The Anthropocene Reviewed
The Anthropocene Reviewed ~ John Green
A memoir in the form of a collection of essays where the author reviews various aspects of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale, exploring topics both mundane and grand. He reviews hot dogs in Iceland, the QWERT keyboard, Diet Dr. Pepper, orbital sunsets, the plague, Monopoly, the movie Harvey, on and on. In each essay we learn more about the author, about his struggles with anxiety, his family, his hopes and fears. Among other things, he discusses climate change, the pandemic, history, and science. I really enjoyed a lot of these essays, and found them engrossing and moving, but mostly memoir and essay is not my thing, and I ended up returning it to the library. Which is weird because I really did enjoy the 3/4 of it that I listened to. I kind of felt like it was never going to end, and I wanted it to. Recommended anyway.
6 Comments
Jenny
Ha, well that’s a lukewarm review! It does sound interesting, but not like the thing I would usually read. I could picture getting this book and reading some selected essays, rather than the whole thing.
J
I know, what even the heck Julie, you were enjoying it and then DONE, right? That’s how it was though. Maybe I’ll get it out of the library again at some point and finish it, we’ll see.
PocoBrat
Wow, you read a lot of wonderful books! I too find essays difficult to plow through all at once though!
J
Thanks Maya, that makes me feel a little better. Maybe if I had a physical copy and were interspersing it with something else? I listened to the audiobook.
Margaret
I’ve heard great things about this author’s novels. Like you, I struggle with memoirs.
J
I’ve heard some of his novels are pretty weird, I don’t think I’ve read any of them though.