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William Fiennes
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The Snow Geese Paperback – January 1, 2003

by William Fiennes (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 111 ratings
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Snow geese spend their summers in the Canadian Arctic, on the tundra. Each autumn they migrate south, to Delaware, California and the Gulf of Mexico. In the spring they fly north again. William Fiennes decided to go with them and to write about his travels. What he produced turned out to be about very much more than geese. A blend of autobiography and reportage, its subject was also homecoming: the birds on their long journeys home, the grace of homecomings, the strange gravity that home exerts. The arc of Fiennes` extraordinary physical adventure formed the backbone for meditations on philosophy, natural science and personal memoir. The book thrums with ideas, with stories and anecdotes, with humankind as well as wild fowl, with the funny and observant insights of an assured and highly entertaining writer.

`With this beautiful, haunting debut Fiennes joins that small, very special band of writer-explorers - Emerson and Thoreau, Annie Dilard and Bruce Chatwin - who give us another pair of eyes: he has renewed the variety and wonder of the world` Marina Warner`

Fiennes is a very fine writer and this book is pure delight` Peter Carey, winner of the Booker Prize 2001

Previous page
  1. Print length
    200 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Picador
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    5.08 x 0.63 x 7.76 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0330375792
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0330375795
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Fiennes is the author of The Snow Geese and most recently, The Music Room. He was Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and the recipient of a Somerset Maugham Award. He lives in London.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; 3rd edition, revised (January 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0330375792
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330375795
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.63 x 7.76 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 111 ratings

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William Fiennes

William Fiennes

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
111 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Linda N.
5.0 out of 5 stars /
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2022
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perfect
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Rosemary
5.0 out of 5 stars This book was a joy to read and was filled with intricate knowledge and ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2017
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This book was a joy to read and was filled with intricate knowledge and curiosity about the geese and their migration as well as an exquisitely detailed account of the passion of one man to journey wth these birds and along the way to discover interesting and kindly folk.
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Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars Received in great condition in timely manner and followup to be sure ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2015
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Received in great condition in timely manner and followup to be sure I got what I wanted when I needed it was excellent. Story is fascinating as well. All around a good deal!
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iris flannery
3.0 out of 5 stars natural history, philosophy, memoir, or travelogue? Take your pick
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2009
This book will entertain those who enjoy travel memoirs, natural history-lite, and don't mind long forays into description and philosophy.

This nonfiction book was inspired by Paul Gallico's, "The Snow Goose" (1940). The author begins with a recollection of this story and then briefly describes his protracted illness at the age of 25 with an illness. After returning to his family home to recover Fiennes decides to take a journey to trace the snow goose's spring migration. Starting in Austin, Texas, and tracing the flight of birds in rental cars, greyhound busses, and Canadian trains he arrives at Baffin Island where the birds have their summer mating and foraging grounds.

Describing the migratory pattern of snow geese could be a straightforward and dry narrative, but intertwined with the geese's journey is Fiennes's personal homeward journey propelled by the people he meets along the way and seemingly the philosophical musings sprinkled throughout the book. An example of the tangential flights of fancy which the author takes is that of homesickness. First drawing on those who first identified and defined homesickness as a malady, and then expanding with literary illustrations such as "The Odyssey," Fiennes describes his feeling of homesickness. Unfortunately the connection between homesickness and seasonal bird migration is not made, nor can it be really.

The description of people and places in this book are detailed. Sometimes too much so. Since the people described are frequently peripheral to the story, fellow passengers on the bus or train, the story sometimes loses focus. The natural scenes in contrast are more apt and so the detail is not begrudged: "There were hills and swales in all directions, drawing away on the curve of the sphere, and clouds massing in the south, above the sea" (p. 240). The combination of natural description, and the description of all people encountered joined with the personal rumination of the author makes for an odd amalgamation of literary genres.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Peter Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars True story of an amazing journey across America. Fantastic writing style
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2022
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The Snow Goose by William Feinnes

I read this book following a strong recommendation from an Instagram follower. .It was indeed an extraordinary book.

The book is the true story of the author’s journey across the US and Canada to follow the migration of the Snow Goose. However it is much more than a story about bird migration. It is really the series of beautiful descriptions of the places he visits and the ordinary - and at the same time extraordinary- people he meets. The level of detail in describing everything he sees and experiences is incredible. I find it hard to believe that anyone could do that without constantly writing in a note book,or wearing a body camera. Reading the book, you certainly go on a journey with him. Everyone he meets is also on their own personal journey - as are the Snow Geese he is following.

There is an interesting theme of leaving (escaping from) home, drawn to a wild place, feeling nostalgic and returning to the place from which you came
2 people found this helpful
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Günther Wirth
5.0 out of 5 stars Ein sehr gutes Buch
Reviewed in Germany on September 1, 2021
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Für alle Naturliebhaber ist dies ein wirklich sehr guter Lesestoff.
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M. Harrison
5.0 out of 5 stars Intense, poetic, moving...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2004
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Moving, lyrical, absorbing - what would be a so-so journey for many travel writers becomes an extraordinarily beautiful quest in the hands of a writer whose imagination and precision with words are so utterly astonishing. For instance, comparing the blue light on snow to "a tone in the way the light was speaking" (can't remember the exact quote) just stops you in your tracks.
A fantastically inspiring book to read whilst commuting - real escapism, better than any "sex and shopping" dreck, this takes you out of your grimy tube carriage to the clean open spaces of the arctic tundra. Such a beautiful and moving book, I can't recommend it highly enough.
35 people found this helpful
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Mary (Meesa)
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2017
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I came to this book because I had read the later book by this author titled the Music Room. I loved the later one, and The Snow Geese was a bit of a disappointment in contrast. You have to be an ardent bird lover to enjoy this book. It is more of a travel writer’s approach than the Music Room, which was full of family relationships and emotion. The Snow Geese is a much drier read. The writer is not forthcoming on why he undertook the journey. He had been in hospital and spent time back in the family home before he left to follow the migration of the snow geese through the USA and into Canada. It is hard to identify with the writer’s motives, which are unclear – an obsession derived from what exactly? I nearly did not finish reading it because I was bored with the endless variety of birds and their detailed descriptions throughout. Some of the people he met along the way, who offered him hospitality, were more interesting. The ending, when he reaches the furthest point of travel, is an anticlimax, too. I suppose when it was first published in 2002 it seemed a bit different to whatever else was around at the time!
2 people found this helpful
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Andrew Howell
4.0 out of 5 stars Superb. A real new talent.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2002
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During a period of recovery, following surgery, Fiennes was reminded of an early fascination for birds, and particularly the Snow Goose. Illness having broken into his studies Fiennes looked for a new project and decided to follow the migrating snow geese, from Texas to the Artic.
This is an original but has an impact rather like Chatwin's 'In Patagonia'. Here you have the story of a fascinating and unusual journey. You learn a hell of a lot about birds of all kinds, about how they navigate, support each other and have developed over the ages. We meet some fascinating people, superbly described by the author. And this is an exciting quest. Will he finally make it to the summer breeding grounds in time?
Fiennes will be around for years to come. This is hugely enjoyable and commendably readable. I enjoyed every minute of it. Give yourself a real treat.
9 people found this helpful
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