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A review by rereader33
Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks
5.0
Okay, this was incredible. Incredibly difficult to read but incredibly rewarding.
I someone were to ask me to summarize this novel, I would say, "humans are stupid, they've always been stupid, and they will continue to be stupid because that's how we've evolved".
No joke, the sheer amount of stupidity and denial on showcase as this tragedy unfolds is horrifying but completely realistic. But it's because humans have become so coddled and entitled that they think they can keep taking and doing whatever they please, and when nature bitch slaps them back to reality, only THEN do they think to act. And by that point, it's often too late.
The characters living at Greenloop may seem perfectly casted for this story, but despite how unrealistic it may seem that you vegans, an arrogant intellectual, and a literal war survivor, each is integral to pushing Brooks's agenda. That being humans who've never encountered a serious threat (like most of the village) are dismissive or even condescending towards one who has (Mostar) and won't listen to them if they suggest fighting back against a natural predator. They think, "oh! She's just being dramatic because of her past, the animals won't harm us if we don't harm them," when ordinarily that'd be the case, but after a natural disaster nature isn't going to place nice or spare other's feelings. It's hard to say what the root cause of this thinking is and the novel doesn't completely discuss it, but it's dangerous thinking regardless.
It may seem like this book and I are shitting on humans and their incompetence, and yes we are, but it's because like so many other novels this is a wake up call. Humans have become so coddled by technology, but technology is only moving to enhance comfort at the expense of security. Greenloop was supposed to be the ultimate yuppie, privileged, upper class dream: becoming one with nature! Technology pushing the green agenda! Limited food to reduce waste! Yoga and meditation to reduce stress! Life away from the hostile, chemical-ridden cities! Well, that's all well and good, but what happens if, say, a volcano erupts that pushes animals away from their natural food chain, leading them to a village of pampered adults with nothing protecting them? Oh, and what if Sasquatch were real and preyed on them after losing their food supply? What you get is a massacre that could have been easily avoided of the creator of Greenloop had entertained the thought that there could be danger present in the wild. Because, you know, nature is SO peaceful and SO harmonious *rolls eyes*.
These are probably the same people who you'd see in the news having been mauled by a lion at the zoo because they fell in after leaning too far over the barrier to get a fucking picture. Dipshits.
I could go on about how this book perfectly tackles human incompetence in the face of danger, especially with nature, but this would be a fucking essay and I don't have time to write that much. Suffice to say, this was a well-thought out, well-written novel that pits humans against nature in a realistic and disturbing way.
I someone were to ask me to summarize this novel, I would say, "humans are stupid, they've always been stupid, and they will continue to be stupid because that's how we've evolved".
No joke, the sheer amount of stupidity and denial on showcase as this tragedy unfolds is horrifying but completely realistic. But it's because humans have become so coddled and entitled that they think they can keep taking and doing whatever they please, and when nature bitch slaps them back to reality, only THEN do they think to act. And by that point, it's often too late.
The characters living at Greenloop may seem perfectly casted for this story, but despite how unrealistic it may seem that you vegans, an arrogant intellectual, and a literal war survivor, each is integral to pushing Brooks's agenda. That being humans who've never encountered a serious threat (like most of the village) are dismissive or even condescending towards one who has (Mostar) and won't listen to them if they suggest fighting back against a natural predator. They think, "oh! She's just being dramatic because of her past, the animals won't harm us if we don't harm them," when ordinarily that'd be the case, but after a natural disaster nature isn't going to place nice or spare other's feelings. It's hard to say what the root cause of this thinking is and the novel doesn't completely discuss it, but it's dangerous thinking regardless.
It may seem like this book and I are shitting on humans and their incompetence, and yes we are, but it's because like so many other novels this is a wake up call. Humans have become so coddled by technology, but technology is only moving to enhance comfort at the expense of security. Greenloop was supposed to be the ultimate yuppie, privileged, upper class dream: becoming one with nature! Technology pushing the green agenda! Limited food to reduce waste! Yoga and meditation to reduce stress! Life away from the hostile, chemical-ridden cities! Well, that's all well and good, but what happens if, say, a volcano erupts that pushes animals away from their natural food chain, leading them to a village of pampered adults with nothing protecting them? Oh, and what if Sasquatch were real and preyed on them after losing their food supply? What you get is a massacre that could have been easily avoided of the creator of Greenloop had entertained the thought that there could be danger present in the wild. Because, you know, nature is SO peaceful and SO harmonious *rolls eyes*.
These are probably the same people who you'd see in the news having been mauled by a lion at the zoo because they fell in after leaning too far over the barrier to get a fucking picture. Dipshits.
I could go on about how this book perfectly tackles human incompetence in the face of danger, especially with nature, but this would be a fucking essay and I don't have time to write that much. Suffice to say, this was a well-thought out, well-written novel that pits humans against nature in a realistic and disturbing way.