RAISING HARE: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton (Pantheon), picked by bookseller Leslie
RAISING HARE is an exceptional book that takes you along on Chloe Dalton’s unexpected journey with her little leveret, or baby hare. Chloe moves to her country home in the English countryside at the start of the pandemic, leaving her life in London as a political consultant and writer.
Adding to the book’s character and charm are two things that always draw me in – illustrations and the use of quotes to begin each chapter. Denise Nestor, an Irish artist and illustrator, captures the personality of the hare with her lovely drawings.
My favorite quote used in the book:
“What a destructive, cruel being man is, how many living beings and plants he annihilates to maintain his own life.”
~Leo Tolstoy, HADJI MURAT, 1912
But don’t get the wrong idea, this book is not a downer or even a commentary on man’s self-centered ways. This book is the antidote to our oh so very busy and important lives and the chaos of the world we live in. It’s not preachy at all. We are simply enjoying Chloe Dalton’s experience with her hare. It’s not her pet; she does not name her because that implies ownership. She allows the hare to be herself, and in exchange is witness to the life of this magnificent creature, including motherhood. She turns her home over to the hare and becomes attuned to the gardens, trees, and wildlife as never before.
I’m not going to tell you exactly what happens here in the recommendation. I will leave that to you to enjoy as the story unfolds. Consider what Chloe writes toward the end of the book:
“She has taught me patience. And as someone who has made their living through words, she has made me consider the dignity and persuasiveness of silence. She showed me a different life, and the richness of it. She made me perceive animals in a new light, in relation to her, and to each other. She made me re-evaluate my life, and the question of what constitutes a good one.”