Sunday Times bestselling Vesper Flights. They live in Suffolk with their two parrots.
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