Gods of the Morning

June 1, 2015
British conservationist Lister-Kaye (At the Water’s Edge) writes of birds and bees, and of flowers and trees, in this earnest and impassioned meditation on the natural environment. From the Scottish Highlands, where he runs the Aigas Field Centre, “a place cradled by the hills above Strathglass,” he offers an insightful look at the land he has lived and worked upon for almost four decades. Lister-Kaye chronicles a year in his life, charting the changing seasons and the birds that accompany them. He welcomes, for example, the arrival of blackcaps every May and mourns “their sudden absence every autumn,” and describes the rooks that show up in November, likening their “usual boisterous personalities” to “youths: racketing, arguing, bossing, coming and going, flapping, cawing loudly, and generally carrying on.” The comparison hints at the author’s wit and particular perspective. Lister-Kaye will endear himself further to readers in recalling the death, “swiftly and painlessly,” of his yellow Labrador, Max: “I mourned him then and I mourn him now.” Whether dealing with small birds or larger animals, Lister-Kaye reminds readers of the connections humans forge every day with other creatures—and the emotions that result are unquestionably real and significant. Agent: Catherine Clarke, Felicity Bryan Associates.