Against the background of austere and beautiful Aberdeen, Woolfson observes the seasons, the streets and the quiet places of her city over the course of a year. She considers the geographic, atmospheric and environmental elements which bring diverse life forms together in close proximity, and in absorbing prose writes of the animals among us: the birds, the rats and squirrels, the spiders and the insects. Her close examination of the natural world leads her to question our prevailing attitudes to urban and non-urban wildlife, and to look again at the values we place on the lives of individual species.

A beautifully written and thought-provoking record of a year spent observing the natural world in a city, which looks afresh at our relationship to the weather, the plants and the animals that live in close proximity to us

About the Author
ESTHER WOOLFSON was brought up in Glasgow and studied Chinese at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Edinburgh University. Her acclaimed short stories have appeared in many anthologies and have been read on Radio 4. She is the author of Corvus: A Life with Birds, which is also published by Granta Books. She has won prizes for her nature writing and received a Scottish Arts Council Travel Grant and a Writer's Bursary.

Reviews
This is a beautiful book, a meditation and an investigation, a contemplation of our uncaring attitude to wild animals. Part autobiography, it is shot through with the solitude and wisdom of older age, as Woolfson pursues her scientific studies alone -- Mike Wade * The Times *
Woolfson turns her beady eye to the muddled and fascinating ecology of her hometown of Aberdeen... It can only be hoped that books like this play a part in making us both notice and value the lovely creatures we stand to lose, before the wild portions of our cities have been entirely swept and tidied and paved out of existence -- Olivia Laing * Observer *
An illuminating, humane and informative companion in the great tradition of the finest nature writing -- Catherine Lockerbie * Scotland on Sunday *
Woolfson writes vividly about all things feathered ... She deserves only praise for bringing her hidden city - and our hidden prejudices - so enjoyably to light... A likeably quirky book -- Stephanie Cross * Sunday Telegraph *
Woolfson charts with thought, compassion, and no little expertise, the coming and goings of those who share our city space -- Lesley McDowell * Independent on Sunday **** *
Woolfson has a novelist's ear for pacing and a keen eye for nature description... Highly engaging; learned, thoughtful, studded with anecdote, aphorism, myth and scientific facts -- Janette Curry * Times Literary Supplement *
Genial, readable, warm-hearted and on nature's side -- Richard Mabey * New Statesman *
Splendid -- Mark Smith, Books of the Year * Herald *
The joy of this book is that it teaches us to observe afresh and to live peaceably with every species - no matter how slimy -- Louise Gray * Daily Telegraph *
Woolfson is a thoughtful diarist, using events as jumping-off points for digressions into scientific information or passionate argument... Superb -- John Harding * Daily Mail *
Woolfson specialises in demonstrating how little most people understand about creatures they think ordinary. Her writing flows beautifully -- Diana Athill * Literary Review *
A beautifully written celebration of nature, and a warning about our own potential for destruction -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times *
A measured, lyrical and idiosyncratic chronicle of a year in Aberdeen [and] a plea to value the everyday richness we have on our doorsteps -- Melissa Harrison * Caught by the River *
Woolfson changed our minds about rooks and crows with her memoir Corvus and now her new book is going to change our minds about other species, specifically those that have moved into the cities and made their home among the glass and the concrete -- Mark Smith * Sunday Herald *
This is a reflective work that isn't quite as gentle as it might seem - [it] underlines the fact that if we don't appreciate the value of nature under our noses, we may change it irrevocably -- Ben East * Metro *
Wonderful... with this expansive, thoughtful and profound book [Woolfson has] added another tome to the canon of wonderful modern nature writing -- Doug Johnstone * Big Issue *
There is plenty of poetry in the beautiful descriptions of her garden and its hinterland -- David Wheatley * Guardian *
Knowledgeable about our native creatures, Woolfson considers what nature is in an urban context... A beautiful and absorbing account * Northern Echo *
Precise, and often lovely, prose -- Melissa Harrison * Financial Times *
A quietly enthralling, generous book; Woolfson's sympathy and precision of observation makes new observers of her readers too -- Neil Stewart * Civilian *
The ordinary is revealed as extraordinary * Daily Telegraph ***** *
A beautifully written celebration of nature -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times *
An examination of how much we value what's around us and the sort of decisions we make. It is this level of thought and empathy that distinguishes the book -- Sally Morris * Daily Mail *
Absorbing * Lancashire Evening Post *
There is plenty of poetry in the descriptions of her garden and its hinterland * Guardian *
A beautiful book -- Mike Wade * The Times *
A beautifully-written, carefully-crafted and thoughtful account' * NFU Countryside *
A warm-hearted read -- Owen Dawson * Irish Times *
A fine portrait of Aberdeen -- Michael Kerr * 'Books of the Year' Daily Telegraph's Travel *


Awards
Short-listed for Ondaatje Prize 2014 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781847082763
Author Esther Woolfson
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint Granta Books
Publisher Granta Books
Weight(grams) 250g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 130mm * 21mm