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A review by cemeterygay
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
5.0
I did not expect for a John Green non-fiction book to become one of my favorite books but here we are.
I very casually read a couple of John Green's fiction books when I was younger but I grew out of that brand of YA pretty quickly. When I heard about The Anthropocene Reviewed I expected more of the same, but I was incredibly surprised.
If you need some joy and hope with a twinge of bittersweet sadness during this hell of a pandemic, I cannot recommend this book. This book helped me find beauty in the mundane but to cope with some of the most horrific parts of life in a way that didn't feel like either romanticization or denial. I especially adored the explorations of mental health and community throughout the entire book.
While I did like John Green's writing style previously, it never really stuck with me but I think the format and subject material of this book made it really stick with me.
This book was an incredibly intense rollercoaster with high highs and low lows, that still managed to give me hope for the future and remind myself of the beauty that humanity can be.
I very casually read a couple of John Green's fiction books when I was younger but I grew out of that brand of YA pretty quickly. When I heard about The Anthropocene Reviewed I expected more of the same, but I was incredibly surprised.
If you need some joy and hope with a twinge of bittersweet sadness during this hell of a pandemic, I cannot recommend this book. This book helped me find beauty in the mundane but to cope with some of the most horrific parts of life in a way that didn't feel like either romanticization or denial. I especially adored the explorations of mental health and community throughout the entire book.
While I did like John Green's writing style previously, it never really stuck with me but I think the format and subject material of this book made it really stick with me.
This book was an incredibly intense rollercoaster with high highs and low lows, that still managed to give me hope for the future and remind myself of the beauty that humanity can be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Death, and Child death
Additional CW: Heavy discussions of pandemic and death (particularly COVID-19), discussions of systemic oppression including antisemitism, discussions of mental illness including OCD, anxiety, and depression