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Desert Notes: Reflections in the Eye of a Raven
by
In this collection of narrative contemplations, reminiscent of Carlos Castaneda but without the drugs, Barry Hulstun Lopez invites us to walk with him in the desert, where "things are rigidly clear and elemental." Away from the world, we see it more clearly. Sweating from all our pores, we remember our body.
Desert Notes is discovery and rediscovery. The desert, the spring, ...more
Desert Notes is discovery and rediscovery. The desert, the spring, ...more
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Hardcover, 1st Edition, 89 pages
Published
June 1st 1976
by Sheed Andrews and McMeel
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Start your review of Desert Notes: Reflections in the Eye of a Raven
Another re-read for me in the wake of the news that Lopez has left this earth. High marks for the inventiveness of form and tone in these short hybrid pieces. We can all learn--or re-learn--some things about language and narrative risk from a book like this. I don't think all of the pieces hold up equally well, but 4 stars in honor of "Twilight" alone, I think. And who doesn't love another stab at a Coyote story?
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While I am reading Barry Lopez's magnificent new book Horizon, I am also re-reading his other works between its chapters. I originally read these, and his other books, when they were published many years ago, expectantly purchasing them as soon as they were issued at bookstores throughout the West, following the career of an amazing writer, occasionally getting them signed at author events.
At the time, I thought his fictional "Notes" series of three books (Desert Notes, River Notes, and Field No ...more
At the time, I thought his fictional "Notes" series of three books (Desert Notes, River Notes, and Field No ...more
For me, Barry Lopez can do no wrong. His prose is strange and poetic, and perhaps not for everyone. There is a certain mysticism here, although I imagine Lopez might dispute that. I read this, together with 'River Notes.' Each chapter is a musing on nature and man's place in - or outside it. Sometimes these read as short stories, sometimes they are more observational, like a nature diary. What I like and respect most about his work, is how everything slows down so that the reader is there, in th
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You can definitely tell this is one of his earlier works.. the stories fluctuate between beautiful portraits of landscapes to tales with direction and that tinge of surrealness that I love.
This short book has more in common with poetry than essays or even short stories. They are vignettes that are not true to reality, perhaps more like folklore or fairy tales. They are somewhat odd little pieces are all reminiscent of the desert, being fully in the desert. It's interesting and lyrical. Not quite like what I expected but I enjoyed it well enough.
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A collection of sensuous, strange, and lyrical stories that truly capture the stark beauty of the desert.
still good
Like a jewel in a desert , love this book , intense and smart and brief and vast in his ideas and metaphors, it is official, am a new fan of barry lobez literature
Lopez is a true poet.
Another inspiring book by Lopez; small and concise and poetic.
I don't remember the exact date I read this. 1995 is only a guesstimate
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a surreal and sometimes lovely skinny book about the desert - i felt it in my body and then sometimes closer to my spirit.
I would like to tell you how to get there so you may see all this for yourself. But first a warning: you may already have come across a set of detailed instructions, a map with every bush and stone clearly marked, the meandering courses of dry rivers and other geographical features noted, with dotted lines put down to represent the very faintest of trails. Perhaps there were also tiny warnings printed in tiny red letters along the margins, about the lack of water, the strength of the wind and th
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This short book is about Lopez's experience in the desert and the imagination and inspiration it inspired. Except for the introduction, the stories make almost no sense, although this could be passed off as a matter of personal taste and interest. The introduction describes his experience driving a van across a desert playa or, rather, watching his van move across the desert without him driving it. The van is made to drive in lined out roads and to meet stop lights. On the desert playa, the van
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May 31, 2009
Gloria Erin
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Those who wish to learn to hear the desert's silence
Shelves:
recommended-reads
I've just re-found this book, and it is a trip back in time. A trip to a very much younger self, when I'd just left the deep green woods of Washington state for the stark, seer vistas of the desert. This book, with its poetry and mysticism, helped me learn to see, to hear, to breathe in and know the magic that is the desert. It taught me to endure its terrible and wonderful silences, and ultimately to love it even more than the place of my youth.
This is magical, mysterious, esoteric and sublime, ...more
This is magical, mysterious, esoteric and sublime, ...more
Compared to his other stuff, almost all of which I love, this one is very surreal and hard to follow the first time through. I liken it to being lost in the desert, or suffering from mild heat stroke or dehydration and feeling a bit disoriented. If you love the desert you will learn to love this book and will find yourself going back to it again and again.
A series of short prose-like essays on the desert and its influence on people. Beautiful.
poetic, metaphysical, catches the feel of the desert.
Very poetic language as he describes the the desert...which has been a land of my passion ever since I read Desert Solotaire way back in the early 80s.
Poetry as prose. A new mainstay for my rucksack, for many hikes to come. Surreal, beautiful, breathing with life.
metaphysical .. my saving grace
An excellent collection of shorter fiction by Barry Lopez, highly recommended for those who liked River Notes and Winter Count.
This is the best book on the desert I have ever read, and that is it. Mysterious, dreamy and full of magic just like the desert itself. Genius in my opinion.
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Barry Holstun Lopez is an American author, essayist, and fiction writer whose work is known for its environmental and social concerns.
Lopez has been described as "the nation's premier nature writer" by the San Francisco Chronicle. In his non-fiction, he frequently examines the relationship between human culture and physical landscape, while in his fiction he addresses issues of intimacy, ethics an ...more
Lopez has been described as "the nation's premier nature writer" by the San Francisco Chronicle. In his non-fiction, he frequently examines the relationship between human culture and physical landscape, while in his fiction he addresses issues of intimacy, ethics an ...more
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