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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Woof; didn’t know going in how racist Edward Abbey was. If you’re interested in environmentalism or anarchism I’d recommend…. Basically anything else, lol. For half of the book I genuinely thought Abbey was going for a Lolita type angle, and the rampant racism against Natives while the characters claim to be environmentalists was a commentary; no, he’s just racist and the book is full of his own cognitive dissonance. Only gave it a 2.75 bc of how frustratingly good of a writer Abbey is, depictions of the environment are gorgeous and somehow he makes you root for a fucked up psychopath.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
I'm not sure if it's even mixed feelings I have for this book. Sorta liked it, sorta missed the mark? I don't know that I really caught the "humor" of this book until slightly at the end - but I guess that growing up in a red county kind of proves my "truth is stranger than fiction" idea of what some conservative folks are like. Case in point, the whole crew groaning about government interference that was ruining nature at large, yet they themselves using a bunch of chemicals for their excursions and tossing beer cans out the window. (An argument could be made about consumer vs. corporate impact, sure, but also most consumers aren't buying huge amounts of homebrew explosives and driving construction equipment into rivers.) They weren't good enough for a good ending, they weren't bad enough for a terrible one, a twist at the end I didn't quite believe, but I sure did read it.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Abbey is inspiring! While not the most well written book I've ever read, it's certainly fun. The narrator was excellent, giving life and voice to the Gang. I especially loved his Doc voice.
Deservedly famous, a paean to the Western wilderness Abbey loved and, I think, a description of some of his own fantasies of things he'd have liked to do to protect it. The characters are quirky, the plot is lively and funny, and the main message is clear and urgent. Read it - it will make you want to go out and do something to rescue some piece of the environment today.
Edward Abbey is maybe the most annoying person to ever exist. The story was entertaining, if nonsensical and irrational. I hated the infantilizing of the (only) woman character, and I HATED her and Doc's relationship. When I catch you Edward Abbey, when I catch you.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ooofff this was a hard one but interesting. I picked up this book as part of my own goals this year to read or reread some books from college and high-school. This book was one assigned in my college Environmental Justice Literature course and was one of the books I had never gotten to read because of the busy semester.
- I know this is an older book, but holy bigotry Batman. The amount of hate and gross stereotypes the characters had against various groups was hard to sit through. If I wasn’t keeping in mind the year it was written, it would have gotten less stars based on that.
- I found reading the history of this book more interesting than the book itself in some ways. It is the the origination point of many environmental organizations and the sabotage tactics often referred to as monkey wrenching. Really interesting.
- I love how flawed these characters were. Most of the time I hated the characters lol. People who care about doing good work (like saving the environment) are far from perfect, but the work can still be valuable. Felt refreshing to break the perfectionism model of the activist - would love to see more of that these days.
- It’s not a postmodern book (from what my research told me) but definitely reminiscent of that writing style. Made me think of Vonnegut at times.
I wouldn’t read it again, but glad I tackled it and did the additional historical research around it.
- I know this is an older book, but holy bigotry Batman. The amount of hate and gross stereotypes the characters had against various groups was hard to sit through. If I wasn’t keeping in mind the year it was written, it would have gotten less stars based on that.
- I found reading the history of this book more interesting than the book itself in some ways. It is the the origination point of many environmental organizations and the sabotage tactics often referred to as monkey wrenching. Really interesting.
- I love how flawed these characters were. Most of the time I hated the characters lol. People who care about doing good work (like saving the environment) are far from perfect, but the work can still be valuable. Felt refreshing to break the perfectionism model of the activist - would love to see more of that these days.
- It’s not a postmodern book (from what my research told me) but definitely reminiscent of that writing style. Made me think of Vonnegut at times.
I wouldn’t read it again, but glad I tackled it and did the additional historical research around it.