Underland by Robert Macfarlane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a strange duck of a book. Especially if it is a spelunking duck with a penchant for science and poetry.

I want to say that it is a pretty interesting and diverse book on the concept of the underground, whether it is exploring deep caverns, crypts, deep dives, or mycelium networks in the forest. And it is! It's very, very interesting. Any kind of deep concept such as ice mining to discover the deep past, ways to put away nuclear waste products, catching rare nuclear particles... all of it is included in the text.

And what's more? This book of exploration is personal, awe-inspiring, creative as hell, and it reads almost like poetry.

Hell. This book IS like poetry. Tons of connections are made between all these diverse elements and the language used is really, really pretty.

So why didn't I give this a five-star rating just for its beauty?


Because while it was pretty damn inspiring at the beginning, it wore me down and tired me out by the end.

I think it would be a very nice book to read over a long stretch of time. A little each night as your mind is relaxing, letting go, getting weird and creative. Read it like poetry. A little at a time. Enjoy the language, the connections, and don't let it turn into a regular non-fiction title. Yes, there's some great science going on in here, but make no mistake...

THIS IS POETRY.


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