Field Notes

The Grace Note of the Canyon Wren

De: Barry Lopez

Narrado por: Barry Lopez

Field Notes completes Barry Lopez's trilogy that includes Desert Notes and River Notes.

In these fictional stories, Lopez's characters must rediscover the wisdom and spiritual strength found in nature. Many of Lopez's vignettes are mystical and magical - a reckless desert sojourner is saved by birds; a botanist is led back to his family by wildflowers; a hunter is given a trapping lesson by wolverines.

Field Notes once again proves that Barry Lopez has a special talent for presenting the natural world as a responsive, emotional being and a sacred place - offering those attuned to its tempo the grace and hope needed to carry on. Another powerful contribution from the 1976 National Book Award winner.

©1994 Barry Holstun Lopez. (P)2000 HighBridge Company

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Lopez's.... spectacular images evoke landscapes larger than life." ( Booklist)

review

If you could sum up Field Notes in three words, what would they be?

exploration internal landscape

What other book might you compare Field Notes to and why?

Snow Leopard - exploration

Which character – as performed by Barry Lopez – was your favorite?

There are not characters as much as stories about people and places.

Who was the most memorable character of Field Notes and why?

NA

Any additional comments?

no

BEAUTIFUL

Such amazingly beautiful stories.
I don’t know what else to say about this book and the other books that they are a MUST READ.
This book is beautifully narrated by the author.
The piano music pieces at the end of the stories is so soothing!!
My thanks to all involved, JK.

Thoughtful, Beautiful Stories

Thoughtful, beautiful stories about our place and relation to the natural world. Barry Lopez’s reading of his own work adds another dimension to the characters. These stories made me question and reexamine my relationship with the more than human world like few things could.

Lopez, a new favorite of mine

This the second book I've read by Lopez, and it was terrific. His way of reading is also terrific. He really knows the subjects he writes about. He includes enough detail to make you believe it all, but not so much that it bogs you down. Great stuff if you are a biologist/botanist/scientist, yet full of insight on the human heart and soul.

A mystical journey

A mystical journey Well read and the accompanying music adds a lot. Lopez is part of the great storytelling tradition.

An intriguing introduction to Lopez.

I enjoyed this collection of short stories, they were at times equal part mystical and grounded in the land and life of his characters. I look forward to exploring more of Lopez's work.

Field notes

Magical!
Lopez’ voice is wonderful and the composition with music between pieces works very well

The touch of the Master's Hand

The story goes that an old violin was used for auction with a beginning bid of a thousand dollars. Suddenly an elderly man picked the violin and began to play magnificently. Then he walked away.

The bidding began and the price quickly reached tens of thousands of dollars. A young man asked his father what happened?

It was the touch of the Master's Hand.

And so Barry brings such deep insights, perspective, emotion and clarity to a world most of us take for granted.

I so regret never having met the Master. He is now a part of the planet he so profoundly loved and brilliantly interpreted and described.

Modernity Grounding, Now & Again, in Nature

Vinyets on the paradox of being the human animal. Tales of thoughtful, feeling, knowledgeable life - with landscape references.

This last phrase I borrow from how a friend aptly describes her abstract paintings. Areas of color that fall into organic, and thereby somehow not merely comfortable, but sometimes comforting, actually reassuring arrangements.

Arrangements that speak. Speaking as vista, geologic temple lands and spiraling petal & seed pattern impressed cultures attentive to such, to their surroundings. Reminding us, or to be honest enabling us to hear for the first time that this is what inspires native cultures to experience, what we moderns regard as mere dumb surroundings, as possessing living spirits.

From first word to last hovering sentence, these stories soaking in the readers mind, evoking sensations as aroma & flavor spread into oil, produce effects variously pleasing or sharp but one hopes medicinal.

The outdoor enthusiast, the student of woodcraft and "primitive" cultures will find familiar themes. The scientifically minded, the amateur ecologist will recognize themselves riding the paradox and dilemma of ancient blending with modern knowledge to varying results but one hopes ultimately into a restorative competence.

Good Descriptive Writing

Would you try another book from Barry Lopez and/or Barry Lopez?

Yes, but it would be something I would have to be in the mood for. Driving for a long time in a car? No. His calm voice would put me to sleep. Hiking or going for a long walk? Yes. I did this and it made me slow down and take a look what was around me. For me, Barry Lopez is that one Jazz album that you really like and have when the rest of your music collection is rock and roll. The descriptive way that he writes and his choice of words really do take you to the locales that talks about.

Would you recommend Field Notes to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes. I think more of my introspective friends would appreciate it. This is not for anyone looking for something fast paced.

Which scene was your favorite?

No specific scene, but I like the recurring theme of each narrator not understanding the world around them juxtaposed with the people who do.

Did Field Notes inspire you to do anything?

When I'm hiking, taking the time to see what's really around me and appreciate it.

Any additional comments?

My one severe complaint are the piano interludes . Some last as long as three minutes between stories and I found myself pressing the 30 second jump button a few times. Since this is an abridged version of the book, I think that the time allotted for the musical pieces could have been swapped for an additional story. Some people may like it, I didn't.