Diary of a Young Naturalist

222 pages

English language

Published Sept. 3, 2020 by Dovecote Press, The.

ISBN:
978-1-908213-79-2
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5 stars (2 reviews)

2 editions

A Personal Universal Memoir

4 stars

Dara McAnulty presents many faces in a hopeful memoir: a teenager, a complex and astute nature enthusiast, a sensitive autistic, a member of a loving Northern Irish family, an environmental activist and an eloquent writer. None of these tells the whole story but all are relevant in this diary of one year in his life.

The writing is at its best when it is poetically focussed on nature, particularly birds. In these moments it is like reading JA Baker, putting across the beauty of nature through perfectly chosen words and descriptions of moments. The depictions of his autism and his family are also wonderfully revealing and carefully considered. The moments of activism (and occasional linked anger) are the only ones that seem to lose the run of the book and become too polarised. But the diary is a marvel and a fascinating insight into a great mind and a section …

Excellent

5 stars

Diary of a year in the life of a Northern Irish teenager, describing his (and his family's) close connection with the natural world, his keen observations, and their various expeditions, primarily in Fermanagh and County Down, interwoven with stories from Irish history and mythology. Also talks about his internal experience of autism in a remarkably evocative way. Highly recommended.

Subjects

  • Biology