Sick of Nature

Rating:
Summary: Don't Let the Title Fool You
Review: A brilliant and funny examination of the literary, natural, and human world. Gessner's characters -- himself, especially -- are engaging, flawed and universal. His descriptions are unbeatable. His love of flora, fauna, and Cape Cod are palpable even through his most ironic musings.

A book that defies category, there's something in it for everyone. If you like to take walks on the beach, if you love your family, if you ever aspired to create art yourself. And most especially if you like to read, you'll love Sick of Nature.

Rating:
Summary: Writing and Nature and Wildness, Unplugged
Review: At first glance, Gessner's newest volume appears to be a random collection of 17 very different essays. The assorted ruminations cover the genre of nature writing, overdevelopment of Cape Cod beaches, Ultimate Frisbee games and teams, the writing life, urban vs. rural life, family relationships, and a side trip to the jungle of Belize, all capped off with a coyote trilogy. But as the reader progresses from one selection to another, a unified theme becomes clear. This book is an exploration of all aspects of wildness -- in the author, in other humans, in animals, in habitats. Gessner poses the fundamental questions and struggles to provide reasonable answers. What is wildness? Where is it? Is it fair to study wild animals via an electronic scientific method? And is a wild turkey still wild if it struts along the back alleys of Boston?

Devout animal lovers, be warned: David Gessner puts realism into his nature writing and glosses over neither death nor decay. If you prefer your nature Disney-fied, rent a movie. Not to be missed in this book: the imaginary Nature Writers party on pages 4 and 5, and what might happen if Edward Abbey slipped alcohol into Thoreau's water glass.

These are thought-provoking essays that are recommended reading for nature lovers, nature writers, and memoir fans. At the very least, you'll start studying shadows for coyote shapes.

Rating:
Summary: Insights into both writing and nature.
Review: Gessner is a master at piling up the self-deprecating humor until he arrives at a serious and thoughtful point. His argument with the prettified school of nature writing is well-taken, but his ruminations on the writing life are on target as well. Aspiring writers will find humor and comfort in his accounts of writerly envy, the frustrations of one's apprentice period, or his time as a bookstore clerk.

Rating:
Summary: Insights into both writing and nature.
Review: Gessner is a master at piling up the self-deprecating humor until he arrives at a serious and thoughtful point. His argument with the prettified school of nature writing is well-taken, but his ruminations on the writing life are on target as well. Aspiring writers will find humor and comfort in his accounts of writerly envy, the frustrations of one's apprentice period, or his time as a bookstore clerk.

Rating:
Summary: The Antidote
Review: Gessner returns to the right blend of personal and nature that made his earlier works a sure sign of a budding artiste. While he may occasionally turn a phrase simply for the pleasure of seeing it in print, his writing is generally a non-stop stream of spot on insight that allows the reader to catch a ride on his journey of discovery.