Martin Marten
Book description
Dave is fourteen years old, living with his family in a cabin on Oregon's Mount Hood (or as Dave prefers to call it, like the Native Americans once did, Wy'east). He is entering high school, adulthood on the horizon not far off in distance, and contemplating a future away from…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Martin Marten as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This book is fiction, infused with magical realism, and I am a scientist. Yet, this book definitely belongs on my list of best books about wild animals.
Superficially, it is about a boy, Dave, who regularly observes a pine marten, a kind of large weasel, in the lush forests of Oregon. I love this book because even the slightest chance of properly empathizing with a wild animal requires a powerful yet constrained imagination. Some of Dave’s attributions to Martin are self-projected, and some of his attributions are deeply true. Reliability in telling the difference is not always so simple.
This…
From John's list on wild animals and the people who observe them.
Every time I walk out my front door, there’s a song sparrow that swoops in and perches nearby to peer at me; he’s just as curious about me as I am about him.
Doyle’s novel works that idea into a story about a community, and especially a boy, living in a tiny town near Oregon’s Mount Hood. Humans are part of the community, but there are also legions of wildlife in the forests and streams. Doyle does a great job imbuing one of these creatures, a young marten, with agency and intelligence.
I love the question Doyle poses to his…
From Kristin's list on interconnection in nature.
If you love Martin Marten...
A Sparrow Falls
In this book set against the backdrop of a changing America, Sarah must find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past and come to terms with her future. Sarah, a young woman from the rural town of Tolerance, Arkansas, has endured an impoverished and painful childhood.
But now,…
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