Lift

Novelist and nature reference author O\x92Connor (Falcon\x92s Return) crafts a lyrical tribute to the spiritual connection between humans and birds in this memoir of the excruciating, transformative process of training a peregrine falcon: ""Falconry is a religion, a way of thinking, a means of experiencing life."" Indeed, readers will find almost as much spiritual content as natural. Despite O\x92Connor\x92s icy-clear voice, her descriptions of training a young male falcon are fascinating for bird lovers and civilians alike: ""when the falcon connects a high-speed dive"" the duck remains a piece of the sky and only its body careens to earth."" Surprisingly, periodic flashbacks to a troubled childhood-an abusive stepfather, an absentee mother-bolster her story rather than distract, turning a falcon\x92s ""serious and unmerciful"" eye back on her own life, and discovering inexplicable wells of generosity and forgiveness for the family who wronged her. O\x92Connor packs a lot of intelligence, poise and feeling into a few pages, making this a consistently rewarding read. (Nov.)