Shogghoth

The Lost City of Z is the second book by David Grann I read this year as the first being The Wager. In contrast with that novel I found this one to be way more personal compared to The Wager as Grann activity in the book is discussed as the lengths he goes through to uncover the true fate of British Colonel Percy Fawcett in the Amazon means he has to track down relatives, find true sources and lastly in a daring choice make the journey down to one of the last and most dangerous parts of the world the Amazon.

This books center theme is obsession as it is says in the subtitle and I wanna give a couple examples of that which was show in its telling. The obsessive nature of Fawcett takes center stage as the man who is a know member of the world exploring map filling Royal Geographical Society is clearly in the company of people who’s obsessive and many times suicidal compulsion is to become infamous by the charting of lines on a page. It’s this same society which launched Darwinism and expeditions to Sri Lanka and both Arctic Poles. This culture of obsession is really what’s on display there and by focusing on one of its most tragic stories does Grann make this whole period easy to digest.

Colonel Fawcett was an extraordinary figure as had explored some of the harshest climates in the world which is known to bite chew and suck the literal blood from its invaders and yet every time there is an expedition Fawcett comes out mostly unscathed. Each member who goes with him however isn’t always lucky as his obsessive search for Z has created an aroma of mystery of the ancient world which I think has in part been the origin for so many adventure stories the public has crafted into fiction in the later years.

For many years after his disappearance in May of 1925 in the Amazon with his son Jack and his son’s friend Raleigh people still were drawn to this particular part of the Mato Grosso reign of Brazil. Hundreds of wannabe explorers have been drawn to the fabricated mystery of El Dorado which the Spanish Conquistadors first heard tell of by the local tribes which they subject-gated. The original story passed down by these enterprising treasure hunters talk about it being made of gold since the whole region controlled by the Maya and Aztec nations had an abundance of it. It’s this plausible circumstance which brings so many down to the most brutal and unconquered part of the world.

The truth is that there definitely was an ancient city in the Amazon as the left over pottery found and the man made canals, tunnels and foundations can be found by the indentations of the land itself. The tribes which still live in that area also hold traditions which most likely stem from the collapse of that civilization. The problem has always been the perception of glory. The idea that the lost civilization who was in the jungle wasn’t direct a part of it and congealed with its every aspect. This matches the current theory that Z or El Dorado was made of natural materials like wood and mud which are in abundance but also decompose fast and leave little trace.

Understanding this piece at the end is what makes the whole thing confusingly tragic as the understanding of today’s archeological discovery’s of the Amazon wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for these explorers who have died being bleed by mosquitos and starving in a place which survival is an everyday struggle. You think that common sense would win out with these explorers who make in into the jungle but every time they go in and the rational ones break quick but still it’s not enough time to make a change to guarantee one’s life.

The mystery in the end prevails still as Fawcett body was never recovered and only the verbal story from the local tribes whose grandparents are said to have encountered them remains.

The City of Z in the end makes me think about the nature of obsession like a whirlpool. It’s always focused around a massive ego in this case Fawcett’s and it always brings whoever is caught in the current down to them like it did with the author who himself after researching and obsessing about the topic went to the Amazon to find his answers. When you’re in said whirlpool only luck and good nature may ensure that you make it out. But at least it makes for an engaging story which has inspired the modern adventure tale and has the same DNA which keeps these thrilling dreams of the unknown like Indiana Jones or Kong Skull Island so engaging to see to its completion