The Instagram page called “Sad Topographies” was created for the melancholic among us. A genius named Damien Rudd runs the page. Moreover, the initial idea behind the page was to simply look up sad words on Google Maps and take screenshots. Damien searched for the world’s most joyless place names and their interesting etymologies. And with the sharing of just a few pictures, dispirited travelers rejoice as Damien journeys across the continents. “Sad Topographies” has recently been turned into a book, too.
Nonetheless, behind every forlorn name place exists a story. The stories are richly interwoven within a narrative of tragedy, misadventure, landscape, history, and mythology. “Sad Topographies” steers you along paths that lead to obscure and strange places. Navigating historical fiction and the terrains of history. It’s a travel guide like quite no other. It’s dark humored and poetic, for the intrepid soul in you.