With Leap, Terry Tempest Williams, award-winning author of Refuge, offers a sustained meditation on passion, faith, and creati...
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reviews
Feb 19, 2009
Ariane
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A few fascinating parts like the conversation with the Phillip II historian and the Prado painting restorers but like other Tempest books, I found myself skimming over the verbose parts. But this was difficult because I didn't want to miss the Mormon thingeys, of which there were a lot. Nor did I want to miss her detailed (but still not enough) naturalist accounts. I could appreciate her sadness over the Stadium fiasco, the dichotomy of love of ancestors, what they went through, the call of the
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Jan 11, 2011
Amanda
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I was bored at first, but the underlying dissonance was so fascinating I kept reading. Hardly anyone is brave enough to embrace dissonance like her. It seems like we either reject it completely or we are in denial that we have it. Accepting the dissonance and striving for harmony within it, enabled her to make her own decision. I loved the book so much that I think I am going to read the entire thing again before returning it to the library next week. Terry Tempest Williams is one of my favorite
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Sep 02, 2009
G (galen)
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it's hard to even put a book like this into words... it's amazing what Terry Tempest Williams did with words in this book, an incredible poetic tour through faith, body, food, the environment and an amazingly diverse range of artworks... and the whole time reconnecting all of that back into a single painting: Hieronymous Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.
I loved this woman who spent (how long, a summer? a year? don't remember the time span) sitting in front of a painting. Looki More...
I loved this woman who spent (how long, a summer? a year? don't remember the time span) sitting in front of a painting. Looki More...
Apr 18, 2011
Helynne
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Utah environmental writer Terry Tempest Williams uses (of all things!) as a springboard for this discussion on natural landscapes Hieronymus Bosch's bizarre, 15th-century Flemish masterpiece painting, "The Garden of Delights." A pull-out color reproduction of this painting is found right inside the book, and the reader needs it to refer back to numerous times as Williams discusses various aspects in this complicated painting and ties them to her own references to heaven and hel
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Jan 30, 2012
RH
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Pretentious and grandiose, this book left me cold and puzzled, and disagreement over its merits helped lead to a girlfriend divorce. I've read subsequent intriguing interviews with Williams, where she talks about how she doesn't value words because action is so much more valuable, but I didn't care for this melodramatic account. The book makes me sad and I put it in a box for the Salvation Army today. Madonna will probably make a movie about it starring herself. Okay I couldn't resist a litt
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Dec 29, 2008
John
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The wonders of biology meet the mysteries of Mormonism in Terry Tempest Williams's spiritual evocation of Hieronymus Bosch's El Jardin de las Delicias. We even saw this painting in person. How great to have read the book.
Nov 25, 2008
Elaine
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Leap is an interesting book about the authors obsession with a painting in a Spain Museum. It shows the authors diversity in her world and curiousity in the painting.
Feb 06, 2012
Terisa
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If you sift through the excess, there is a diamond in the rough here. It can be gorgeous, stirring, articulate, and thought-provoking, but you have to be patient. She is revealing her personal evolution in a way that enlists you to ride with her through its process; though that process can be discordant, overly abstracted, and verbose--she seems to be trying to reflect what our thoughts can be like before we distill them into epiphanies, distinct directions, and then decisions--her process also
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Nov 03, 2008
Whitney
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I was surprised that Terry Tempest Williams's writing style reminded me of nothing so much as Jeanette Winterson's, with a blend of real life and surreality/stream-of-consciousness. I will be interested to read more and see if this a consistent trait of her writing or unique to this book.
Mar 26, 2011
Allison
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As usual, I enjoyed her tie-ins with the Mormon religion.
Her writing in this book is much more flowery than I remember it being in Refuge. The first two sections on Heaven and Hell were pretty poignant. She lost me in the third section on Life, and I ended up skimming to the end.
Her writing in this book is much more flowery than I remember it being in Refuge. The first two sections on Heaven and Hell were pretty poignant. She lost me in the third section on Life, and I ended up skimming to the end.
Nov 27, 2007
Anna
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Maybe you have to be in a mood or a point in life for this book to speak to you. Some interesting thoughts on Mormonism/faith, Bosch/art, Spain--and some beautiful scenes throughout, but you have to sift through some crazy narrative form and train-of-thought for hundreds of pages to find them.
Apr 04, 2008
Bryce
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TTW is my favorite author. This book made me want to go to Spain just to see Hieronymus Bosch's painting in the Prado.
A personal and emotional journey about love and sexuality as we are taken through a world famous painting and the heart of the author.
A personal and emotional journey about love and sexuality as we are taken through a world famous painting and the heart of the author.
Mar 03, 2008
I'm reading this as a follow up to Under the Banner of Heaven. Terry Tempest Williams is a naturalist who grew up Mormon in Utah. I had read another of her books (Refuge) which I really enjoyed so I thought I would give this one a try.
Jan 15, 2008
Liz
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What a great combination of art, religion and environmental writing. It is very freeform and dreamy, so if that bothers you, you may not like it. But I am really impressed with her. I already loaned it to Sabina!
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Dec 27, 2007
Emily
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This book was life changing for me. I read it as a teenager and remember realizing the fragility and beauty of human existence and the weight of living each moment in respect to its importance. Incredible work.
Oct 27, 2009
Rae
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Art, birds, culture, religion and social behavior merge in this book that centers on The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. I love everything Terry writes. She's amazing.
Oct 12, 2007
Mary Ann
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This book is not one of her best, but I think I was in a bad place when I read it. I would try it again, just because I am a huge fan of hers and she's a great writer.
Apr 01, 2008
Karen
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It took me years to read this book (really) but I am glad I trudged through it. A truly amazing INDEPTH look at "The Garden of Earthly Delights" painting by Bosch.
Jul 18, 2007
Kristina
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I did not like this as much as Refuge, but it was still worth reading simply because Williams prose is lyrical.
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 07, 2012
Feb 06, 2012
