My rating: 5/5 quills

I credit The Anthropocene Reviewed as the work that changed my feelings towards non-fiction, and that’s why it’s one of my top recent reads.

I have always been a fiction lover, as you can probably tell if you follow my blog. I’m particularly inclined towards literary and historical fiction and fantasy. And, I’ll be honest, as a fan of John Green’s works of fiction, I was not thrilled to discover that his latest release, The Anthropocene Reviewed, was an essay collection. Frankly, the word “ESSAYS” does not sound like it will sweep you away.

But because I love John Green’s voice as a writer, I was intrigued enough to give it a try. I’m so glad I did! I was unwillingly hooked from the very first essay, as Green digs into humanity’s role on the planet through a series of (at first) seemingly random reflections on various topics (from his fear of Geese to his love of Dr. Pepper).

The further you go into the essay collection, the more the patterns within his many essays become clear, forming one conversation that goes deep. It grasps at questions about humanity (leading to the name) and invites you to think, not just read, about things like: What makes something “real”? What is our role as humans? Why are we so powerful? Why don’t we do more with that power? 

These are not small or random questions, but they are so enjoyably and tactfully elicited in the reader through this essay collection.

Green’s conversational writing style, use of anecdotes and humor, and unabashed self-exploration made me feel as if I was fully walking in the shoes of another, learning new perspectives, and asking myself things that I’ve never considered before. That’s what great writing does!

While I have experienced this “empathy phenomenon” many times in fiction, The Anthropocene Reviewed showed me how they can be uniquely experienced in non-fiction.

I loved this book because of it’s conversational and witty tone, it’s many fun factoids, and it’s brilliantly deep layers. But I think I loved it most of all because it has opened up a whole new pathway in literature for me. If anyone could do this, I’m not shocked that it was John Green!