Robin Wall Kimmerer flicht aus indigener Weisheit und wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse einen Zopf an Geschichten über die Großzügigkeit der Erde. Der Überraschungsbestseller aus den USA mit über einer Million verkaufter Exemplare.
»Man sieht die Welt nie wieder so wie zuvor, nachdem man sie durch Kimmerers Augen gesehen hat.« Elizabeth Gilbert
»Es ist die Art und Weise, wie sie Schönheit einfängt, die ich am meisten liebe, die Bilder von riesigen Zedern und wilden Erdbeeren, ein Wald im Regen und eine Wiese aus duftendem Süßgras werden Ihnen in Erinnerung bleiben, lange nachdem Sie die letzte Seite gelesen haben.« Jane Goodall
»Robin Wall Kimmerers »Geflochtenes Süßgras« las ich, als ich am Boden war; und es gab mir Trost und das Gefühl, dass es noch Hoffnung gibt für diesen Planeten.« Helen MacDonald
An obvious 5*, Kimmerer is an incredible author with a strong base of knowledge that spans across many fields. Her authorial voice is more like a guide, bringing you through her life and relationship with the world around her all while imparting important knowledge, advice, Native lore and experience, and political lessons. I do feel in parts it could have benefitted from longer chapters, but overall I found this to be a really brilliant read.
This book is a golden opportunity to get to know a bit of First Nations world view and relationship with the environment, their mythology, traditions, even nuggets of linguistics. For this reason alone I'd recommend this as a read for anyone who hasn't made such contact before.
Some parts are definitely very emotional and touching, specially regarding the sorrows brought upon the land and people subject to such destruction brought by colonizers. I can't say it was a very engaging read, though. Some chapters felt very loosely connected, some sections read like rambling or very superficial criticism, borderline naturalistic platitudes. Reminded me a lot of the idealistic Brazilian Indian Romanticism, but in a modern essayist format with a touch of scientific backing special to the author.
Kimmerer spends a lot of time in this book comparing and contrasting Western science to indigenous ways of knowing, specifically from the Potawatomi tradition. As she's someone formally trained in western science, I understood her thesis being that indigenous ways of knowing can coexist with western science, but more than anything, I felt that this book did a really good job justifying why we shouldn't treat science as the end all be all of knowledge.
On one hand, I think this book reintroduced my very secular mind to the ways in which having a spiritual connection to nature can be extremely enriching and can add to our collective understanding of the natural world
On the other hand, it provides a basis for understanding where exactly science falls short in its attempt to catalogue the universe, as well as exposing its "objectivity" for the many ways in which it is actually …
Kimmerer spends a lot of time in this book comparing and contrasting Western science to indigenous ways of knowing, specifically from the Potawatomi tradition. As she's someone formally trained in western science, I understood her thesis being that indigenous ways of knowing can coexist with western science, but more than anything, I felt that this book did a really good job justifying why we shouldn't treat science as the end all be all of knowledge.
On one hand, I think this book reintroduced my very secular mind to the ways in which having a spiritual connection to nature can be extremely enriching and can add to our collective understanding of the natural world
On the other hand, it provides a basis for understanding where exactly science falls short in its attempt to catalogue the universe, as well as exposing its "objectivity" for the many ways in which it is actually ideologically motivated.
All in all, this book is definitely going to be a cornerstone of my worldview with respect to knowledge for the foreseeable future. Not to mention the fact that Kimmerer is just a really awesome writer in general
