Una Montagna: I Nostri Prossimi Diecimila Anni Con Le Scorie Nucleari (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I totally understand why so many people enjoy this book. It is a very serious topic and it is also about his story. However, I felt that his writing style was very dry and factual. He jumped around a lot and was sometimes hard to follow. I can also see why so many people disliked this book because he is a very eccentric writer. He will be talking about one thing and then the next moment he is talking about something totally different. I understand how both variety of readers feel but I personally was one of the ones who did not really care for the book. I thoroughly enjoyed About A Mountain by John D’Agata. He introduces the reader to his brand of the lyric essay(an essay sub-genre)a beautiful blend of essay, research, memoir and poetry. D’Agata has a unique writing style. He likes to jump topics and has a preference for the “listing technique” which he so gainfully employs to evoke meaning, emotion, imagination, and deeper thought within the reader. D’Agata’s technique evolves throughout the book to help maintain the reader’s interest and set the tone for respective topics which he exemplifies throughout the book. Expansion and growth are reoccurring themes that coincide with the prevalent notion of failure throughout this book. D'Agata illustrates how population size, waste storage, science, technology, political and legal systems, and language continue(s) to grow and expand. He explains that out of this exponential growth, problems arise that are beyond our control. As D’Agata continues to explore the themes of expansion and growth, he concurrently examines the systems we put in place to support this growth. Systems that are clearly failing. Lake Mead is failing to keep up with the demands of Las Vegas' increasing population. Language is failing us as it continues to grow, evolve and die out. Our political and legal systems are failing to keep suicide in check and protect future generations from the detrimental effects of nuclear waste. Science is failing to provide us with an effective solution for storing nuclear waste. Waste produced by the very technology that science allowed us to create. Finally, D'Agata discusses the fallibility of humans and all things created by humans. He, albeit indirectly, is admitting his own failure to find the answers he so diligently sought. For he is only human and succumbs to those same limitations. It becomes readily apparent that the “Mountain” is metaphorically speaking about something greater than the plight of Yucca Mountain itself. D’Agata poignantly states “I do not think that Yucca Mountain is a solution or a problem. I think that what I believe is that the mountain is where we are, it’s what we now have come to-” (D’Agata, 2011, p. 167). The Mountain is a metaphor for something larger, proliferation and unprecedented growth. It’s the result of something that we created, something that we set into motion, something that has taken on a life of its own, and something over which we are no longer able to assert control. D'Agata finishes the statement with "a place that we have studied more thoroughly at this point than any other parcel of land in the world- and yet still it remains unknown, revealing only the fragility of our capacity to know” (D’Agata, 2011, p. 167), which emphasizes human fallibility. Despite all of the knowledge we have acquired and how far we have come, our capacity to know is limited by our ability to comprehend. The issues we face, resultant of our technological advancements and scientific breakthroughs, only serve to remind us that the knowledge we possess is but an infinitesimal drop in an infinite sea of wisdom.I enjoy the way D’Agata playfully connects seemingly dissimilar topics with lyrical poeticism and research. He takes the reader on a journey that examines the issues as they pertain to the “Mountain” from the particular to the general and from the actual to the metaphorical. This book is very thought provoking and humbling and I highly recommend it. D’Agata, J. (2011). About a Mountain (Reprint edition.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
What do You think about Una Montagna: I Nostri Prossimi Diecimila Anni Con Le Scorie Nucleari (2010)?
Interesting and wonderful in its own way. Really a long lyric essay combined with reportage.
—Kat
I learned that sometimes you can wait years for a book and still be pleasantly surprised.
—Orangish
Stunning book. Exhaustively researched, skillfully written with beautiful lyricism
—123
