Book Review: Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark by Leigh Ann Henion
In Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark, author Leigh Ann Henion combines scientific facts with her own life experiences, ‘lore and much more as she takes us across the landscape of Appalachia exploring the magical beauty of the nocturnal world and the living creatures that thrive after the sun sets.
“Darkness turns familiar landscapes strange, evoking awe by its very nature, in ways that meet people wherever they stand. In Appalachia, as everywhere, night offers a chance to explore a parallel universe that we can readily access, to varying degrees. Nocturnal beauty can be found not only by stargazing into the distant cosmos or diving into the depths of oceans, but by exploring everyday realms of the planet we inhabit.”
The author writes beautifully with a reverent appreciation for nature in all its wonder. A running theme in this stressing how artificial light pollution and the use of blue light technology are negatively impacting the ecosystem and living creatures who thrive in the darkness. The author’s exploration of how we human beings perceive, resist and experience darkness is both insightful and thought-provoking.
My favorite segments were those on synchronous fireflies, the screech owl, moon gardens and foxfire. I only wish the text had been supplemented with actual imagery.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it to be a fascinating read. Finally, just look at that beautiful cover!
Many thanks to Algonquin Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel was published on September 24, 2024.
“May we learn to love darkness as our ancestors learned to love light, so that we might play a role in nature’s reliable cycling. May we begin to recognize that, just as we’ve tended the lights up, we can tend them down—revealing wonders that are, in daylight, unimaginable. May we find our way back to natural darkness, or at least hold fast to the wilderness that still exists, so that we’ll be able to bear witness to night’s living riches. May we, as a species, relearn how to blink, letting both night and day have their space. Because it is only by the power of light and the grace of darkness that we’re able to rest and rise, then rest and rise again. That’s the beauty; that’s the blinking.”
#NightMagic
#LeighAnnHenion
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