Review: Deep Down Dark

Just in case you missed it, the fifth anniversary of the disaster at the San Jose mine in Copiapó, Chile is here. This will last a while, since the 33 men that were trapped in that mine didn't get out until October 13, though the accident occurred on August 5.

Take a good look at that date range. August 5-October 13. That's 69 days. For 69 days, 33 miners found themselves trapped about 2,300 feet below the ground.

Take a good look at that figure. Two thousand and three hundred feet inside a mountain. To put that into perspective, the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, measure just under 1,500 feet in height each.

In Deep Down Dark: The Untold Story of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free, Héctor Tobar does a fantastic job of reporting what took place before, during, and after the accident that thrust these 33 men and their families into worldwide fame.

Tobar really delves into the complex relationships that existed between all the players in this dramatic event. This means he doesn't sugar coat anything. These men, survivors of the highest order to be sure, are still men. They have flaws and virtues, just like everyone else, including the other players in these dramatic events.



It took me a bit to get through the book because I kept referring back the the pictures of the men to make sure I had the right face to each name. I really wanted to make sure I took in the story as being something that happened to real people, folks that got up one morning thinking they were going to have another ordinary day and found themselves living an extraordinary hell. Unfortunately, that didn't end after they were rescued.

The most heartbreaking part of the story, surprisingly enough, was the aftermath. Everyone thought these guys would be set for life. That's not what happened at all. Some, shockingly, have had to go back to working in the mines.

You think about the fact these men spent 69 days inside a mountain that never stopped rumbling. Really sit and stew in that. Then think about how some had to go back to the work that put them there.

I only have one thing that I didn't like about Tobar's writing: he expresses his own opinion more often than he should, IMHO. Of course, he's within his right, and he's the one that analysed all of the information he collected. Still, sometimes it seemed a little out of place.

Other than that, this is a really good book. Tobar reminds us that, at the heart of it all, this is a human story.