merquree's review
1.0
👀👀👀👀👀👀
Okay… I agree with the basic principle here, that we are drowning ourselves in light and that it has a negative effect on us and our surroundings, and the book contains some really cool quotes but other than that… this feels like a man’s slow decent into madness.
Which is what kept me from putting it down, I wanted to see where this was going and let me tell you, it WENT.
If this is real, I feel bad because I’m pretty sure this guy is an inch away from a psychological breakdown.
This author rambles on about the same thing over and over again, the same sentences but with different wording basically and it becomes more and more erratic, as it slowly changes from “We should embrace the natural darkness of the night instead of causing all this light pollution that is messing with our heads and circadian rhythm.” To “artificial light is the coming downfall of mankind and we are doomed if we don’t eliminate it.”Â
And in part 3 he is having some hallucination of a “black Madonna” personified as a 17 year old girl whose mouth has been taped shut with electrical tape and later seems to have some sexual experience with… I honestly think I’ve been reading someones diary where they recall a psychotic episode…
Example paragraph from the book: ⬇️
- Turn off the lights and leave them off and, in short, you remember who you are. Would you like me to provide an argument in favor of all of this in order to convince you? Should I acknowledge the wondrous advances of human reason, the medical milestones, the household conveniences, and the steady march of progress, all of which we will surely lose in the dark? I will not make that argument or concede those points. There is no argument you will listen to that will embolden you to drop this superlit illusion of modern life. You have to come to the decision on your own. There will be those who seek to drag me into the light, make me stand and deliver and defend myself. But this I will not do. There is no reason for it. The stars are my argument. My witness is the moon. Remain plugged in if you wish, but when the darkness comes — your death and the decline of our species — don’t complain that you can’t see by it. Don’t say, “The world has gone dark and now I am as one made blind.” -
The grandiosity here is unrelenting…
Okay… I agree with the basic principle here, that we are drowning ourselves in light and that it has a negative effect on us and our surroundings, and the book contains some really cool quotes but other than that… this feels like a man’s slow decent into madness.
Which is what kept me from putting it down, I wanted to see where this was going and let me tell you, it WENT.
If this is real, I feel bad because I’m pretty sure this guy is an inch away from a psychological breakdown.
This author rambles on about the same thing over and over again, the same sentences but with different wording basically and it becomes more and more erratic, as it slowly changes from “We should embrace the natural darkness of the night instead of causing all this light pollution that is messing with our heads and circadian rhythm.” To “artificial light is the coming downfall of mankind and we are doomed if we don’t eliminate it.”Â
And in part 3 he is having some hallucination of a “black Madonna” personified as a 17 year old girl whose mouth has been taped shut with electrical tape and later seems to have some sexual experience with… I honestly think I’ve been reading someones diary where they recall a psychotic episode…
Example paragraph from the book: ⬇️
- Turn off the lights and leave them off and, in short, you remember who you are. Would you like me to provide an argument in favor of all of this in order to convince you? Should I acknowledge the wondrous advances of human reason, the medical milestones, the household conveniences, and the steady march of progress, all of which we will surely lose in the dark? I will not make that argument or concede those points. There is no argument you will listen to that will embolden you to drop this superlit illusion of modern life. You have to come to the decision on your own. There will be those who seek to drag me into the light, make me stand and deliver and defend myself. But this I will not do. There is no reason for it. The stars are my argument. My witness is the moon. Remain plugged in if you wish, but when the darkness comes — your death and the decline of our species — don’t complain that you can’t see by it. Don’t say, “The world has gone dark and now I am as one made blind.” -
The grandiosity here is unrelenting…
harl3y's review against another edition
3.0
I- wow. This, this was incredible, especially the second half. I will be returning to sections of this in the future.
e_mm_2's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.0
I loved "THE WAY OF THE ROSE" so I was really looking forward to reading this book. While it is not the best book for me, I still learned some new information that I will definitely look further into. This just wasn't for me.
saintsandsinners's review
1.0
He had me the in the beginning…
but his sexual relationship with a ghostly “black Madonna” in the dark started to feel make me feel like he was trying to drag the audience into his own psychosis and not in a fun way.
but his sexual relationship with a ghostly “black Madonna” in the dark started to feel make me feel like he was trying to drag the audience into his own psychosis and not in a fun way.
lifstrand's review
2.0
I was looking for something else than what this book offered. Maybe I thought I'd get more from it than I did just because the author and I share the same last names (no relation, far as I know).
But I just could not slog through it. I guess I missed the part of the description where it said that the book was just ramblings on about the dark. It's more of a personal journal than anything else. Unfortunately, the issues that Clark Strand discusses are non-issues for me. His book might be a fine one, but not my cup of tea.
But I just could not slog through it. I guess I missed the part of the description where it said that the book was just ramblings on about the dark. It's more of a personal journal than anything else. Unfortunately, the issues that Clark Strand discusses are non-issues for me. His book might be a fine one, but not my cup of tea.
toniapeckover's review
1.0
It may be partly a case of "not what I thought it was going to be," but even then, Strand makes it hard for me to like this book because of his inability to say anything concrete - and the entire last section which is all about his friendship with The Black Madonna who appears to him mostly at night and tells him the world is going to end and stuff. Don't get me wrong, I want to be on Strand's side. I bought the book because I wanted to read about turning out the lights and natural rhythms. I like ancient wisdom. But Strand doesn't offer any real suggestions about how a modern person might reclaim some of the ancient practices related to darkness in a meaningful way. Nor does he offer any expertise or authority on the subject - unless you count the Black Madonna's advice. The gist of it, I think, is that it's probably too late, we're all going to die, but you might be able to hold it off and appease the Madonna if you give up all artificial light now and forever amen.
ldea's review
4.0
Still trying to sort out my feelings on this one. Parts of it really spoke to me, other parts, not so much. I think I definitely will read again and think about it when I wake up in the middle of the night.
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