There are already so many great memoirs chronicling humanity’s attempts to connect with the natural world that it’s an enormous challenge to produce noteworthy new work on the subject. Harvest of a Quiet Eye doesn’t quite distinguish itself through either prose or observation, but it’s decent in its own way. Part personal essay, part rambling literary and historical survey, the book sparkles enough to serve as a kick-off-the-summer-holiday read.

Lawrence Scanlan’s past books include Wild About Horses and Grace Under Fire. His new effort is an ode to the pioneer log cabin that he moved from a farm north of Kingston, Ontario, and rebuilt on a patch of land in nearby Prince Edward County. Scanlan recounts the unexpected headaches and expense associated with the reconstruction, but his main focus is on his love affair with the surrounding land and on the virtues of having solitary encounters with nature.

Scanlan’s invocations of Thoreau, Whitman, and the pioneer sisters Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill are predictable, though still enjoyable, but he also references the views of a host of other figures including Dickens, de Tocqueville, and Frank Lloyd Wright. There are interesting asides on topics ranging from the affliction of noise in urban settings to the life of a West Coast Trappist hermit. Anyone intrigued by log buildings will also learn a few things about their history and construction, as well as the uphill battle to weatherproof them.

In spite of this interesting material, the book ultimately lacks a compelling structural backbone. One of Scanlan’s most interesting points – that “eco-faith” is replacing organized religion, in a trend that marks a reversion to a type of paganism – cries out for an expanded analysis. It’s an idea that could have made a strong, memorable theme.