"When you open your heart to rewilding a landscape, the truth is, you’re opening your heart to rewilding yourself.” ~ Charlotte McConaghy
Ms McConaghy is genius. She cloaks serious messages about the state of our planet in very readable and riveting books. By entwining a mystery/murder with a particular environmental issue she's ensured she'll reach a wider audience than she ever would if she stuck strictly to writing about the depressing condition of our present day world.
In this novel, wolves were the conduit (remember in 'Migrations' it was Arctic terns??) and never did I think I'd be as reeled in by them as I was. Reintroducing wolves into the Scottish highlands is a very real, present day consideration. Will it happen? Who knows? If it does, I think the author has laid out an extremely realistic playbook about how it will go over. Before I read the book, I wouldn't have had an opinion on the topic but after reading, I understand the benefits to the natural world having them there. Ms McConaghy didn't ignore the push back from the opposition and this particular quote from the book resonated:
“You ever wondered why conservationists tend to come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds? They’ve got money. They don’t have to rely on the land to survive, they aren’t scraping by, one day to the next.”
But so did this one:
“If we’re talking about conservation, about saving this planet, we have to start with the predators. Because if we can’t save the predators, we’ve got no chance of saving anything else.”
'Once There Were Wolves' is darkly beautiful. The protagonist (Inti) and her twin were raised unconventionally and their story is as twisted as it gets. Be advised there is sexual abuse & violence covered in the content if that's a trigger.
I can't say I loved Inti but I did love the book and I know the message about wolves and their place in our ecosystems will stay with me and reverberate more than the other details of the story.
Ms McConaghy is genius. She cloaks serious messages about the state of our planet in very readable and riveting books. By entwining a mystery/murder with a particular environmental issue she's ensured she'll reach a wider audience than she ever would if she stuck strictly to writing about the depressing condition of our present day world.
In this novel, wolves were the conduit (remember in 'Migrations' it was Arctic terns??) and never did I think I'd be as reeled in by them as I was. Reintroducing wolves into the Scottish highlands is a very real, present day consideration. Will it happen? Who knows? If it does, I think the author has laid out an extremely realistic playbook about how it will go over. Before I read the book, I wouldn't have had an opinion on the topic but after reading, I understand the benefits to the natural world having them there. Ms McConaghy didn't ignore the push back from the opposition and this particular quote from the book resonated:
“You ever wondered why conservationists tend to come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds? They’ve got money. They don’t have to rely on the land to survive, they aren’t scraping by, one day to the next.”
But so did this one:
“If we’re talking about conservation, about saving this planet, we have to start with the predators. Because if we can’t save the predators, we’ve got no chance of saving anything else.”
'Once There Were Wolves' is darkly beautiful. The protagonist (Inti) and her twin were raised unconventionally and their story is as twisted as it gets. Be advised there is sexual abuse & violence covered in the content if that's a trigger.
I can't say I loved Inti but I did love the book and I know the message about wolves and their place in our ecosystems will stay with me and reverberate more than the other details of the story.
