Hawk Flies Above: Journey to the Heart of the Sandhills

Rating:
Summary: It was if I was there - every chapter!
Review: Anyone who grew up in Nebraska, either in the Sandhills or anywhere along the Platte River would identify with this book. She is a wonderful descriptive writer and takes you to the place she wants you to see. It also brings to mind long ago memories of times you may have experienced by the similarities associated with her writings. A friend gave me this book and as they say, "The best friend is one who gives you a new book as a gift". She was, of course, right. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: A collection of banalities
Review: Norton's assertions about her own history, soul, and mental states might as well have been taken out of a feminist literary criticism textbook - they are absolutely predictable and femisitically-correct, and thus come off as rehearsed conformities rather than genuine discoveries of self. This affection to stereotype marks every single page of the book, every chapter - Norton doesn't care to see beyond Stetson hats, cowboys and bars, really. The Notebook chapters are a series of well-crafted nature observation, but they only intersperse the main narrative, and the short relief they provide is not enough to dispell the numbing effect of the general tone of the book.

Rating:
Summary: It was if I was there - every chapter!
Review: This book was so much more than I had anticipated. I initially bought the book because it's about an area of the country that I know well. I found it to be a moving narrative about recovery and growth. It's about coming back from the edge. The author does a masterful job of explaining the healing power of home. I look forward to what she writes of next. This is a book by a woman that will be very readable by women, but not limited to women. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: powerful...about the healing power of place
Review: This book was so much more than I had anticipated. I initially bought the book because it's about an area of the country that I know well. I found it to be a moving narrative about recovery and growth. It's about coming back from the edge. The author does a masterful job of explaining the healing power of home. I look forward to what she writes of next. This is a book by a woman that will be very readable by women, but not limited to women. Highly recommended.