Silence in the Age of Noise BOOK REVIEW By Natasha Church – Bookstop, Tavistock

Silence in the Age of Noise, by Erling Kagge - hardback £9.99

Erling Kagge is a Norwegian explorer who, among other things, has walked solo for 50 days across Antarctica. He is a family man and very aware of, and connected to, the world and its business, yet also knows what it is to be alone and to search his own depths. The remote parts of our planet in which he has spent time, range from Mount Everest to New York's underground sewage system. I feel inspired by his irrepressible curiosity and experiential perspectives on life.

Kagge has been in many landscapes where he dwells in ‘the silence around us’ and this has driven him to further explore ‘the silence within us’. The book acknowledges the 'emptiness' and apparent boredom that silence can bring, as well as the creativity. It highlights the essential contrast between sound and silence in sport, music, noisy cities and our minds. The author quotes philosophers, writers and poets, reiterating the importance of tuning into our internal space. Blaise Pascal's observation that ‘All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone’ feels important in our current, technologically-driven, 24/7 world. Kagge reminds us that we do have the choice to make ourselves 'unavailable' at times.

1. the author honours science and its need for proof, he writes ‘That which is soundless within you remains a mystery. I don't think you should expect otherwise’.

I loved this book. It's incredibly easy to read and full of gems. I found nothing superfluous in it, only a constant flow of helpful wisdom.

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