A review by jem_ko
Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver

4.0

Eloquent in a truly distinct manner, Oliver goes about the work fishing, catching and filleting our relationships with ourselves and nature all at once but in an alarmingly subtle yet harmonious way. To put it in plainer words: this book is a beautiful book that examines the human heart as it is attached to the natural world (particularly animal kingdoms) and, whilst the beauty definitely stems - for me - from Oliver’s poetic spirit in describing any detail, the narrative does switch to a more teacher-like tone midway before swooning back to being sweetly anecdotal. The few chapters that feel like lectures, describing the lives and theories of Oliver’s favourite transcendentalists, are nonetheless informative and still very well written. They did however make the book much more challenging than the quick nature-loving summer read i longed for.
Bonus note: do not go in expecting the adoration for nature to be of the pasture-focussed, ‘cottage core’ variety. The book opens on a gorgeous description of wading in a stream amongst ferns but the deep love Oliver expresses is actually more based in appreciating the balanced dark and light of nature. This book certainly offers that seen darkness in descriptions of savage appetites, carnivorous moments, insect births and - naturally - death.