The Hummingbird: ‘Magnificent’ (Guardian)

Product Information

Thank you sooo much Jill!:) Also, I gotta thank Tammy – so glad you jumped in “with arms waving” convincing me to read this one next:)...LOL All’inizio del capitolo Un filo, un Mago, tre crepe ho voluto rendere un omaggio a questa magistrale prosa poetica di Sergio Claudio Perroni intitolata Sapere la strada e contenuta nel libro Entro a volte nel tuo sonno del 2018 (La nave di Teseo): “Ti muovi nel buio e non ti trovi, cammini piano tra le pareti di casa ma ciò che ti aspettavi non lo tocchi, ciò che sfiori è inatteso, arriva troppo presto, troppo tardi, ha spigoli nuovi, profili inauditi, allora cerchi a tentoni l’interruttore più vicino, accendi un attimo la luce per orientarti, solo un attimo per non svegliarti del tutto, e quell’attimo ti basta per individuarti, per riconoscere il tragitto un istante prima che scompaia, per incidere nella tua mente la planimetria del buio, e riprendi ad avanzare con la certezza di ogni passo, di ogni gesto, tra forme di cui ti fidi, convinto di sapere la strada nell’invisibile, ma a farti andare avanti è solo il ricordo di quell’attimo, a guidarti è solo la memoria della luce.” Poiché come omaggio non era granché, ero giunto alla decisione di tagliarlo, ma il 25 maggio 2019, mentre ero ancora impegnato a scrivere questo romanzo, Perroni si è tolto la vita a Taormina, dove abitava. Siccome era un mio amico, ho deciso di rimettere il mio mediocre omaggio nel romanzo, giusto per avere l’occasione di scrivere queste righe di riconoscenza nei suoi confronti.” MA CERTO! Un bel tumore al pancreas per il nostro eroe, l'eutanasia organizzata con tutti i personaggi al capezzale (fratello con cui fare pace un attimo prima di morire, ex moglie rinsavita che in fondo ti amava, stronzetta che sul letto di morte decide di darti un bacio con la lingua....!).

Perché il dolore diventa qualcosa di totalizzante e non riusciamo invece a capire che c’è un tempo presente in cui possiamo e dobbiamo viverlo? I would recommend it, but with a warning...the characters aren't perfect, nor should they be. That was part of what I loved about them. Marco nasce in una famiglia borghese, è un bambino sveglio, vivace, gioca tennis di più e meglio dei suoi coetanei, ma Marco rispetto a loro è piccolo, non cresce e la madre, che lo chiama il colibrì per la sua statura minuscola, costruisce attorno a lui un’aura di leggenda. Quel figlio così piccolo ma forte è il suo guerriero in miniatura. Nessuno come te sa essere così strenuo nel perseverare, ma anche nessuno come te sa sottrarsi al cambiamento, proprio come il verbo insidioso di cui parlano i due linguisti: rimani saldo, continui a oltranza, ma anche, fatalmente, ti sottrai alle leggi e alle decisioni degli altri.”

Corey's Rock

An absolutely fabulous book that glitters with quality every bit as much as its avian subjects do in real life. A must-buy."—James Lowen, Neotropical Birding Conformismo e convenzioni sociali ci insegnano che il dolore, anche quello morale, va sedato, anestetizzato, ma soffrire non è uno sbaglio. E non è uno sbaglio nemmeno sapervi reagire, nei tempi e nei modi in cui riusciamo. La reazione è personale. Non c’è il prima e il dopo, c’è un soffio vitale che ci permette di andare avanti, che trasforma il dolore in energia e negarlo significherebbe solo ingannare sé stessi. It was one of my childhood delights and one of the few memories I hold for my own self, not a memory that was planted from photos or someone else's story that I absconded with.

The opening lines to Hummingbird is both powerful and impactful - it is the courage and resilience and positivity of Olive, who even having to spend most of her life in a wheelchair because of what she was born with, does not allow it to define her. And this deeply moving and inspirational Middle Grade book speaks to your heart about the silent testament of strength a child can display even when the odds defy her success, is one that truly makes it one to be recommended for the ages. 💜💜 Ma un cazzo. Pardon my French. Ho letto il libro in una paio di giorni, ho pianto, pianto, riso, pianto soprattutto. E' riuscito a raccontare la vita, la morte, l'amicizia, l'amore, la gioventù e la vecchiaia. Tutto con maestria ma senza scuola, come sanno fare quelli bravi. Ha reso semplice il difficile e ha raccontato quello che non si dovrebbe raccontare mai. E, mi dispiace, ma questo lo sanno fare solo quello molto bravi e quelli che la letteratura la respirano. Hope and despair. Love and loss. Anger and acceptance. Aggression and surrender. These are all emotions that we as human beings will feel at some point in our lives and all are touched on in this quietly affirmative novel.Barclay Reed is Deb's latest patient, a retired history professor in the final stages of kidney cancer. Curmudgeon would be a kind word to use about Barclay; he is gruff, demanding and verbally abusive. Slowly, Deb is able to break through his hard shell as she patiently listens to his history lectures and reads to him from his unpublished WWII book "The Sword". Slowly, a mutual trust and understanding begins to form. Reed is a bitter and jaded old man, but underneath that hardened exterior lies a fiercely intelligent man full of knowledge and wisdom about history and life. As Deborah and Reed grow closer, they begin to share about their lives. Deborah tells him of the problems with her husband, and Reed tells her of the last book he was working on. This book, about a Japanese pilot bomber in WWII, was deemed as fabricated plagiarism by Reed's colleagues and became a scandalous end to his distinguished career. As Reed approaches his final days, he has Deborah read from this book and wills her to come to her own opinion about its validity. Jesse comes to think of Abigail as his “hummingbird” as she is small and flits about in a most efficient way. And he views with disdain the would be hero Melcher who would have Abigail as his own. Jesse and Abigail are not initially attracted to each other: she is too proper, too stiff; and he is too crude, too rough. But Jesse sees deeper into her heart and her past than Abigail does and over time, painfully sorts out what has her bound in the rigid rules of propriety. Perché non metterci una vincita al gioco di un milione di euro rifiutata per pura passione per lo stracciamento di maroni? Rifiutata con un ennesimo bel discorsone sulla vita che fa piangere tutti i giocatori d'azzardo?

Jesse is a hero I love because he brings out the very best, and worst, of Abigail. He encourages her to be herself and not what her parents and the town expects her to be. Her gradual liberation is so good to see. So you say." He puffed out the chest in question and rubbed its furred surface as if it were spun gold. The Professor has written numerous volumes on the Pacific Theater and the Sword was the only one that never got published. As they read through the story together, the Professor helps Deborah understand the subtleties behind what Michael has brought home from the war. He uses parts of the story to help her gain insight into the clues he brings up that offer more than what she has been seeing all along. Deborah also finds that through each case she has worked with her patients, they all offer her the one thing that money can never buy and it's a gift she carries with her to each and every patient. She promises that she will do all she can to ensure that their death is peaceful, as painfree as possible and that they leave behind no regrets if she can help it. Olive is a strong, determined, sweet, and compassionate character whose spunk and spirit courts the reader into fallin in love with her. When I was a kid, our neighbor had a Russian nesting doll on her end-table. If she was in the mood, she would let me play with those dolls. Sitting on the floor at her and my mother's feet- I would nest and un-nest those dolls over and over: big, medium, small, smaller, tiny, tiny, smaller, small, medium, biggest.The Hummingbird is narrated in first person by Deborah Birch, a hospice nurse with years of experience caring for and standing by her patients as they leave the world. I believe it takes a special kind of person to do a job like that over and over again without spiraling into either depression or indifference. Instead, Deborah takes something personal and positive from the death of each of her patients. There were times I felt she might actually be a little too good to be true but in the end, I was ok with that.

Avrei dato 5 stelle se non ci fossero stati i tre capitoli ambientati nel futuro a smorzare la potenza di questo romanzo. Ed è il motivo per cui do quattro stelle. I think this is a wonderful book. None has pleased me quite so much of late, nor filled me with more foreboding for the future. If you love nature even a little, you need a copy of this book on your shelf."—David Gascoigne, Travels with BirdsThis book provides a pictorial feast and detailed information."—Mark Jones, Library Journal, starred review You'll be torn between lingering on one amazing image and flipping ahead to see what's next. . . . A riveting read that does more than adequate justice to its subjects."—David Callahan, BirdLife Magazine Gli ultimi due capitoli sono tra i più brutti mai letti (non battono il finale di Numero 11 di Coe, solo perché è imbattibile), la nipote-manga si trasforma in Greta e lui diventa Siddartha. Ma …. un editor che si preoccupi di tirar giù le vele nere dalla nave** ed evitare che il lettore si sfracelli sugli scogli?! Jesse stood for everything she hated: he was rude, violent, roughly handsome and disturbingly sensual.