¶ … Poetic Side of Nature I have a number of different perceptions about MacDonald's work of non-fiction entitled H is for Hawk. However, the most notable of them is simply the way that the author writes. Among other things, MacDonald is a poet. To the delight of this particular reader, she is not a bad one, either. Many poets tend to focus on the sort of idiosyncrasies that inevitably emerge within their verse. In this regard, MacDonald is not so different. However, she is able to actually transcend the writing about mere 'weird things' for quite some time and to focus, instead, on a type of poetry and prose combination that both informs the narration of the story -- and even colors it.

Some of her descriptions of the hawk that she chooses to raise and train in the wake of the death of her father, for instance, are beautiful, inspirational, and idyllic even. In this regard the author is able to accentuate an unconventional read in a way that is able to avoid conventionality altogether. The moments of poetry punctuate her prose frequently enough to make this book worth reading regardless of the subject matter. As far as that subject matter goes, however, it certainly is unique. On the one hand this is simply a tale of a woman trying to recover from a period of profound...

On the other, it is much more symbolic. What MacDonald is really attempting to do is to raise herself from the ashes of mourning like the proverbial phoenix. The fact that she has chosen to do so while training, raising, and caring for a bird merely reinforces the symbolic worth of this tale, and helps to present an overarching theme that is certainly worthy of reading at some point in one's life.
Another perception I had about this book is that it was somewhat unfortunate to read another example of human beings domesticating animals. I understand that there are certain emotions in people that tends to make them lonely, and that finding companionship in animals is a way to help them feel better and to reduce their loneliness. But as a true lover of nature and animals, I always think it is unfortunate when people make animals less than the wild creatures that they are by making them accustomed to living in human-based environments. I tend to think that animals belong in nature, and not in a person's home, eagerly waiting for their so-called 'owner' to feed them. Thus, from this perspective, there were certain parts of this book that I did not agree with and actually did not like.

Still, I also cannot deny that the rapport that existed between MacDonald and…