Kilbourn Public Library Book Club

This month the Kilbourn Public Library Book Club is reading Deep Down Dark:  The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle That Set Them Free by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Hector Tobar.  The entire world watched what transpired above-ground during the grueling and long rescue of the Chilean miners in 2010, but the story of the miners' experiences below the Earth's surface--and the lives that led them there--was shared exclusively with Tobar.  According to Amazon this book is a "masterwork of narrative journalism--a riveting, at times shocking, emotionally textured account of a singular human event".

The prologue to Deep Down Dark describes the incredibly long commutes made by employees to reach the remote San Jose Mine.  No local jobs paid as well, so the pay was an incentive for miners.  What risks and personal sacrifices would you be willing to endure for a high wage?

What new information did you gain about those sixty-nine days of survival?  What details did Deep Down Dark provide that were absent from the 2010 media blitz?

Think about the many types of hunger described in the book, starting of course with hunger for food.  What other cravings did the miners face, deprived of power, their families, and a way out?  What would your coping strategies have been?

How did the miners retain their individuality while they were trapped?  Which of their personal stories resonated with you the most?

From the millionaire Leonardo Farkas's fund to the miners' decision to form Propiedad Intelectual Minera, S.A. (Miner Intellectual Property, Inc.), how has the miners' financial well-being been dealt with?  Did it surprise you that not all of the miners accepted pensions?

Let us know what you think of Deep Down Dark.