pickThe writing was just as beautiful as the cover, it does not surprise me to find out this author also writes poetry.
I should say this book contains a lot more than I thought it would, or rather that it veers in and out of a heavier tone than those first moments of wonder suggest.
There's a mix of first-hand exploration of physical spaces (not without risk), delving into the history and science of the past, 1/?
I love how some verbs describing the effects of light feel onomatopoeic, like you could HEAR the aurora borealis 'blinging and spangling.' ✨🌌🤩
Solastalgia: we've gotten to the point where we need more fine-grained words to describe mindsets arising from negative environmental impacts than the more generalized 'climate anxiety'. 😖
No innocent landscape: leave room for reparation, hope, life.
Love the imagery, trees lit up by their fruit, but the colour, especially in sunlight, I can see it. 😌🍎💡
The rock does what?! I dunno man, two centimetres sounds like a lot for a mass I previously considered sedentary outside continental plate movement, earthquakes and rockfall/avalanches. 😵💫
I would NOT recommend this book for claustrophobics, as the exploration involves a number of tight squeezes, and recounting a selection of the history of cave exploration also means numbering memorable deaths.
Similarly, the history of what is hidden underground means not just art or natural wonders, but also records of conflicts, 10h
The science mentioned is both approachable and fascinating in the language provided, but beyond a focus on what scientists might be studying underground or using underground spaces to study, the exploration and science reporting on a number of landscapes is used to outline the ongoing damage the anthropocene's effects 10h
I appreciate that Macfarlane, while often taking moments to appreciate the natural world in gorgeous prose, is clear in his respect of the human costs associated with the various landscapes - the sensitivity to review urban exploration while acknowledging the dichotomy of people with the privilege to consider recreational what the unhoused may have as their only shelter 10h
⚠️Mentions of suicides and accidental deaths, genocide, war violence, mass graves, animal death 10h