The Age of Earthquakes- A review

The text, The Age of Earthquakes, was very difficult for me to appreciate at first because I found the definitions of the author’s new words to be quite complex and somewhat repetitive. This  made it hard for me to truly understand the meaning of the word. For instance, the definition of “stuart” was lengthy and, after the first sentence, I felt confident in my understanding of the word; however, by the end of the section, I was unsure of my comprehension because it seemed like the author was rambling. Due to the author’s style of writing these definitions, I had to reread several times in order to grasp the concepts being conveyed. Although I am not fond of the author’s glossary of new words, there were many things that I liked and agreed with. The author’s discussion of individuality was very interesting. It was very representative of today’s society because, especially for teenagewrs, indiciduality is scarce and in The Age of Earthquakes, they juxtapose the thought that “maybe it’s okay to no longer be an individual” with “yet it is the feeling of uniqueness that convinces us we have souls”. While reading it, i was conflicted because I couldn’t decide which quote resonated with me more. Am I simply a product of popular culture and a subscriber to the ideals of others? Or am I unique in the sense that I stray from the status quo? Finally, I appreciated the author’s inclusion of “reading fosters a sense of individuality. The internet instead fosters a sense of being one unit among seven billion”. I found a connection between this and my generation because we grew up in a time where it was still common to be technology free while also playing video games and using social media. (296)

Miranda Poliafico, 3A, Hendricks