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dcfelk's review
Wasn't what I was looking for, lots of literary criticism, and felt a bit too academic for my taste. Also the style reminded me of how I would write academic papers and that weirded me out.
ember_is_gay's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I don’t often read non-fiction books, however a goal for this year was to try and read a few more. This was one I really enjoyed and one I really connected to and at some many times did I have to put it down and sit quietly as the words seeped into my mind and thoughts rushed. Some of the essays didn’t hit for me but I didn’t expect them all to and think this is very understandable.
I really felt so engaged and it has really stuck with me since finishing, coming into conversations with people and I have recommended it a few times. The ideas and themes discussed were things that I have thought about outside of this book so there was a lot that furthered by own beliefs and thoughts. I was able to think critically about my own views and be exposed to new ideas.
For anyone who is aware of the human experience on the planet and the destruction we have caused, who has their own thoughts on how we have changed the planet for our benefit and the futures that we may be heading towards, I would 100% recommend this book.
noeyeddeer's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I liked this book a lot and that’s not to say it gives a complete and balanced argument or conclusion for any of the topics it picks on. I think the essays are best taken as personal reflections. Like most books on/ around the environment it is best read alongside other work.
Still, I really enjoyed reading these often strange and beautiful essays!
Still, I really enjoyed reading these often strange and beautiful essays!
Content Warnings
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Blood, Violence, Body horror, and Sexual violence
astridrv's review
I had a great time discovering Wilk's mind. Both her style and her thoughts were really easy to follow for me, which is a testament to her hard work. There are of course a lot of limitations to her perspective, and I wasn't mindblown as much as left curious, engaged. I love the descriptor "fan non-fiction", and would have taken it further a notch, exploring more dark and weird and passionate corners of culture. Overall, this felt like a conversation with a friend: more doors opened than questions answered, many anecdotes, some epiphanies, book recommendations scrambled down on a napkin, and gratitude for sharing a world of thoughts.
joakley's review
5.0
Amazing. Loved the way the essays both meandered into new territory and referred back to each other. The writing is so damn crisp. Especially when the project is trying to describe NOW, I was consistently impressed with how Wilk describes these weird contemporary concepts in a way that doesn’t feel corny, yet she still conveys expertise and authority. I just feel like when people try to describe shit like larping or even just Instagram it always sounds dumb, but this never did. And also I found myself a fan of each angle/viewpoint/stance put forth here. I ALSO found myself making connections to so many other narratives and stories I have come across recently (largely the movie Resurrection!!!!!!), which I think is a telltale sign of when writing is really tapping into something worthwhile. This book felt like it was explaining everything, which felt crazy given the specificity and unique arguments she arranged. Very very good!!!
abbydee's review
I am not the only one who clings to the album as a way of experiencing music and the book-length collection as a way of experiencing a writer for many identical reasons. Death By Landscape is a really good album. Each essay is about something, with its own shape and thesis and interests. Each essay stands alone but means something a little different when situated next to others in intentional sections–Plants, Planets, and Bleed. Sometimes Wilk, like Taylor Swift, favors fade-out endings, which I find a bit of a cop-out. Though I do understand the difficulty.
Each essay is interesting for its own unique reasons, but my favorites are where Wilk is analyzing what becomes a literary phenomenon through repetition–a bunch of different stories where women morph into plants (“Death By Landscape”) or fall in love with voids (“Funhole”). These pieces are where she wears her most literary-critic-like hat, which is probably where our interests most overlap. But I was also totally fascinated by the pieces on the political possibilities of larping and the political impotence of virtual reality. Wilk feels like a writer of the moment who is pushing us into the future, someone who is opening things up rather than pinning them down.
jeffsauer's review
4.0
I liked the personal essays and the "weird vs eerie" distinction. She made larping seem interesting but imo still too embarrassing to try