Ahoy there me mateys!  One of my favorite childhood books was Watership Down along with its scary animated movie (poor Bigwig!).  I did not know much about hares and have to admit that I thought they were more closely related to rabbits given hares' nickname of jackrabbits.  When I learned about this memoir of a woman raising a baby hare during the pandemic, I knew I had to read it.

Though it takes place during the pandemic, the focus is not at all on the pandemic itself.  The book is a mixture of memoir and naturalist guide.  The memoir side touches on how the hare helped change the author's perspectives on her home, the countryside it exists in, and her viewpoints of her job and sense of self.  The nature side gives animal facts about hares and the hare she raised in particular.   There are also quotes from historical writing about hares which I really enjoyed.  Just be aware that there are discussions about the history of hunting hares in parts of the book.

One of the interesting things about the author is that she owns up to her mistakes in dealing with the hare while not regretting the experience.  I enjoyed her personal reflections on the relationships between humans and wildlife and how they changed over time.  The writing was easy to follow and I read this book quickly.  I avidly followed the hare's life and all of the details about it living in the author's house and the accommodations she made for it.

My ebook copy did not showcase the illustrations very well so folks may want to get the physical copy for those if interested.  I am very glad to have read this one and learn more about the subject.  Arrrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.