Voyagers: Our journey into the Anthropocene (Lauren Fuge, Text)

The Anthropocene—the geological period dominated by humanity’s activity on the planet—is increasingly seen by scientists and academics as an era of devastation wrought by overconsumption and insatiable industrialisation. In Voyagers, award-winning science writer Lauren Fuge crosses the globe, visiting the far-flung areas that humans have pushed into and wondering if our relentless desire to explore is the force behind the Anthropocene’s destruction. The book is divided into three sections and initially follows Fuge on the paths of the ancient explorers who journeyed from Asia into North America, and the Polynesians who colonised the Pacific. The second section looks at an Adnyamathanha community in South Australia and its deep connection to the land, while the third sees Fuge visiting forests on both sides of the Pacific to examine the darker side of the Anthropocene through the lens of commercial logging. Mixing travelogue, memoir and popular science text, Fuge’s vivid prose gives equal weight to the natural wonders that draw people to these locations and the changes their presence has brought to the environment. ‘Sometimes, travelling across the world feels like launching myself into space, tipping over the edge to seek where the solar winds end,’ she writes. Voyagers is a journey worth taking for readers interested in humanity’s interaction with nature, a history of exploration, or a memoir of one woman’s quest to embrace her own restlessness.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Anthony Morris is a freelance reviewer, novelist, and podcaster. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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