Review: The Solace of Open Spaces
June 23, 2013
The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Exquisite short book that makes for a longer read because you want to hold on to it for as long as you can. In a series of short stories, Ehrlich narrates her experiences in Wyoming while working in a ranch. The book is beautifully written but, as a non-native english speaker, it does contain some passages/words a bit too hard.
I've always felt an inexplicable attraction for remote places, far landscapes and wild harsh nature, and this book encapsulates those three perfectly. Based on her own experiences, Ehrlich's reflects on ranchers, sheepherders, cowboys, native americans, and how they understand, repect and interact with their environment. Particularly inspiring are her views on human-animal and human-nature interactions, on which the usual either over-romantic or over-cruel view is absent. Her sober but powerful, first-person, account is probably the most appealing aspect of the book.