Equinox: Life, Love and Birds - Hardcover

O'brian, Dan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1558214569 ISBN 13: 9781558214569

Publisher: The Lyons Press, 1997

Synopsis

The gripping account of one autumn season of falconry and spiritual renewal by award-winning author Dan O'Brien.Dan O'Brien has been consumed with a lifelong passion for falconry. As he approaches his fiftieth birthday, the autumnal equinox of his life, feeling a waning sense of purpose, he decides to devote himself entirely for a season to his greatest loves -- falconry, his bird dogs, and the South Dakota prairie he calls home.He takes on a remarkable falcon chick who immediately distinguishes herself with her ferocity; he names the bird Harley and trains her in the ways of falconry. Harley's powers of flight are awe-inspiring, her hunting success astounding. Like a lover, she captivates him. O'Brien hunts with her obsessively, reveling in her prowess and beauty. And then, one day, she is gone.Set in the high plains of South Dakota, "Equinox" is the chronicle of Harley, and much more: It is the story of a life lived closely to the natural cycles of the earth, and a midlife revelation of the importance of staying connected to all things held dear.Lovers of nature and fine writing, and all those facing their own personal autumns, will relish this marvelous book.

About this title

Review:

“An eye-opening chronicle of interspecies cooperation and a gripping dramatization of how hard-won is the ideal balance between tameness and wildness . . . beautifully wrought.”―Kirkus (Kirkus)

“Dan O’Brien’s Equinox is an improbably beautiful book about the life of a falconer. By comparison, it makes nearly all other sporting books look childishly simple. I can’t recommend it too highly.”―Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall (Jim Harrison)

“It is O’Brien’s internal revelations―the intimacies and elemental components of his being―that make Equinox generous and fascinating: a beautiful book.”―Rick Bass, author of In the Loyal Mountains (Rick Bass)

“O’Brien keeps falcons pretty much at the center of things, so that his book gives what many a good book gives, a peek at a different way of living.”―Booklist (Booklist)

“O’Brien is one of the West’s stellar talents, and this is one of his finest books.”―Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly)

"Equinox is a lyrical tale about the revelations of life, a story we haven't heard before told in crystalline prose."―Sandy Amazeen, Monsters and Critics (Sandy Amazeen Monsters and Critics)

From the Back Cover:

The South Dakota winter gives a man time to think. One subzero morning, as Dan O'Brien approaches his fiftieth year, the autumnal equinox of his life, he takes stock. Feeling a waning sense of purpose, he decides to devote himself entirely, for the first time in his life, to his greatest loves - falconry, his bird dogs, and the prairie he calls home.That summer he obtains a remarkable falcon chick who immediately distinguishes herself with her ferocity. He names the bird Harley and trains her in the ways of falconry. Harley's powers of flight are awe-inspiring, her hunting success astounding. Like a lover, she captivates him. O'Brien hunts with her obsessively, reveling in her prowess and beauty. What he learns from her and from what happens one wind-driven day lead him to see fully things he had only just begun to glimpse.Set in the high plains of South Dakota, Equinox is a lyrical evocation of the grasslands; it is also a story of a life lived closely to the natural cycles of the earth, and of a midlife revelation of the importance of staying connected to all things held dear. (5 3/4 X 8 1/2, 240 pages, illustrations)

About this edition

• Publisher: The Lyons Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1558214569
• ISBN 13: 9781558214569
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 218