Reading the 20th Century discussion

Any Robert Macfarlane fans in the house?


I've just started Underland which is already magnificent

Robert Macfarlane is so curious and questing, and his writing is so elegant, clever and provocative that his words put me in a trance, albeit a receptive one that makes me try to focus on all that he's saying.

I'm currently loving the idea of the Wood Wide Web, having been enthralled by potash mines under the North Sea, Bronze Age burial chambers, the search for dark matter underground, and caving tragedies.

Absolutely magical.

In this highly anticipated sequel to his international bestseller The Old Ways: A Journey on Foots, Macfarlane takes us on an extraordinary journey into our relationship with darkness, burial, and what lies beneath the surface of both place and mind. Traveling through “deep time”―the dizzying expanses of geologic time that stretch away from the present―he moves from the birth of the universe to a post-human future, from the prehistoric art of Norwegian sea caves to the blue depths of the Greenland ice cap, from Bronze Age funeral chambers to the catacomb labyrinth below Paris, and from the underground fungal networks through which trees communicate to a deep-sunk “hiding place” where nuclear waste will be stored for 100,000 years to come. Woven through Macfarlane’s own travels are the unforgettable stories of descents into the underland made across history by explorers, artists, cavers, divers, mourners, dreamers, and murderers, all of whom have been drawn for different reasons to seek what Cormac McCarthy calls “the awful darkness within the world.”

Global in its geography and written with great lyricism and power, Underland speaks powerfully to our present moment. Taking a deep-time view of our planet, Macfarlane here asks a vital and unsettling question: “Are we being good ancestors to the future Earth?” Underland marks a new turn in Macfarlane’s long-term mapping of the relations of landscape and the human heart. From its remarkable opening pages to its deeply moving conclusion, it is a journey into wonder, loss, fear, and hope. At once ancient and urgent, this is a book that will change the way you see the world.

I have read his Landmarks. Found it interesting and well written.

Another author I've been meaning to read for years. I have The Old Ways: A Journey On Foot somewhere, but still haven't got around to it.

Chrissie wrote: "I have read his Landmarks. Found it interesting and well written."


Thanks Chrissie

I've yet to read that one

So far the only other one I've read is The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot - which was another extraordinary book

Underland has a good website...
https://www.underlandbook.com/

Underland was Robert Macfarlane's fourth work to be shortlisted for the Wainwright nature writing prize, and, in August 2019, the judges decided unanimously that the ‘claustrophobic thriller of sorts’ was his best and it won the prize

The Wainwright celebrates the best books about nature, travel and the outdoors.

https://wainwrightprize.com/2019/08/1...

Tania wrote: "Another author I've been meaning to read for years. I have The Old Ways: A Journey On Foot somewhere, but still haven't got around to it."

You really should make time for it Tania - it's wonderful

I bought a signed copy of that one for my Dad for Christmas. so I will be able to borrow t eventually. (Obviously not the only reason I bought it).

I shall move it up the pile.

Great news Tania - on both counts

I am a big a Macfarlane fan. So far I have read five of his works. My rough ranking from best to worse is:

* The Wild Places
* The Old Ways
* Landmarks
* Underland
* Mountains of the Mind

Though the top four are all very good.

For something a bit different I was blown away by Journal of a Prairie Year by Paul Gruchow when I read it the year before last.

Thanks Radiantflux - that's interesting and helpful

I have only read excerpts and bits and pieces, but do own a couple of his books.

Nigeyb wrote: "Thanks Radiantflux - that's interesting and helpful"

Underland is great, but I really liked The Old Ways and The Wild Places.

I can recommend the audiobooks on these too. The speaker does a really excellent job of making his texts come to life.

I have read most of them, but have not yet got round to Underland. My favourites are The Wild Places and The Old Ways. He does repeat himself a bit - he has written about Nan Shepherd and Roger Deakin several times.

Hugh: Do you have any other favourite nature writers?

I'm currently exploring the Paris catacombs with Robert


Has anyone visited?

Sounds remarkable - especially his illegal week long visit

I've finished Underland...


...another magnificent read from Robert Macfarlane and one which offers new perspectives on the impact of humans on our planet.

Here’s my review

4/5