Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams
Nonfiction
1992 Vintage
Read in August 1997
Rating: 3/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer. That same season, The Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights, threatening the herons, owls, and snowy egrets that Williams, a poet and naturalist, had come to gauge her life by. One event was nature at its most random, the other a by-product of rogue technology: Terry's mother, and Terry herself, had been exposed to the fallout of atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. As it interweaves these narratives of dying and accommodation, Refuge transforms tragedy into a document of renewal and spiritual grace, resulting in a work that has become a classic.
My Original Notes (1997):
Pretty good, but not great. Depressing topic - multigenerational cancer deaths due to radioactive fallout in Utah. I actually enjoyed the book when it dealt with the family and Mormon issues, but got bored with the ornithology and Great Salt Lake issues. I skimmed some of those. Rod read it, too, and enjoyed it.
My Current Thoughts:
I only have a vague recollection of this book and I'm sure I picked it up after hearing about the author in my Great Plains Lit class. I might enjoy it more now than I did back then.
It's been interesting seeing what you were reading back in 1997. And I've never heard of this book. Don't think it's for me. ;-)
ReplyDeleteKay - I'm glad you're enjoying these posts. No, I don't think this one was for me, either. ;)
DeleteOh goodness, I can imagine this must have been difficult to read. Probably one I would skip to be honest.
ReplyDeleteIliana - Yes, it's one I would skip now, myself.
DeleteI've been going back and rereading some books that I read in the past too. So far, I've finished three of them, written about two. It's a very interesting endeavor. I wonder what you will think upon revisiting yours.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae - Isn't it interesting to reread books that were favorites from many years ago? Some I love just as much as I did back then and others have me wondering why I thought they were so great. I don't think I'll read this one again.
Delete