RaveThe Rumpus... tightly wound personal essays, all of which generate insight into the human condition by ruminating on the animal kingdom or the natural world ... [the essays] prove most effective when they focus on surviving savagery rather than surrendering to it ... Whether the cause of danger is men or mountain lions, the world has never been a particularly safe place for humans. Hale’s book thoughtfully ponders the ways we deal with that reality—by denying it, by confronting it, and, finally, by accepting it ... Throughout the collection, Hale speaks with an assured, accessible voice. Her writing is grounded by a self-awareness that never becomes self-serious ... She’s also a master of the kind of destabilizing transitions that make nonfiction read like narrative ... The most alluring aspect of Hale’s style is, however, something less flashy than a well-crafted cliffhanger. Her writing possesses a knack for understatement that makes it easy for the reader to follow her into uncomfortable territory. This is lucky, because there is little that is more uncomfortable than recognizing everyday ferocity. But that’s just what Hale would have us do.
