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Jill's Reviews > When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice
When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice
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"To withhold words is power. But to share our words with others, openly and honestly, is also power."
So says Terry Tempest Williams, whose mother withheld words by bequeathing her three shelves of beautiful clothbound books, all of which turn out to be blank. Are her mother's journals paper tombstones are they eloquent witnesses to who she was? And did Mother give her a voice by withholding hers, in life and in death?
Ms. Williams embarks on a journey to trace her own voice's evolution: connecting to the harmony of bird song, exploring the language of love with her husband Brooke, discovering her voice in her environmental passions. "I am writing the creation story of my own voice through the blank pages my mother has bequeathed to me," she states. Or, to put it another way, she is writing her own trajectory of life.
At the same time, Ms. Williams explores the opposite of voice - silence. "Silence introduced in a society that worships noise is like the moon exposing the night." The headmistress at an ultra-conservative school who pontificates that environmentalism is the Devil's work... the potential axe murderer during her fieldwork time who stunned her into silence...the tumor in the "eloquent" part of her brain...all have the ability to silence her voice.
Many times, Terry Tempest Williams' voice soars into lyricism, taking flight as she examines what her natural voice is as a woman, a Mormon, a member of the community and the human race. At other times, I felt as if the voice floundered as the book weaves into feminist ecological and political issues and just skirts becoming "new agey." Although I personally agree with the majority of her stands, the magic - one might say, the voice - seems temporarily off-key.
An interesting aside: Terry Tempest Williams' grandmother, Lettie Romney Dixon, was cousins with George Romney - the father of the Republican presumed contender. During this inauthentic time, it might be useful to heed Terry Tempest Williams' guidance: "When it comes to words, rather than use our own words authentic and unpracticed we steal someone else's to shield our fear."
So says Terry Tempest Williams, whose mother withheld words by bequeathing her three shelves of beautiful clothbound books, all of which turn out to be blank. Are her mother's journals paper tombstones are they eloquent witnesses to who she was? And did Mother give her a voice by withholding hers, in life and in death?
Ms. Williams embarks on a journey to trace her own voice's evolution: connecting to the harmony of bird song, exploring the language of love with her husband Brooke, discovering her voice in her environmental passions. "I am writing the creation story of my own voice through the blank pages my mother has bequeathed to me," she states. Or, to put it another way, she is writing her own trajectory of life.
At the same time, Ms. Williams explores the opposite of voice - silence. "Silence introduced in a society that worships noise is like the moon exposing the night." The headmistress at an ultra-conservative school who pontificates that environmentalism is the Devil's work... the potential axe murderer during her fieldwork time who stunned her into silence...the tumor in the "eloquent" part of her brain...all have the ability to silence her voice.
Many times, Terry Tempest Williams' voice soars into lyricism, taking flight as she examines what her natural voice is as a woman, a Mormon, a member of the community and the human race. At other times, I felt as if the voice floundered as the book weaves into feminist ecological and political issues and just skirts becoming "new agey." Although I personally agree with the majority of her stands, the magic - one might say, the voice - seems temporarily off-key.
An interesting aside: Terry Tempest Williams' grandmother, Lettie Romney Dixon, was cousins with George Romney - the father of the Republican presumed contender. During this inauthentic time, it might be useful to heed Terry Tempest Williams' guidance: "When it comes to words, rather than use our own words authentic and unpracticed we steal someone else's to shield our fear."
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Reading Progress
April 30, 2012
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Started Reading
April 30, 2012
– Shelved
May 1, 2012
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Finished Reading
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Carol
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rated it 5 stars
May 04, 2012 05:36AM
Where did you hear about his book? Sounds really interesting and different.
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Carol, I heard about it through the Amazon Vine program. A good friend read it and highly recommended.
TTW is the keynote speaker at the Chuckanut Writers Conference in June, which I'm attending. I've never read her work, but this may soon change! Lovely review, Jill.
Thanks, Julie. I bet she'll make a fine speaker. Great new photo, btw!
I fell in love with this local author after reading her first book "Refuge". I've been connected to her ever since. I've been wanting to attend her book readings since she frequents Salt Lake City often. Plus I keep thinking that I'll run into her in Moab in one of her favorite bookstores. One day I'll meet her - I do like her views, politics and not to mention her books and life.
Elaine, a good friend has read several of her books, so when I saw it on Amazon Vine, I grabbed it. She sounds like an intriguing person as well as a good writer. Much of her prose teetered on sheer poetry.
I thought the book was horrible. I thought her writing style was terrible.
Sandra, this book hasn't stood the test of time for me. While I still believe there are lyrical lines in it, I believe it's designed for a certain audience. I wouldn't say her writing style was terrible.
You are right, Jill. Her writing is not terrible. I just don't care for the book, but there are many good lines in it. I guess I was just tired of reading all the praise that was lavished on this book, when I can't seem to see it.
Sandra, each of us is going to gravitate towards different books. One person's "terrible" will be another's "top ten." With the advantage of time, I'm feeling that it was a little "new agey" for me. The writing is often good, but it just didn't endure.
