Where the Deer and the Antelope Play by Nick Offerman

Originally Posted 5/12/24

Quick Overview

"Where the Deer and the Antelope Play" by Nick Offerman is a 332 page book (including the acknowledgement) in which Offerman is telling about some of his hiking, camping, and general adventures in life. Along the way, he ponders about both nature and society, and our place in both.

In Depth Review

I'll start by saying I'm writing this review roughly two months after I finished the book, and so my memory might not be perfect. That said, I enjoyed the book for the most part. Reading about Nick Offerman's hiking adventures with his friends made me think about hiking adventures I used to go on with my own friends. There were a lot of stories he told that really resonated with parts of hiking I absolutely loved, or reminded me of my own friends. And that trip down memory lane was fantastic! It's also always fun just learning about how other people go about things like hiking or spending time with friends and such.

The parts of the book I didn't like so much though was just how... reflective?... it is. Reading through this book feels like listening to someone retell a story and go on many, many, side tangents. I've never read anything else by Offerman, so maybe this is just his style. But by the end of the book, I felt like I was reading to just finish it rather than reading to enjoy it. And maybe I was just in the wrong headspace for this sort of book, or it wasn't quite what I was in the mood for at the time.

Wrap Up

Overall, I think if you want a really relaxing story where the author does go on tangents, then this book is great! If you like nature or are politically left leaning at all, I think this book is worth reading. I personally really enjoyed the first section of the book the most, and I am glad I read it. Let me know if you have any thoughts though! Feel free to reach out to steventanzimedia@gmail.com.