John Green occupies a pretty interesting space in my perception of popular culture. I’ve never read The Fault in Our Stars (nor do I particularly intend to), but it’s mostly undeniable the impact it has had on young adult literature and of broader culture. I’m most familiar with his work on YouTube, but even then it’s mostly in passing.
The Anthropocene Reviewed attempts to review a range of human phenomena. Green does a pretty remarkable job at this, and each story could not be more distinct but still so captivating. He acknowledges the many limits of humanity and the many truly terrible things we’ve done to the planet and to each other, but he continues to remain hopeful for a better future. After all, we do live a pretty miserable existence, but also one full of splendour and full of each other.
Green talks about himself very frequently throughout the book, too, because that’s part of the premise of the book. Nothing we have opinions on are completely separate from our lives — and there’s always something or someone or some experience from years and years ago that shapes how we see or read or understand the world around us. How, indeed, do we talk about something without talking about the context in which we know it? Some highlights include his exploration of the pandemic and of his adult life before he was famous.
The audiobook was also narrated by Green himself. That was genuinely a treat — because he very much knows how to tell a good story, and is comfortable doing so. Frankly on this basis alone, I would suggest listening as the definitive experience.
I give the The Anthropocene Reviewed four and a half stars.
Written 1 July 2023
Adapted from my review on Goodreads.