This novel won’t likely appeal to all, but I wish that weren’t so. I want everyone to appreciate it the way I did. That said, I DO know who will go bonkers for it: nature lovers and writers … particularly writers who love nature! I was an English major, so a book about Henry David Thoreau was right up my alley. Not only that, but if you’re an aspiring author who wants to learn how to write about nature, the way it is conveyed in this book is heavenly! Humphreys is skilled with a capital S.

I got more from this little book than expected; it was one of those “I’m reading it at the right time in my life” kind of books. I’ve been so incredibly busy fighting for the nature around my home, that I have ceased to enjoy or spend time in it. This slim novel reminded me of the sheer excitement I experienced when I moved to the desert southwest: the journaling I did, the citizen-scientist projects I volunteered for, the geek-outs when I discovered a new insect or plant, the delight at photographing something beautiful and otherworldly (rainbow-colored grasshoppers, YES!).

We get a heartrending glimpse into Thoreau’s life and his deep, personal connection to the natural world (and, dare I say, glimpses of what, today, would likely be deemed living on the spectrum, only during the 1800s. In the book, Thoreau exhibits lots of measuring, counting, and semi-obsessive behavior to calm his thoughts, and his struggles with deep relationships).

I so appreciated his relationship with his sister and how they would use single “nature” words when passing one another in their home. I rather enjoyed (and related to) his annoyance of friends who got in the way of his attempts to “be” wholly present in a place. And there are cats – a reverence for cats – that was much appreciated.

This novel is described as “a novel of meditations―on loss, on change, on the danger and healing that come from communion with the natural world,” which is a perfect descriptor. I’m not generally one for episodic novels, but this book, which really is a series of random experiences over Thoreau’s life, struck home. He is losing his beautiful Walden Pond to woodcutting, the introduction of rail lines, and the building of homes. I face similar, devastating threats from copper mining. And yet, this story of Thoreau reminded me to try to live in the moment and never, for a heartbeat, take for granted what is before me.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve focused more on what is still before me, versus what I may soon lose. I’ve gotten out for walks, as time would allow. It is a bittersweet situation in which I find myself, a complete parallel to the lessons in this book that faced Thoreau. And as the bookjacket says, there is “danger and healing that come from communion with the natural world.” But isn’t that always the case when we truly open our hearts to something – nature or otherwise?

This beautiful, gentle novel tells the story of Henry David Thoreau. It is a story of nature, loss and friendship. Humphreys novel is really short vignettes in Thoreau’s life in Concord in the years before and up to the Civil War.

Read my review at Historical Novels Review here: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/followed-by-the-lark/

My new favourite Humphreys novel? I think so!
Thanks to @fsgbooks for the e-arc of Followed by the Lark - Helen Humphreys newest novel out tomorrow -Feb 13/24
Loved this glorious novel about Henry David Thoreau’s life told through sparse meanderings, and longer passages. His relationship to the natural world is on full display as is his love and adoration for his family, but also his struggle with the intimacy of friendship. Humphrey’s characteristic elegant and quietly observed style of writing is well suited in focusing on Thoreau’s quest for a simple life. A man not oblivious to the fact that while he was intent on studying nature, most people around him were intent on destroying it. I enjoyed Humphrey’s depth of writing, and found in this novel an extra bit of joy in being familiar with Thoreau’s New England. I can’t wait to get a physical copy as there were such beautiful passages that just need to be underlined and remembered. I really enjoyed this!
Highly recommend!

Followed by the Lark is a gentle, quiet retelling of Henry David Thoreau's life, from the first bluebird to the last. Whether he's close by Walden or tramping the hills, he is filled with wonders, yearnings, and his calculations, lists and catalogs; he makes notations, compares each year with the next and the past, keeps track of each sunrise, season and star path. There in his world, using his journal and notes, Helen Humphreys weaves in his poetry, tied to thoughts, tied to the whens and wheres, the whos crossing his path, or footprints left in the snow or grass, wrapped with songs sounding from afar.

A very zen-full read, one to keep close by.

*A sincere thank you to Helen Humphreys, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*

This is the seventh book I have read by this author. I just love the way she writes. There is a lovely, lulling way to which she tells her story. Captivating. Plus, here she tells the story of Thoreau, who is one of my all-time favorites. The man I would have loved to meet. His love of nature, which Humphrey perfectly described, his need for quiet and solitude, are qualities I admire.

She divides the book by a grouping of years and though this is a short book she covers much. Thoreau's losses and loves, his friendship with Emerson, not without strife and his constant curiosity about the natural world. His wonderful relationship with his younger sister Sophie, whom shared his interests.

Just a wonderful read.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I did learn a great deal about Thoreau, and the writing is beautiful. However, because of its very episodic nature, it felt disjointed to me and not especially compelling. When I recommend it to others, it will be with the caveat that their own interest in the subject matter and/or appreciation for the language will have to carry them through, as opposed to plot or tension of any kind.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital version of the ARC in advance of publication.

I really enjoyed this novel, and it gives us some great insight into how Thoreau saw the world about which he wrote. Since the narrative is episodic, and not necessarily connected to each other, I found that it wasn’t a truly ‘compelling’ read. It felt disjointed, and characters who enter sometimes reappear but a lot of time vanish after an episode. I think this works though because it creates a parallel between the nature Thoreau is immersed in and the human world - the passing of time in both are captured in much the same way - as people come and go; sometimes we meet a person only fleetingly, as the narrator catches sight of someone and then passes on. But this sense of fleetingly passing of (seemingly random) episodes is also what creates the disjointedness in the narrative. If you like Thoreau’s perspective of nature, and/or nature itself, you’ll keep reading. But if you’re looking for a neat narrative, or a carefully parcelled story, this perhaps may not be the best!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @HelenHumphreys for an ARC of this book!

Helen Humphreys' sparse, poetic style is a perfect fit for this fictionalized biography of Henry David Thoreau, which spans his entire adult life. In particular, Humphreys' prose shines in the description of Thoreau's explorations of the natural world. Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advance copy.

As a fan of Helen Humphreys’ writing, I was eager to read an ARC copy of her forthcoming novel, Followed by the Lark, to be published in February 2024.

Followed by the Lark reveals the imagined interior life of American naturalist, essayist, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau. Humphreys’ beautiful interpretation seems perfectly suited to the gentle, thoughtful man most associated with Walden Pond. The overall narrative has a poetic feel with beautiful language, a lyrical setting, and a gentle cadence and pace. Humphreys blends fact and fiction brilliantly as she brings Henry David Thoreau to life.

I recommend this book for readers interested in learning more about Henry David Thoreau and his lifetime devotion to the natural world.

Thank you to Farrar, Strauss and Giroux and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 13, 2024.

4 stars.

Interesting interpretation of what Thoreau was inspired by to become so attached to nature. At times the book is easy to skim, but overall enjoyed this one. Would recommend.

So often the role of story is to create order out of chaos, to give direction, purpose, and meaning to a life that is so often defined by its uncertainty. When writing about a real person like Henry David Thoreau, the danger is that one might make him too clearly drawn and in so doing erase his humanity and ambiguity. Humphreys has managed to write a novel that illuminates Thoreau and provides a meditation on his interiority, values, and personal epiphanies—and in so doing has given his life, poetry, and writings breathe and humanity. Often we forget that people from earlier times in history lived lives that were every bit as vibrant, beautiful, and tragic as our own. This book reminded me that this is also true of one of the greatest early American writers as well.

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. A fascinating novel that follows Henry David Thoreau through most of his life. It’s great at capturing the few life long friends, the early deaths, including his older brother John, that crushed him and made him question so much and the other family members that were with him his entire life, but the book seems to pull off a magic trick in the sense that half of the book is Thoreau describing tress, flowers, plants, animals, big and small, and even the weather and somehow this is not in any way distancing, it actually brings Thoreau into much sharper view.