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The Snow Geese Paperback – 5 Mar 2010

by
William Fiennes (Author)
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William Fiennes (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 33 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Picador; New Ed edition (5 Mar. 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0330375792
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330375795
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.6 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 36,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon Review

Even without the unbridled enthusiasm of such writers as Peter Carey and Marina Warner that emblazon the jacket, a few pages of William Fiennes’ The Snow Geese would instantly alert the reader that this is something very special indeed. A remarkable piece of natural history and a striking book about the very notion of wandering, this is considerably more than travel writing; it is, in fact, a poetic vision that evokes the splendours and terrors of the Canadian Arctic in a fashion that goes beyond mere description. Perfectly judged prose gives a vision of the natural world that transports the reader utterly.

Snow geese spend each summer in the Canadian Arctic on the Tundra. Every autumn they migrate south to Delaware, California and the Gulf of Mexico, and in the spring they wing northwards again. Fascinated by this, William Fiennes made the decision to go with them and write about his travels. But the result turned out to be about so much more than the migration of geese. This synthesis of autobiography and reportage settles into its real subject swiftly: homecoming, and the powerful pull of the concept of home that motivates us all. The author’s daunting physical adventure is also a meditation on the philosophy of natural science and even the act of autobiography. The sheer energy of the book is mesmerising, and however subtle the writing, we read on transfixed--always relating these strange odysseys to our own travels in the world. The Snow Geese may change your very perception of what home means to you. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'With this beautiful, haunting debut Fiennes joins that small, very special band of writer-explorers - Emerson and Thoreau, Annie Dilard and Bruce Chatwin - who give us another pair of eyes: he has renewed the variety and wonder of the world' Marina Warner 'Fiennes is a very fine writer and this book is pure delight' Peter Carey, winner of the Booker Prize 2001

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Customer Reviews

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsIntense, poetic, moving...
By M. Harrison VINE VOICE on 1 Mar. 2004
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Moving, lyrical, absorbing - what would be a so-so journey for many travel writers becomes an extraordinarily beautiful quest in the hands of a writer whose imagination and precision with words are so utterly astonishing. For instance, comparing the blue light on snow to "a tone in the way the light was speaking" (can't remember the exact quote) just stops you in your tracks.
A fantastically inspiring book to read whilst commuting - real escapism, better than any "sex and shopping" dreck, this takes you out of your grimy tube carriage to the clean open spaces of the arctic tundra. Such a beautiful and moving book, I can't recommend it highly enough.
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent
By A Customer on 17 April 2003
Format: Paperback
This book is a must for anyone who likes travel, natural history, biography or a read to make you think. Full of characters, places and philosophical readings that are cleverly crafted and are so vivid you feel as if you are transported across America and Canada, sharing the nostalgia/homesickness and the thrill of the flight of the birds. My empathy with the narrator is personal - I know how frustrating confinement by illness can be... to have the pleasure to spread your metaphorical wings and fly with the geese is freedom itself. This book cannot be underestimated in its power.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA journey of the soul
By Caroline on 5 April 2003
Format: Paperback
The book is a journey, not just of following the snow geese as they migrate from Texas to the Arctic, but it's the author's journey too - from illness to well-being, from the childhood home to beautiful lands and then home again, from restlessness (his own Zugunruhe) to the sweet weariness of having completed a journey, from familiarity to marvellous strangeness and back to familiarity once more.
The author notices everything. You have a sense of him as almost silent, except for what he writes. He absorbs you with his descriptions of places and other people, delighting your soul with the accuracy of his observations.
It's a peaceful book, restorative, hopeful and uplifting. You give a sigh of satisfaction at the end of the book, glad for having experienced it.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe Snow Geese
By A Customer on 19 April 2002
Format: Hardcover
The Snow Geese is both an existential and metaphysical journey following the migration of these birds. William Fiennes maps the challenging landscape of our desire for signification against the determination of nature. A skilful mixture of science and nature, origins and destinations Fiennes creates a stunning and original book on both exile and empathy. This is an important book for anyone who loves birds, people, language, and landscape - or, has simply ever wondered where home is and how you get there.
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3.0 out of 5 starsLyrical in parts but dull in others
By Dolphin TOP 500 REVIEWER on 20 Jun. 2012
Format: Paperback
This book was left behind by a summer house-guest who could not be bothered to finish it and did not rate it enough to give it luggage room. Given this inauspicious introduction, I started reading it out of curiosity.

The author of this autobiographical account is recovering from a debilitating illness which derailed his young adulthood and left him physically weak and emotionally vulnerable. In this precarious mental state, he conceives the idea of celebrating his recovery with a solo journey inspired by Paul Gallico's book "The Snow Goose" which had a profound impact on his young mind. So Fiennes sets off to follow the migration of snow geese from their winter quarters in Southern Texas all the way to their summer breeding grounds near the Hudson Bay in Canada. The resulting book is part travelogue, part scientific treatise on the migratory habits of birds and of this particular species of snow goose, and also a personal insight into the wider question of "homesickness" in humans.

I am rather on the fence about it. I enjoyed parts of it immensely but found other parts overblown. There is no question in my mind that Fiennes can write beautifully; some of his turns of phrase are refreshingly novel and he is able to describe passing characters in delightful and insightful detail with just a few words. His descriptions of locations and of the snow geese en masse can be lyrically poetic and his spiritual journey has a certain pathos. I felt he dealt with what must have been a pretty fundamental psychological crisis with both restraint and a diffident common touch.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsSuperb. A real new talent.
By Andrew Howell on 1 Oct. 2002
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
During a period of recovery, following surgery, Fiennes was reminded of an early fascination for birds, and particularly the Snow Goose. Illness having broken into his studies Fiennes looked for a new project and decided to follow the migrating snow geese, from Texas to the Artic.
This is an original but has an impact rather like Chatwin's 'In Patagonia'. Here you have the story of a fascinating and unusual journey. You learn a hell of a lot about birds of all kinds, about how they navigate, support each other and have developed over the ages. We meet some fascinating people, superbly described by the author. And this is an exciting quest. Will he finally make it to the summer breeding grounds in time?
Fiennes will be around for years to come. This is hugely enjoyable and commendably readable. I enjoyed every minute of it. Give yourself a real treat.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

An excellent book on many levels.

Published 7 months ago by Winston Smith
4.0 out of 5 starsBit of a slow burner but worth the effort in the end.

Needed a bit of getting in to but persevere and you should enjoy a good read.

Published 7 months ago by Gerrye
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Beautiful prose.

Published 8 months ago by Mrs Julia Pavia
5.0 out of 5 starsA humane story.

Lovely, touching account of a young man's unfolding story, as he progresses northwards with the geese. Great people he met, described very well.

Published 9 months ago by Anni of MK
3.0 out of 5 starsextraordinary in parts

Some parts are very moving and evocative. The early part of the book of found lecture like in the listing of birds and repetitive. Read more

Published 21 months ago by jane godfrey
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Magnificent book.

Published on 26 Oct. 2014 by marco46
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great

Published on 14 Oct. 2014 by Rosemary Hatton
2.0 out of 5 starsSlow to Get Going But Worth Persevering With!

I felt this book lacked a coherent narrative thread. Nothing much happened. No big idea emerged until halfway through. Read more

Published on 14 Oct. 2014 by Diana
5.0 out of 5 starsWe all enjoyed the book immensely and would highly recommend it to ...

This book was chosen for our book reading group. Most of us had read Paul Gallico's book The Snow Goose and decided to discuss the reasons behind William Fiennes' book and why he... Read more

Published on 27 Sept. 2014 by patricia stocks
3.0 out of 5 starsCompelling but up to a point

This is a book that I liked reasonably well at the time of reading, but have no desire to revisit. It is a personal and heart-felt account of the author's fight to recover from a... Read more

Published on 4 Jan. 2014 by Kirwan

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