All the Powerful Invisible Things: A Sportswoman's Notebook

Gretchen Legler writes in the great tradition of Annie Dillard, her observations on nature interfacing gracefully with her own journey toward truth. She writes with a hunter's eye, moving in quietly, watching and waiting, circling her subject. Then, suddenly, she takes aim, and the reader, sportsperson or not, finds herself holding her breath, engaged with Legler in her quest. What Legler bags is the truth--her own, certainly--hard-won and bittersweet, and she brings it to the reader in a spirit of generosity and humility. This is great literature. All the Powerful Invisible Things should be sold in a box set with On the Ice, because the second book, as beautiful and compelling as the first, completes the quest.

"We stood quietly, reaching out for sound. We heard water. We heard, I swear, dirt being pushed skyward by plants coming up from the earth. We heard the first important sounds of spring". (p. 131) This is a beautiful book, a great book!! If I could rate it hiher than '5' I would (and I am a critical reader who does not rate books as '5's' indiscriminately). To say that this book is a journal about being/finding peace with oneself through a spiritual ecology is like saying that 'Crime and Punishment' is a mystery. Legler explores the inner and outer crevasses of the soul, the verdant spaces between things. As she deals with her sexuality and coming out as a lesbian, she explores connec- tions and touchstones - family, friends, lovers. This book is a wonder of lyricism and in- trospection. "We know our minds...by listening to our bodies first. We know our minds by paying atten- tion to the way our blood courses, the way our shoulders bunch and gnaw, the way our stomachs knot, the way our finger joints ring with pain. We know fear and trust and ten- derness and shame, all of them, in our bodies, first. When we don't pay attention to our bodies, we can't know our minds, she said. And when we don't know our own minds, we accidentally, all the time, hurt people we love, including ourselves". (p. 145) I could quote so much more, but if the above two selections move you at all, this is a book that is a must-read. It is filled with beauty, wisdom and poetic truths.

I love this book. It is deep, raw and completely captivating from the first page to the last. The subtitle "A Sportswoman's Notebook" is a bit misleading. Although the author does write about her relationship with the natural world she also addresses several other profound and provocative topics such as suicide and sexual orientation. I am not sporty but I am intense and introspective and this book speaks to me in unnumerable ways. (A special note to literary lesbians and their friends - read this book!)

I'm not sure why I bought this book, because I don't consider myself a "sportswoman" and I can't imagine how or why anyone could kill an animal. But after the first chapter I was hooked. What a lovely book and touching stories. This is not a book about hunting, its about a woman's experiences with life. Very few books remain on my bookshelves as "keepers." This one will stay.