A review by oceanxbluess
Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book was not what I expected at all.

When I was first made aware of this book, for some reason I immediately thought it would be all doom & gloom, and that if I read it I wouldn’t finish it but I was SO wrong!

Flyn’s writing is entirely captivating, I would even go as far to say mesmerising. In every chapter I felt fully immersed in each of the abandoned areas, it was a super easy, refreshing read. I found myself reading a chapter at a time, travelling across the globe to places I didn’t even know existed. 

Throughout the book we visit Scotland, Turkey, Estonia, Ukraine, USA, France, Tanzania & Montserrat, discussing the effects of landfills, war, radioactive waste, agriculture, introductions of non-native/invasive species and other manmade issues impact the nature of an environment once it’s been left to its own devices.

This book is incredibly well-written, you can tell how much time and research went into each and every page. Flyn goes into so much detail about the history of each location, including stories from local people, and also gives her own experience of each place which made the whole book truly magical. She immerses herself completely into every location, giving beautiful descriptions of how nature is reclaiming the land of abandoned places. 

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