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298th out of 807 books
—
778 voters
String Too Short to Be Saved
by
Donald Hall
This is a collection of stories diverse in subject, but sutured together by the limitless affection the author holds for the land and the people of New England. Donald Hall tells about life on a small farm where, as a boy, he spent summers with his grandparents. Gradually the boy grows to be a young man, sees his grandparents aging, the farm become marginal, and finally, t...more
Paperback, 155 pages
Published
September 1st 1994
by David R. Godine Publisher
(first published June 1st 1980)
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A selection from my recent string of reading New England literature. I didn't realize that was a genre until I noticed how many books could be in that category at the publisher I intern at, David R. Godine. I first read this, and then realized Donald Hall is an ex-poet laureate. I really like the idea of reading childhood prose stories from a clearly established poet. Hall is frankly in love with the New Hampshire farm that he spent his summers on, but he saves only the best characters for the r...more
Author's recollections of summers spent on his grandparent's New England farm. I enjoyed the memories and comparing them to mine, since I spent lots of time and summers on my aunt and uncle's and grandparent's farms. The book title came from the inscription on a box of string that was found in the attic.
I enjoyed this collection of essays tremendously. The author, Donald Hall (a former Poet Laureate), writes about his summers on his grandparents' New Hampshire farm. I particularly liked the descriptions of the landscape and the people living in the area, especially, of course, Hall's grandparents. I picked this book up several years ago, as it reminded me of my Mother's stories of her time spent on her grandfather's farm in Connecticut, but hadn't read it until just now. Also, I recently realiz...more
As I have written elsewhere, this is the book that started my ongoing love for both Holderness School and for Donald Hall. Assigned as the 'all-school read', it set the tone, mood, ethos,and sense of place for John as he entered, as a ninth grader, a small New Hampshire boarding school. I read it, too, and, profoundly moved by its simple, spare, and authentic voice, I decided then and there that any school that would choose such a dear and wondrous book was a school that was good enough for our...more
Lovely little book about spending summers with grandparents on their Vermont farm. So evocative, it feels like time travel and so eloquent that the love he felt for his grandparents suffuses the pages until you love them too.
Loved the way it evoked the spirit of an earlier time, family time, childhood.
Being a New Englander myself, I grew up with collections of straightened nails, short string, and rubber bands too old to stretch.
Being a New Englander myself, I grew up with collections of straightened nails, short string, and rubber bands too old to stretch.
Well written memoir of childhood visits to a family farm in New Hampshire. Even in the 1940's the farming culture there was in decline.
I loved this book! It was so easy to get lost in & ended way too soon. Donald Hall is a magnificent writer!!
An all-time favorite. Very nostalgic for times past.
Old time farm life recounted by a visiting grandson.
It felt like reading about home really...
Aug 07, 2011
Janet
marked it as to-read
Recommended to Janet by:
Globe
Shelves:
new-england,
short-stories
New Hampshire
A profoundly moving paean to the value of nostalgia, this collection of essays on aspects of life on the writer's grandparents' New England farm had me thinking of a film I'd seen a while back - made by a young female Japanese filmmaker on her grandmother. I'd sat in the theatre with tears streaming down my face the entire movie (thank goodness it was a short one) and you know what - nothing had happened in the movie. Except, of course, you knew that the grandmother was now dead.
A book of short vignettes by the author recalling his time spent on his grandfather's farm in New Hampshire. Set in the first half the 20th century, it gives a very personal view of a way of living so different than today. Very few books are filled with the emotion and longing contained in these stories - the author really does a wonderful job in pulling you back into his past.
What took me so long to read works by New Hampshire writer/poet Donald Hall? Through words, he paints a beautiful picture of New Hampshire which brings back the sense of place.....the people and places of his childhood and his ancestors. Love his writing. Will read more and hope to attend one of his lectures.
THE quintessential book for life in New Hampshire in the early 20th century, and by extension The Woods all the way from Maine to the Adirondacks. The odd characters, the work ethic, self-sufficiency, wildlife, empty cellar holes, and stone walls that run now straight through climax forest.
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"String Too Short to be Saved memorializes a time that is no more, but can live on forever in the warmth of the heart."
— Joyce Bupp, Advisor
"The best essays, for my money, to have been written about New England."
— The New York Times
— Joyce Bupp, Advisor
"The best essays, for my money, to have been written about New England."
— The New York Times
A memoir about typical frugal old school New Englanders. The title is from a box the author finds in the attic. Written on the box is the phrase "string too short to be saved" and in the box is little bits of string and yarn.
Good local account of New England farm life and the feeling that it is being lost, with recognition that some continues despite changes.
These short stories caught me completely off-guard. I thought it would be ONLY about strings, but it had information about other things too.
some books, like this one, are like drinking cool water from a well, or like standing in a clover meadow on a warm spring day.
2 likes · like · see review
wonderful memories of the authors summers with his grandparents, using the old ways of farming... charming !
A boy and his grandfather on a New Hampshire farm. Timeless...
Jun 12, 2013
John Odenthal
marked it as to-read
Jun 15, 2013
Kris Nyhus
marked it as to-read
May 23, 2013
Beth M
marked it as to-read
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Donald Hall was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1928. He began writing as an adolescent and attended the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference at the age of sixteen—the same year he had his first work published. He earned a B.A. from Harvard in 1951 and a B. Litt. from Oxford in 1953.
Donald Hall has published numerous books of poetry, most recently White Apples and the Taste of Stone: Selected Poems 1...more
More about Donald Hall...
Donald Hall has published numerous books of poetry, most recently White Apples and the Taste of Stone: Selected Poems 1...more
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