strange and random happenstance: Urban Explorers

Underland by Robert Macfarlane
Published by: W.W. Norton and Company
Publication Date: May 2nd, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Humankind has had such an impact on the world it is now a designated epoch, the Anthropocene. Robert Macfarlane takes it on himself to look at the forgotten realms of the Earth and see how they have been impacted by humankind and in turn how they have impacted us. Macfarlane takes eleven journeys to come to grips with the underland. Because that is where our history is, in deep time. With all that history laid bare the question is posited, are we really the caretakers that the Earth deserves? Humans have been around for such a short amount of time and yet the damage we have done is incalculable. Starting near his home his first journey takes him to the cave systems in the Mendips in Somerset. There he wonders if the Earth might just swallow him whole. The mental strain of the dangers he's about to face become apparent. He's not just taxing himself physically on these journeys, but mentally. He is placing himself at the mercy of the Earth and the Earth isn't kind to those who journey where they shouldn't. In Boulby, Yorkshire, he visits a mine that's so deep that it goes under the North Sea where Dark Matter is studied. So far underland as to be undisturbed by the disturbances of man. But the underland can also be studied above ground. The trees of Epping Forest have an understory beneath the forest that lets them communicate using fungi, a wood wide web if you will. Having experienced in England some of the great natural and manmade conduits to the underland he visits France and perhaps one of the most famous underground spaces in the world, the Paris Catacombs. There are the sections that are for tourists, but that isn't what he's interested in. He's reached out to urban explorers, those who map the terrain of abandoned buildings and have therefore taken a great interest in the Catacombs. Those who illegally tour the mines of Paris which were built for the access of workers are called cataphiles. They take Macfarlane on a journey he will never forget. Rooms that haven't been seen in hundreds of years and modern graffiti that seems to exist solely to say, I was here. The underland is vast, there are starless rivers, nuclear dumps, caves that can only be accessed at certain times of the year. Robert Macfarlane tasks himself to record it all, to pass on what he's learned, and to teach us to be better stewards of this amazing planet.

For me I had a problem with a disconnect between what this book was sold as and what it actually is. Underland was said to deliver "an epic exploration of the Earth's underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory, and the land itself." What I really connected to in that teaser was the myth and literature part. Which Robert Macfarlane never really addresses. I mean, come on! Book girl here wants to hear all about the underworld in literature. He barely touches on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and that one is just a gimme! What about all the tales of the realms of fairies being underground? Underhill anyone anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Fairy Mounds? Fairy Forts? I mean seeing as this book is about the magic of the Earth and what it means to people I think an exploration of how we've peopled that land in our myths and fairy tales would be quite important. But again, the book was sold as something it was not. The problem being my expectations were repeatedly crushed. I kept thinking, oh, the next section, that will be the section I've been waiting for. And if never was. Therefore I think that this book would be better on a reread. I'd have no expectations because I know what it's about and they'd be reigned in. The problem is I'm rather claustrophobic, and well, I don't know if I could read this book again. If there's one thing I'd tell anyone who was about to read this book, besides ranting about literary tradition being omitted, is that if you are even slightly claustrophobic you can not read this book. My Dad has a friend who told him he had to read this book, knowing that my claustrophobia is nothing compared to my Dad's, I laughed and laughed and said he can never read this book. Ever. I even thought, maybe I could find a section he could read... But no. Claustrophobics, run away run away. And I just realized I reached the point in my review where I'm just doing odd movie quotes so will move this along, no more Monty Python. The other problem I faced was while this is a whole interconnected narrative it's basically broken down into stories. Short stories. I don't really like short stories. There's no consistency. So while I loved "Invisible Cities (Paris)," "Red Dancers (Lofoten, Norway)" left me cold. The journeys he went on were so diverse that his writing style was inconsistent and annoying. To me. I can see why others found it magical, I just found it highly competent. Which, trust me, is a compliment.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Anthropocene, Claustrophobic, Deep Time, Earth, Fairy Tales, For the Love of Book Clubs, Literature, Paris Catacombs, Robert MacFarlane, Underground, Underland, Urban Explorers

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch
Published by: Gollancz
Publication Date: June 21st, 2012
Format: Paperback, 375 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

It's the week before Christmas and PC Peter Grant is working with the big boys, he's been assigned to the murder squad. It's almost a thrill to be working with other coppers again. Being assigned to the Folly means his coworkers are his boss and hopefully soon his old partner Lesley. But not today, today Christmas has come early. He was called in to the Baker Street Underground station to see if he could pick up anything uncanny about their newest corpse. The corpse though was surprisingly clean. No magic. The broken piece of pottery shard that ended the life of James Gallagher is anything but. And now Peter's looking into the murder of an American art student who just happens to be the son of a U.S. Senator. The victim, James Gallagher, was not untalented, he had an eye for street scenes and capturing life. It was almost old fashioned in it's precision. But his art had started to change of late, becoming darker. One of his teachers worried that he might be suicidal. Peter assures him that James Gallagher's death was indeed murder. At his studio Peter learns that his victim was interested in Ryan Carroll, an artist who road the Celtic Tiger all the way to the Tate Modern. Ryan Carroll's artwork, an assemblage of mannequins and found pieces, exude magic. Much like the murder weapon. And much like a bowl found at James Gallagher's apartment. Because magic is the reason that Peter was allowed on the murder squad it's his job to look into the pottery. For that he'll need the help of James Gallagher's roommate, Zach. Zach had obviously been living rough prior to moving in to "help" James discover the real London. Zach though is only passingly familiar with telling the truth. He is definitely more than he looks and when he discovers that Peter is in league with the Nightingale, he's almost more obstreperous. Which Peter doesn't have time for. He has an FBI agent breathing down his neck, an unexpected snowstorm, a trek through the sewers, and who knows what other hell before Christmas comes and all the while there's the looming threat of their "Little Crocodiles," black magicians illegally trained at Oxford that are trying to make his and Nightingale's life a living hell. Couldn't Zach give him the smallest of breaks? And not another broken bowl thank you very much.

What's interesting about the Rivers of London series is that Ben Aaronovitch has created a series with a strong connection to the arts. The first installment was about the world of the threatre, the second installment was about the world of music, in particular jazz, and this third installment brings us to the art world. Oh my, it's like this series was made with me and the various stages of my life in mind, from the piano lessons I started in first grade to the Bachelor's degrees I got in art and theatre as an undergraduate. But when you think about it while the arts are viewed as something rarefied, especially to those with pretensions who I was occasionally taught by, we all have a connection to them, be it a school play we were in, a song we've loved, or something we've drawn. Through our development from child to adult even if it's only tangentially, we've experienced the arts. So while some might think these themes lofty, I think of them as the basic human condition, these are what separate us from the animals, the ability to create and enjoy wonder. But going back to my time as an undergraduate, the student studios that Peter tours are priceless. I mean, it was so spot on I could barely contain my glee. The pretentious concept pieces to James's very traditional art, I've seen it all and Ben Aaronovitch brought it all back to me. Oh and I can't leave out Ryan Carroll, a man in it for the money, who views that his art should speak for itself. Do not get me started on people who think art should speak for itself. Nothing is beyond verbalization. Your "act of creation" or whatever you want your process to be about in the forming of clay or what have you should be able to speak for itself BUT you should be able to talk about the what and the whys of it. An artist who can not explain their art isn't a true artist, they are a poseur. Which is very interesting as to how the pottery angle works in. I don't know if other people experienced the mystique of pottery as I did. Two hippies ran my pottery classes and it was a weird clique. They "knew things others did not." Therefore to have this mystery of the pottery just made me nod my head sagely and go, "yes, pottery is the greatest mystery." And it's a mystery that Peter is able to solve to the delight of artists and urban explorers everywhere.