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ckosarek's picture

Is Sonlit a "Field Guide" at All?

 The title of Rebecca Sonlit's book, A Field Guide to Getting Lost,  indicates that in some way, Sonlit is going to try to map the unknown. In a sense, this is what she does - she presents unorganized, conversational prose intended to inform the reader of what, exactly, is the most effective and fulfilling way to get lost, and what one can expect to find if he does take her advice. But I'm wondering if her literary undertaking is effective - can one really map the unknown? or is she simply suggesting ways in which venturing into the unknown might be useful? It seems like the latter of these two is more likely, and that in respect to suggesting why getting lost is useful, Sonlit comes up short. She seems to reiterate common sense concepts - that getting lost expands what we know and forces us to move beyond ourselves. But did we really need a two-hundred page book to tell us that? 

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