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Reefscape, Rosaleen Love : Book Review

© Robin Greenhalgh

REEFSCAPE, ROSALEEN LOVE, JOSEPH HENRY PRESS 2001,

Reefscape is an effective portrayal of the completeness of the Great Barrier Reef. It exhibits an in-depth understanding of the reef's inexplicable lure, ecological significance and spirituality. The author's compelling connection to the reef flows through her writing, as does her inquisitive manner. "Being in nature, I feel so alive yet am reminded of my own mortality, so aware of myself yet also of my insignificance in the flow of creation and destruction."(1) For the author, the reef provides some direction and insight to the evolution and creation to that which surrounds her. Relaxing among the agrusia bush and feeling that, "a coral reef provides a living, pulsing example of connectedness."(2)

This resource was intentionally written for both readers who have encountered the reef personally, as well as those observing from the confines of a plush arm-chair. Her poetic writing style allows readers to envision the discrepancies between both worlds - the complicated and convoluted world of air and the mystical, unafraid world below the surface.

The author shows an environment that can be both giving and taking all at the same time. "Nature is exciting, but nature isn't nice. She has her glittering gardens through which monsters stalk."(3) The book's thoroughness is delivered through historical accounts of old-time diving techniques and present issues threatening the reefs. Terminology like "elliptical and anthropomorphism", foster the science of her ideas, although her flow of imagery carries along the layman without difficulty.

Reefscape is much more than experiencing a coral island. It is the meeting of two dimensions and the wonderment of it's adaptations. As much as other geographical forces, the author points out that the reef is a monument depicting the "timeline of the Earth." The complexity of really "seeing" the reef is captured in Rosaleen's following statement; "Balance, imbalance, harmony, discord, integrity, the relevance or irrelevance of a concept of human probity as applied to nature - these terms inevitably enter discussions of the ecology of the reef and are all ways of knowing the reef."(4)

1. Reefscape, Rosaleen Love, John Henry Press 2001, pp.12
2. Reefscape, Rosaleen Love, John Henry Press 2001, pp.13
3. Reefscape, Rosaleen Love, John Henry Press 2001, pp.16
4. Reefscape, Rosaleen Love, John Hnery Press 2001, pp.71

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