On Whale Island: Notes from a Place I Never Meant to Leave

Rating:
Summary: A Nice Read
Review: Dan Hays captured the spirit of Whale Island very well. As someone who appreciates the nature writing genre, I was impressed by his graphic descriptions of the scenery and of events as they unfolded. Maybe the biggest compliment of all is that it rarely dawned on me that Dan Hays was working on the book each day, as the story unfolded; in other words, I became entirely engrossed in the story of a small family living their lives on an island off the Canadian coast.

Dan Hays might also be recognized for his honesty. I appreciated the way -- both positive and negative -- that he let himself, his wife and his son come through. All this adds up, in my mind, to a very realistic and engaging story.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, warm & witty story...
Review: I LOVED this book! So few memoirists are able to write completely honestly, instead usually holding up some kind of complimentary or tidying prism on the experience with the effect of sanitizing and fictionalizing the end result ... not so here. I am actually surprised at a couple of the other reviewers' comments...misogynist? Just because he's honest enough to look at how he and his wife respond differently to the same situation? And anyone who lives with dogs will laugh out loud at Dan's detailed descriptions of some of the drawbacks of living in close quarters with them - and yes we love them but it can get disgusting. I think in a way it was as brave of Dan to choose to live in close quarters with his family on an island for a year - without the buffer of modern comforts - as it must have been to round Cape Horn in a sailboat. Anyway, anyone who likes to read about family, dogs or is interested in one person's examination of his attempt to get closer to an honest life experience by escaping the mainland should read this.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down.
Review: On Whale Island is my top pick of books read for the year. Neither my husband or I could put it down. Boldly honest and pee your pants funny, the book lived a fantasy that I've had in my heart for as long as I can remember. But beyond all the humor, the book raises the big questions about how we choose to live our lives. This book's a keeper and one to be reread.