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A review by otterno11
Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flyn
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Scottish journalist Cal Flyn’s thought-provoking, intriguing 2021 book Islands of Abandonment provides much to consider about humanity's place on the planet during these fraught and unstable years. Flyn travels to various sites left abandoned by humans across the world, reflecting on how their rewilding shows the resilience of the environment in recovering from human disruption. Whether left alone by war, disaster, disease, or economic decay, from West Lothian, Scotland, the “green line” of Cyprus, to the city of Detroit, talking to people connected to them, the places Flyn visits are each deeply instructive.
Her descriptions of how these spaces quickly revert to a natural habitat are both disturbing and inspiring, and, as in many of these works, an apocalyptic theme runs through much of it, though Flyn’s focus provides a strange type of comfort that can often be difficult to express. As global warming bears down on us, and much more than a few malls will be abandoned in the face of climatic change, Flyn’s musings on the resilience of our planet, if not our society’s, is a topical, sobering read.
I continue these thoughts at Harris' Tome Corner discussing Dead Malls: Nostalgia in the Ruins.
Her descriptions of how these spaces quickly revert to a natural habitat are both disturbing and inspiring, and, as in many of these works, an apocalyptic theme runs through much of it, though Flyn’s focus provides a strange type of comfort that can often be difficult to express. As global warming bears down on us, and much more than a few malls will be abandoned in the face of climatic change, Flyn’s musings on the resilience of our planet, if not our society’s, is a topical, sobering read.
I continue these thoughts at Harris' Tome Corner discussing Dead Malls: Nostalgia in the Ruins.