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Deep Down Dark

the Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free
Apr 10, 2015jenoteacher rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Following a years-long non-fiction hiatus, I picked up Deep Down Dark after hearing a recommendation on NPR by Ann Pachett. It was just what I was looking for... plot-driven and riveting, it is a non-fiction page-turner. Tobar’s sensitive reporting begins with the economic circumstances that led many of the men into the mine in the first place. After the dramatic collapse of the mountain around them, he focuses on the bonds that form between “the 33” below ground and the personality traits and coping strategies that the ordeal brings out in them. In the most troubling and interesting part of the story, we see how the long-anticipated contact with the surface begins to break the bonds between the men and shakes their hope for survival. His psychological interest in the men, which is never purient, continues after the dramatic rescue. He follows the men back home and looks with wonder and dismay at the changed men who survived, and their difficult and sometimes tragic reentry into “normal” life. I’m back on a survival story kick!