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A review by caidyn
Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art by Carl Hoffman
3.0
3.5
I wasn't far into the book when I realized this was going to more be about the author's journey compared to anything else. His journey discovering himself among these tribal people, all while looking for Michael Rockefeller.
I'm pretty sure I've heard of this case before. I want to say that there was some crazy show that Animal Planet did during their Monster Week that suggested that Rockefeller was killed by some mysterious beast, not cannibals. But, whatever. I heard the name, heard the story, and it was interesting to hear it. I side with Hoffman; it was probably cannibals that did it. He had more than enough flotation devices strapped to himself, and it's just weird that his body was never found with how many people searched for him in the beginning and through the years.
One thing I really didn't like about this book was the way it was structured. It bounced between modern day and Rockefeller's time and then to colonialism without rhyme or reason. Sometimes it was hard to track what was going on at all, and it would take me a moment to catch back up. I'm sure I missed key points because of that. Another thing I didn't like was the detail of cannibalism. I swore I was going to vomit at one point because of it, not a good thing to do at work. Cannibalism and myself go back a long way, but the detail was just too much for me.
Besides those complaints, it was a good book. I'd read it again since it was more interesting, for me, to read about a culture trying to adapt rapidly to major changes.
I wasn't far into the book when I realized this was going to more be about the author's journey compared to anything else. His journey discovering himself among these tribal people, all while looking for Michael Rockefeller.
I'm pretty sure I've heard of this case before. I want to say that there was some crazy show that Animal Planet did during their Monster Week that suggested that Rockefeller was killed by some mysterious beast, not cannibals. But, whatever. I heard the name, heard the story, and it was interesting to hear it. I side with Hoffman; it was probably cannibals that did it. He had more than enough flotation devices strapped to himself, and it's just weird that his body was never found with how many people searched for him in the beginning and through the years.
One thing I really didn't like about this book was the way it was structured. It bounced between modern day and Rockefeller's time and then to colonialism without rhyme or reason. Sometimes it was hard to track what was going on at all, and it would take me a moment to catch back up. I'm sure I missed key points because of that. Another thing I didn't like was the detail of cannibalism. I swore I was going to vomit at one point because of it, not a good thing to do at work. Cannibalism and myself go back a long way, but the detail was just too much for me.
Besides those complaints, it was a good book. I'd read it again since it was more interesting, for me, to read about a culture trying to adapt rapidly to major changes.