laura reviewed Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn
None
5 stars
amazing. wow.
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published June 1, 2021 by Viking.
4 stars
(10 reviews)
Investigative journalist Cal Flyn's ISLANDS OF ABANDONMENT, an exploration of the world's most desolate, abandoned places that have now been reclaimed by nature, from the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea to the "urban prairie" of Detroit to the irradiated grounds of Chernobyl, in an ultimately redemptive story about the power and promise of the natural world.
martina.pugliese reviewed Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn
Review of 'Islands of Abandonment' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Really good, original and well executed. The author travels the world to see first hand how time has transformed places humankind has abandoned, whether due to natural disaster, to historical events, or to accidents. She tells the history that led the place to where it is now, and reflects on the factors. We go, amongst others, to an abandoned island in Scotland, to Detroit, to Chernobyl.
Part documentary work, part lyrical narration of the impact humans have on the environment and what happens when they're not around anymore, at traits leaning on the distopyan (but it's all real stuff), with a good mix of optimism and pessimism, and of course a realisation of the underlying presence of climate change. Really a great read.
Lucas reviewed Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn
Frustrating, inert, unsympathetic
1 star
Read this with my wife, as it seemed it up our alley and we might learn something etc. But the author does not really seem to be calling for any action to counter the destruction of the Earth; if anything, discounts it by talking about faith, about seeing weeds grow in a parking lot, and failing to ever deal with the larger forces of imperialism, capital, and violence that create the "post-human landscapes" she describes so lushly.
(And, man, we could barely make it through a page or two before putting it down to note the authors' classist, colonialist perspective. At first, it seemed as if she was just, you know, from the other side of the Atlantic, and wasn't being careful with how she, say, spoke of native peoples in the Americas, or the imagery she used while describing poorer people. But there was a chapter that felt like …
Read this with my wife, as it seemed it up our alley and we might learn something etc. But the author does not really seem to be calling for any action to counter the destruction of the Earth; if anything, discounts it by talking about faith, about seeing weeds grow in a parking lot, and failing to ever deal with the larger forces of imperialism, capital, and violence that create the "post-human landscapes" she describes so lushly.
(And, man, we could barely make it through a page or two before putting it down to note the authors' classist, colonialist perspective. At first, it seemed as if she was just, you know, from the other side of the Atlantic, and wasn't being careful with how she, say, spoke of native peoples in the Americas, or the imagery she used while describing poorer people. But there was a chapter that felt like a defence of imperial invasions; at best, a "get over it" attitude.)
