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cachoo1999's review against another edition
Just long and academic - but will return
cheymw96's review against another edition
Was more about trade economies that outside of capitalism rather than actual life existing in difficult situations caused by capitalism. Will probably pick up and finish one day!
savaging's review against another edition
4.0
I love to sink into the mind of Anna Tsing, because she knows her mind -- and her writing -- isn't 'hers.' It's a web of roots and rhizomes where all kinds of creatures are welcome.
As academic writing: this is such a good challenge to old epistemologies and ego-infused academies. This is playful, collaborative, and surprising. As Tsing writes: "Getting by without progress requires a good deal of feeling around with our hands."
As lyrical prose: some sentences made me grit my teeth.
As political stance: I mostly loved the commitment to learn how to appreciate the wastelands left after 'development.' Sometimes though, amid all the postmodern caveats and nuance, I longed for the bravery to make some unequivocal value statement -- some kind of "It is wrong to kill this forest and we will fight to protect it," even though "forest" can't be defined, and neither can "kill" or "protect" or even "we." I want nuance and realism in ecologies and ethics -- but I don't want to give up my fighting words.
It was valuable in those times to remember this isn't Tsing's first book about destroyed forests. Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection showed a forest gone up in flames, and though it was still nuanced and postmodern, it showed its grief up-front. After all that mourning, Tsing deserves to write a book that finds some comfort in the ruins.
As academic writing: this is such a good challenge to old epistemologies and ego-infused academies. This is playful, collaborative, and surprising. As Tsing writes: "Getting by without progress requires a good deal of feeling around with our hands."
As lyrical prose: some sentences made me grit my teeth.
As political stance: I mostly loved the commitment to learn how to appreciate the wastelands left after 'development.' Sometimes though, amid all the postmodern caveats and nuance, I longed for the bravery to make some unequivocal value statement -- some kind of "It is wrong to kill this forest and we will fight to protect it," even though "forest" can't be defined, and neither can "kill" or "protect" or even "we." I want nuance and realism in ecologies and ethics -- but I don't want to give up my fighting words.
It was valuable in those times to remember this isn't Tsing's first book about destroyed forests. Friction: An Ethnography of Global Connection showed a forest gone up in flames, and though it was still nuanced and postmodern, it showed its grief up-front. After all that mourning, Tsing deserves to write a book that finds some comfort in the ruins.
Without stories of progress, the world has become a terrifying place. The ruin glares at us with the horror of its abandonment. It’s not easy to know how to make a life, much less avert planetary destruction. Luckily there is still company, human and not human. We can still explore the overgrown verges of our blasted landscapes — the edges of capitalist discipline, scalability, and abandoned resource plantations.
nickedkins's review against another edition
4.0
The structure is unlike anything else I've read; the chapters vary pretty widely in tone, length, and subject, and there is a worldview in there, but it emerges gradually through glimpses rather than through argument. This patchiness is a major theme of the book, given how the mushrooms grow and how economies spring up around them, so the approach is appropriate. The only drawback is that it dissipates any momentum that builds and makes it quite a difficult book to read.
That said, I would appreciate more of this type of book being written, and it's a refreshing contrast to something like [b:Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind|23692271|Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind|Yuval Noah Harari|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1420585954s/23692271.jpg|18962767] or [b:Outliers: The Story of Success|3228917|Outliers The Story of Success|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344266315s/3228917.jpg|3364437], which can feel a bit too polished.
That said, I would appreciate more of this type of book being written, and it's a refreshing contrast to something like [b:Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind|23692271|Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind|Yuval Noah Harari|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1420585954s/23692271.jpg|18962767] or [b:Outliers: The Story of Success|3228917|Outliers The Story of Success|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344266315s/3228917.jpg|3364437], which can feel a bit too polished.
jn0el's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Great book! Much of it was over my head
seaweed's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
5.0
THE book to bridge the gap between marxism, ecology and the current state of the world. it is about mushrooms, yes, but also about people, history and the material conditions that got it here. extremely worthwhile and readable
sanjubee's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved this book! It was assigned for a class on assemblage theory and was by far the most compelling text on the syllabus for me. Tsing's work is incredibly accessible even while working with complex topics. I was very inspired by her writing style and it even made me more excited to think through assemblage about other topics.