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Summary: A rich and compelling look into falconry and life choices
Review: This book lured me in from across a gargantuan bookstore before I'd even turned a page. The cover illustration of a peregrine falcon looking with quiet intensity over one of its folded wings told me "you must read this book."I'm so glad I did. I'm interested in falconry and hope to pursue that interest as soon as I have the time and financial resources to devote to it. It is a rich, noble sport, although one all too often glamorized and sensationalized by the media. In Equinox, Dan O'Brien takes falconry and firmly anchors it in the "real." It's a challenging pursuit that necessitates being taken seriously. Alternating between heartbreaking and breathtaking, O'Brien tells readers of a pivotal time in his midlife where he takes an autumn to fly falcons and shake out his priorities. Weaving in hunger-pang-inducing tales of delicious food with quiet moments of sleeping under a star-filled sky, O'Brien tells us about Harley, a skilled and temperamental female peregrine falcon that impresses and entrances O'Brien almost like a lover...only with feathers and razor-sharp talons. The masterpiece in this book comes from the magic found in everyday life. Faithful dogs. The steady respect and love of a spouse, even across hundreds of painful miles. The companionship of a good friend and the wisdom of telling it straight. Loss, and how it teaches us even as it's breaking our hearts. Equinox is about more than falconry. As O'Brien has titled it, it is about life and love, as well as birds of prey. It's an inherently gentle story that will resonate deeply for many readers.
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