A review by amysutton
Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free by Hector Tobar
3.0
This is an incredible story of resilience and miraculous science. I just really wish that it was written in a way that made me feel inspired and awed. I’m not sure why I feel so snarky towards this book. It just wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
— The narrative nonfiction style was weirdly done in this one. I feel like the author added in random details to try to make the subjects come to life and seem realistic, but it came across as irrelevant description. (e.g. when one of the miners is hit during the avalanche and his teeth are knocked out, the author tells a quick story about how that person had just been to the dentist last week. It was a very odd detail to add.)
— The pacing was a bit odd. I certainly felt concerned for the characters, but I never felt fully invested in the story or on the edge of my seat as I expected. The miners are saved about halfway through the book, and the rest of the story is about them waiting.
— There was way too much personal life info added in about the miners’ family drama. I really didn’t want to know that the miners were still married but living with girlfriends and keeping both women at peace. The way those details were shared seemed exploitative.
— Did we really need the birth canal metaphor? Did we really need it to be an extended birth metaphor that was mentioned 20 times?
— The narrative nonfiction style was weirdly done in this one. I feel like the author added in random details to try to make the subjects come to life and seem realistic, but it came across as irrelevant description. (e.g. when one of the miners is hit during the avalanche and his teeth are knocked out, the author tells a quick story about how that person had just been to the dentist last week. It was a very odd detail to add.)
— The pacing was a bit odd. I certainly felt concerned for the characters, but I never felt fully invested in the story or on the edge of my seat as I expected. The miners are saved about halfway through the book, and the rest of the story is about them waiting.
— There was way too much personal life info added in about the miners’ family drama. I really didn’t want to know that the miners were still married but living with girlfriends and keeping both women at peace. The way those details were shared seemed exploitative.
— Did we really need the birth canal metaphor? Did we really need it to be an extended birth metaphor that was mentioned 20 times?