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hollyd19 's review for:
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
This memoir tells the story of Trina Moyles who takes a job as a fire tower lookout in northern Alberta amidst some personal and professional tumult. After about a decade in the international development sector and three years living in Uganda, she returns to her home country in hopes of carving out a life for her and her fiancé, Akello. Moyles reflects on her experience in the remote fire tower, scanning the horizon for smoke, and sorting though her needs and priorities.
I struggled with how to rate & review this book, in part because commenting on someone’s personal narrative always feels a little fraught. This is Trina’s story, regardless of how I felt about it, and writing something like this take incredible effort and vulnerability. That said, I did feel unsatisfied by the book. What follows encompass my thoughts, but with the caveat that I honor Moyles’s efforts in chronicling her experience.
From a nature writing perspective, I enjoyed Moyles’s recounting of her wilderness life and descriptions of the flora & fauna. She also did an excellent job of describing the lifestyle of a seasonal fire worker and conveying the climate implications of her industry. However, I also felt the book fell short in a few ways. The story’s pacing felt erratic and the writing -- especially the personal bits -- felt somewhat sophomoric. Relatedly, for a book that claims to be personal and introspective, I did not feel that Moyles’s gave enough space or depth to her inner dialogue. She did quite a bit of telling rather than showing, and I found myself frustrated at her lack of (expressed) accountability for her emotions and actions. She flirts with owning her choices but then sometimes devolves into blaming others. Finally, I did not enjoy the narration (listened on Libro FM). Typically, I really love memoirs that are read by the author, but Moyles’s inflections often felt performative which I found grating.
Ultimately, this was a middle-of-the-road read for me. It may land differently for other people, so if the premise sounds intriguing, I’d say give it a go. But maybe stick to a physical book instead of the audio.
I struggled with how to rate & review this book, in part because commenting on someone’s personal narrative always feels a little fraught. This is Trina’s story, regardless of how I felt about it, and writing something like this take incredible effort and vulnerability. That said, I did feel unsatisfied by the book. What follows encompass my thoughts, but with the caveat that I honor Moyles’s efforts in chronicling her experience.
From a nature writing perspective, I enjoyed Moyles’s recounting of her wilderness life and descriptions of the flora & fauna. She also did an excellent job of describing the lifestyle of a seasonal fire worker and conveying the climate implications of her industry. However, I also felt the book fell short in a few ways. The story’s pacing felt erratic and the writing -- especially the personal bits -- felt somewhat sophomoric. Relatedly, for a book that claims to be personal and introspective, I did not feel that Moyles’s gave enough space or depth to her inner dialogue. She did quite a bit of telling rather than showing, and I found myself frustrated at her lack of (expressed) accountability for her emotions and actions. She flirts with owning her choices but then sometimes devolves into blaming others. Finally, I did not enjoy the narration (listened on Libro FM). Typically, I really love memoirs that are read by the author, but Moyles’s inflections often felt performative which I found grating.
Ultimately, this was a middle-of-the-road read for me. It may land differently for other people, so if the premise sounds intriguing, I’d say give it a go. But maybe stick to a physical book instead of the audio.