Deep Down Dark

The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free

By: Héctor Tobar

Narrated by: Henry Leyva

Deep Down Dark is the novel that inspired the film The 33 starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Cote de Pablo and Antonio Banderas.

When the San José mine collapsed outside of Copiapó, Chile, in August 2010, it trapped thirty-three miners beneath thousands of feet of rock for a record-breaking sixty-nine days. After the disaster, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Héctor Tobar received exclusive access to the miners and their tales, and in Deep Down Dark, he brings them to haunting, visceral life. We learn what it was like to be imprisoned inside a mountain, understand the horror of being slowly consumed by hunger, and experience the awe of working in such a place-underground passages filled with danger and that often felt alive. A masterwork of narrative journalism and a stirring testament to the power of the human spirit, The 33: Deep Down Dark captures the profound ways in which the lives of everyone involved in the catastrophe were forever changed.

A Finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award
A Finalist for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book
Selected for NPR's Morning Edition Book Club

©2014 Hector Tobar (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Weaving together the drama of the miners' harrowing ordeal below ground with the anguish of families and rescuers on the surface, Tobar delivers a masterful account of exile and human longing, of triumph in the face of all odds. Taut with suspense and moments of tenderness and replete with a cast of unforgettable characters, Deep Down Dark ranks with the best of adventure literature. ” —Scott Wallace, The Los Angeles Times

“Chiseled, brooding . . . As Tobar works his way through each miner's recovery, the TV headlines recede from our memory, and a more delicate series of portraits emerges.” —Noah Gallagher Shannon, The Washington Post

“Tobar plunges the reader into this world of uncertainty with visceral, present-tense prose and careful pacing . . . Whether the story is completely new to you, or if you were one of the millions glued to the news reports and wondering, will they make it--physically, emotionally, spiritually--you'll be greatly rewarded to learn how they did.” —Mac McClelland, The New York Times Book Review

A gripping story masterfully written and read.

Where does Deep Down Dark rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is one of the best I'e heard. The reader appears to be bilingual and lets us hear the story as told by each character.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's impossible to have a favorite.

Which character – as performed by Henry Leyva – was your favorite?

It's impossible to have a favorite.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The book is in three parts, and each part was compelling in its telling.

Any additional comments?

A mediocre writer could easily have turned this dramatic story into a melodrama, but Toobar wrote objectively, allow the men's story into a compelling one. Henry Leyva read the story as a professional.

Deep Down Dark

I was totally enthralled by this story with excellent narration. Mr. Tobar's portrayal of the events of the mining disaster was realistic and engaging. I was especially impressed with the author's ability to represent the human flaws of the people involved without diminishing their incredible strength of character. Highly recommended - my first rating after listening to hundreds if audio books.

Excellent book

An indepth telling of the lives of the 33, the accident, their experiences, the rescue, and post rescue lives. Riveting.

good listen

What did you love best about Deep Down Dark?

very very informative

What does Henry Leyva bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Command of language

Any additional comments?

a little too heavy on the religious aspects of the men but I guess he wants to fill in the entire experience

great story, beautifully told

This is a wonderful story, told and narrated movingly.. It's a gripping take, even though you know the miners get out safely

Deep, down... hard to review

I followed the trapped Chilean miners on the news during their entrapment and remember fearing the mine would be sealed, as one had recently been in Mexico. I also remember the joy and excitement as they all, unbelievably, came out alive months later. I looked for interviews of what happened on the news and they didn't come. When NPR recommended this book last week I was listening hours later.

The miners agreed before coming out that none of them would relate what had happened, thus making the story more valuable and all would profit together... rather than one or two individuals profiting from what happened. It was a wise choice, however, it probably caused the weakness in the book.

Hector has done a fine job meshing the experiences, thoughts and events that were experienced by 33 miners, their families, mine management and rescue workers... much like a historical documentary. It is readable, interesting and I am glad I listened, but you are always at an arms length from what is happening and hear many different views of the same event. I didn't bond to any of the miners and not being Hispanic... the names were unfamiliar and it took a good while to keep their stories straight. I personally would have enjoyed it more if told through the eyes of one miner and one of his family members on the topside.

The dynamics of 33 men trapped together, the utter failure of mine management, the politics of rescue, the details of sustaining them once found, the complications of the family camp and the chaos of freedom was interesting and I even learned about the country of Chile.
The credit wasn't wasted and I think book clubs would enjoy discussing it... but, it won't be one I go back and read again.

I felt like I was there

Hector took me into the mine, and could feel and smell it. He took into Camp Esperanza and I felt the emotions of the families!

Mankind manages to unite successfully!

breathtaking to the end,you felt like you were there, the characters were all so different!

Just OK

So, I remember listening to this drama unfold when it happened. I'd hoped to learn more about the miners and their stories - and I did, but it just wasn't satisfying. The miners are working stiffs who endured quite a trauma, but I felt like the author scraped up newspaper article-length content to make a full novel.

Factual Telling: How Trauma/Fame Affected Miners

This was a worthwhile listen, although I found it not as "emotional" and "riveting" as did others. The facts about how the mine collapse happened are very interesting and somewhat chilling. The telling about life underground was eye-opening; especially how individuals behaved, led, sulked, fought and survived despite the conditions and odds. The details about collaboration on the rescue efforts were amazing and of course, the ways in which families dealt with the possibility of either death or rescue of their miner(s) equally good.

More importantly, I found the details on the aftermath of the collapse/rescue even more interesting. What happens when poor blue collar workers undergo extreme stress/trauma and then are thrust into the world stage where they must negotiate greedy relatives, unethical press, and mental issues that simply won't go away? That is the part of the story I found most interesting and those individual stories are what has stayed with me.