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Field Notes: The Grace Note of the Canyon Wren
In this collection of twelve stories, Barry Lopez—the National Book Award–winning author of Arctic Dreams and one of our most admired writers—evokes the longing we feel for beauty in our relationships with one another, with the past, and with nature.
An anthropologist traveling with an aboriginal people finds that, because of his aggressive desire to understand them, they remain always disturbingly unknowable. A successful financial consultant, failing to discover his roots in Africa, jogs from Connecticut to the Pacific Ocean in order to forge an indigenous connection to the American landscape. A paleontologist is haunted by visions of wildlife in a vacant lot in Manhattan. In simple, crystalline prose, Lopez evokes a sense of the magic and marvelous strangeness of the world, and a deep compassion for the human predicament.
An anthropologist traveling with an aboriginal people finds that, because of his aggressive desire to understand them, they remain always disturbingly unknowable. A successful financial consultant, failing to discover his roots in Africa, jogs from Connecticut to the Pacific Ocean in order to forge an indigenous connection to the American landscape. A paleontologist is haunted by visions of wildlife in a vacant lot in Manhattan. In simple, crystalline prose, Lopez evokes a sense of the magic and marvelous strangeness of the world, and a deep compassion for the human predicament.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
19 people are currently reading
667 people want to read
About the author
Barry Lopez
105Ìýbooks896ÌýfollowersBarry Holstun Lopez is an American author, essayist, and fiction writer whose work is known for its environmental and social concerns.
Lopez has been described as "the nation's premier nature writer" by the San Francisco Chronicle. In his non-fiction, he frequently examines the relationship between human culture and physical landscape, while in his fiction he addresses issues of intimacy, ethics and identity.
Lopez has been described as "the nation's premier nature writer" by the San Francisco Chronicle. In his non-fiction, he frequently examines the relationship between human culture and physical landscape, while in his fiction he addresses issues of intimacy, ethics and identity.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 30, 2017
Contemplative and melancholy in tone, each vignette brings into focus a single character that lives 'outside' in some way - the hermit, the "old maid", the caretaker - outside of society, outside of the norms, truly outside and off the grid.
It's a beautiful and thoughtful collection, weaving in themes of nature and animals right alongside human nature. This was a perfect introduction to Lopez, and I look forward to diving into his collected works that now span several decades.
It's a beautiful and thoughtful collection, weaving in themes of nature and animals right alongside human nature. This was a perfect introduction to Lopez, and I look forward to diving into his collected works that now span several decades.
May 23, 2020
This is my first time reading Barry Lopez; getting to hear the author's voice and his intended inflections for his own words really enhances the experience!
May 22, 2019
While I understand what Lopez was going for here, it didn't work for me—and felt more dated than it is (1994).
January 21, 2021
Barry Lopez has been an important writer for me for decades. I'm going to miss his voice very, very much. ARCTIC DREAMS is an absolute classic. My relationship to his short fiction has been varied from the start. His stories are clear in their purpose and often admirably innovative. He tries lots of things, as he does in FIELD NOTES. He takes risks. Sometimes he fails. Sometimes he succeeds. As I reread him now in the wake of his too-early departure from the world, my reactions to these stories remain uneven. I love some of them. Others (perhaps because they're dated?) make me want to close the covers for a while. That's okay by me. It suggests I'm being challenged as a reader. I think Barry Lopez would approve of that.
October 29, 2009
This collection of short stories proves that Lopez is underrated as a fiction writer--oh sure, he's won awards, but his nonfiction overshadows the little gems he writes (see Resistance for an excellent book).
As the title suggests, most of the stories deal with people who are intent on observing, and, doing so, they fail to participate in the life aorund them; fail to live in nature and remain apart from it.
The second theme that emerges involves people who become disconnected from others because of their own disapproval, biases.
Top notch.
As the title suggests, most of the stories deal with people who are intent on observing, and, doing so, they fail to participate in the life aorund them; fail to live in nature and remain apart from it.
The second theme that emerges involves people who become disconnected from others because of their own disapproval, biases.
Top notch.
January 27, 2016
I've read some Barry Lopez before but it's been a while. I was disappointed by this collection. It was one story after another with the same theme: arrogant materialistic intellectual has a transformative experience discovering mystical beyond-believable miracles out in nature. I love nature writing, but this was a let down.
December 9, 2013
Amazing short stories. There seems to be a theme in this collection, that the main character doesn't always 'get' the situation they are in, that they are distracted or can't see the deeper meaning to what's being communicated.
March 16, 2014
Favorite line: "I departed-my body deft, taut-with a clear sense of where I should go: the route, the dangers, the distances by day. But then the landscape became vast."
Each of these stories speaks of how our desire to know, to analyze, to categorize, to enact some method of control in our lives is often overwhelmed by something emotive and infinite lurking within ourselves and the land. Moving into that state of unknowing is a movement toward consolation and ultimately, hope, while resistance to it is a retreat into shallower, more navigable but less rewarding waters.
Classic Lopez, a good mix of characters, curious grad students, unorthodox scientist, estranged family members, and friendly hermits, all inhabiting the diverse landscapes of North America.
Each of these stories speaks of how our desire to know, to analyze, to categorize, to enact some method of control in our lives is often overwhelmed by something emotive and infinite lurking within ourselves and the land. Moving into that state of unknowing is a movement toward consolation and ultimately, hope, while resistance to it is a retreat into shallower, more navigable but less rewarding waters.
Classic Lopez, a good mix of characters, curious grad students, unorthodox scientist, estranged family members, and friendly hermits, all inhabiting the diverse landscapes of North America.
April 29, 2025
This is a short story collection, with characters and settings that are enmeshed with the natural world in different ways. This is my first exposure to Lopez, and I wasn't particularly impressed. The stories somehow never land. When the chapter ended, it felt like another should follow, but it was over. There is very little callback, very little payoff, and very little character development. They feel like the sketches of story ideas, hastily published. The tokenization of black, indigenous, and aboriginal people, the way they are used as foils against which to interrogate and reinvent ones own Western culture, is rank. The story about the academic running off to an unstudied aboriginal tribe in order to deconstruct himself, only to find his effort to deconstruct incompatible with their way of being and knowing, and discovering a way of universal speech by "letting go" of trying to figure it out, has to be a plot sketch scraped from Lopez's notebooks from his sophomore year of college, just after taking Philosophy and Anthropology 101 courses. And the wealthy, white finance guy who finds a black guy in his house who is also a wealthy finance guy who walked away from it all and is living off of the land, disconnected from African roots and embodying an Indian one, made me wonder when I was going to stop cringing.
I reduced my rating from a generous 3 stars down to 1 while writing this review, as I realized that the shortcomings aren't made up by the references to native plants. I am more simple than I care to admit to myself, I think.
I reduced my rating from a generous 3 stars down to 1 while writing this review, as I realized that the shortcomings aren't made up by the references to native plants. I am more simple than I care to admit to myself, I think.
April 27, 2021
Lopez is best known for nonfiction like Arctic Dreams and Of Wolf and Man, but he’s also an accomplished writer of fiction. Field Notes is a set of short stories that have a common theme: each of the characters is changed by their connection with the land. A botanist who has lost his way with his family begins to find redemption by returning to the roots of his practice; a sick teacher finds peace before death by weaving a tapestry of the Grand Canyon; an archeologist forms an emotional connection with an empty lot, and it changes the way she relates to the entire city. The stories are small but potent reminders of the deep relationships we hold with the landscape around us. Highly recommended.
October 23, 2022
I read in Robert Macfarlane's books that he really admires Barry Lopez, so I decided to give a few of his books a try. I'm currently still at the beginnings of Arctic Dreams, but I decided to listen to this on a whim today while working on art.
The short stories were very good - though evoking. Except, I'm not sure if this has aged amazingly. Some of the language used was suspect, and the ongoing trope of the mystic "other" made me a little uncomfortable.
The first story was my favorite - no contest.
The short stories were very good - though evoking. Except, I'm not sure if this has aged amazingly. Some of the language used was suspect, and the ongoing trope of the mystic "other" made me a little uncomfortable.
The first story was my favorite - no contest.
June 6, 2024
A short collection of short stories by Barry Lopez, most of which concerned indigenous folks and the land in which they live. The only story which toughed me was the second story in the collection, “Perryland,� where an academic makes a journey to Greenland alone to study what happens to dead animals and he finds himself somehow This story was quite spooky and I did not see it coming. The other stories were mildly interesting, but nothing to write home about.
May 11, 2022
I wish I could give this one a higher rating. Some of these stories are truly breathtaking—“Within Birds� Hearing,� “Empira’s Tapestry,� “Pearyland,� and “The Runner� all feel like a perfect capsule of a moment. But there are several more that feel incomplete, almost like they aren’t confident enough to be short stories. Like so many MFA-ish story collections, there is such a focus on keeping the stories tight that they don’t take the time to resolve and satisfy.
April 11, 2022
Barry Lopez is a beautiful naturalist writer whether it’s in fiction or non- but the problem with fiction is that for some reason fiction writers feel obliged to write sex and that is to everyone’s detriment. You don’t have to write sex if you’re bad at writing it! Stick to what you’re good at! (Read Arctic Dreams)
December 13, 2020
I haven’t read a book filled with such beauty in a while. Short stories often invoke this for me and these encompass the natural world as a theme and breathe a beauty into their compact yet vivid narrative. Definitely one of my favorites. I shall seek out more of Barry Lopez.
June 6, 2023
Short essays. I couldn’t tell if there was a theme. It felt a bit like poetry—gorgeous language and descriptions but what’s the point? The essays jumped around. Different voices, different characters, different styles. Some adult topics.
January 29, 2025
I honestly don’t know what it was that I didn’t connect with here. It’s got all the ingredients for success, but I never connected. Maybe it just wasn’t the right book to attempt while feeding a baby in the middle of the night. You win some, you lose some.
December 8, 2018
The first 50 or so pages are fantastic and the rest isn't bad, either.
plus 1 star for the note on type
plus 1 star for the note on type
April 30, 2019
Exquisite, accessible short stories with Nature as the through-line. A true master of the form. What Gary Snyder is to poetry, Barry Lopez is to the short story.
April 19, 2020
New book to me. Most unusual.
September 27, 2020
Each story in this collection is pristine, sparkling and unexpectedly captures something essential.
January 2, 2021
These felt like fables, but wholly enjoyable.
February 10, 2021
An enjoyable read for a quarantine afternoon.
September 22, 2021
Lopez does it again with short, first-person stories about human connections with the natural world. Enjoyable.
September 27, 2021
Barry López is such a talented writer- some of these were really good. I always appreciate hearing about his thoughts and experiences.
February 24, 2023
Favorites: Teal Creek and Lessons from a Wolverine
February 21, 2024
A great collection of short stories, all nature related.
December 31, 2024
Loved it.
March 11, 2025
Recommended for those who like the natural sciences - geology, ecology - and communing with nature.
May 28, 2021
A somber book of stories about people seeking things in nature or themselves or both. Sometimes finding those things or not. A lot of reflection on ethics, actions and choices "outdoorsy" folks deal with.
My favorite was the last story "The Runner," but all the stories are somewhat similar in style. A feeling of melancholy filled most pages even when characters experienced "Aha!" moments. An engaging enough book for me that I'll try and read the classic "Arctic Dreams" since this was my introduction to Barry Lopez.
My favorite was the last story "The Runner," but all the stories are somewhat similar in style. A feeling of melancholy filled most pages even when characters experienced "Aha!" moments. An engaging enough book for me that I'll try and read the classic "Arctic Dreams" since this was my introduction to Barry Lopez.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
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