The Anthropocene Reviewed

This book is a collection of short essays informal in tone, but with extensive sources cited, each considering some feature of our world whether man-made or natural, interpreted through a human lens. The word 'anthropocene' in the title refers to the geologic Epoch we are in now where the the changes the planet is subjected to are dominated by the influence of humanity occupation of its surface. So yes, of course, there's climate change, there are mass extinctions along with global pandemics, but then there are also works of art, scenes of astonishing natural beauty, and bizarre social manias that can only be understood through a human cultural viewpoint. Each essay ends with a numerical rating of the subjective goodness of the subject in question where five is the most excellent and one denotes something that is very barely tolerable. The author takes his review duties fairly seriously, paying attention to all of the important features of each subject, yet not taking his own importance too seriously. Like many others, I got to know him through his videos on YouTube and consider myself a fan. The narrative is generous with personal anecdotes sometimes veering off into tangents which I think it is fair to say stem from life experiences following anything but a straight line path. He has an appealing self-deprecation towards himself even though he's accomplished a lot and has millions of people who care about his views toward even the most trivial subjects. One funny thing about these little essays is that he makes virtually no reference to his YouTube presence which you would think is going to occupy a large fraction of his attention. Maybe he crafts these as a sort of a an antidote to the sometimes overbearing influence of that platform. He personifies the humanist, with his most moving essays talking about transcendence and defeat and insight and compassion both for other people and for our own communities. Like many of us he struggles in the face of the challenges that face us collectively but counters that with a recognition of deep gratitude to the luck that allows us even to occupy our place. In this way he cuts the sense of doom with a strong dose of optimism, which I find appealing. As a fiction and nonfiction writer he's enormously accomplished, with a legion of admirers. Here his voice comes through. When he writes about sickness, pain, loss he he provides a light for those of us experiencing similar feelings. But I don't want to leave the impression that this is a solemn book, since a number of the essays are on subjects that I have virtually zero interest in and yet he tries to find a way to convey relatable aspects to me. Personally I was touched by seeing the quotations from poetry among his essays which have played a formative influence on him. An excerpt from John Ashbery's long poem Portrait in a Convex Mirror took me by surprise with how it suggested something I had missed.

Is this a life-changing book? I think some of the essays are a bit slight, kind of tossed off, but there are some real gems there that strike you during first reading and invite a closer re-reading. I hope this isn't the end of the line for these little review essays of his so that he can keep on surprising and entertaining us with many more.