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khaufnaak's review
4.0
I love the sea, the creatures that reside within them. The author of this book has done a beautiful job describing spectacular sights that reside below the water while intertwining them with their own experiences. Some people hate this, they seem like disconnected, but to me they seem very obviously connected. Sometimes we see something dark and gruesome in nature, and think, “that reminds me of me, of us.” Some people also hate the author’s essays, some of them weren’t entirely relatable or comprehensible to me. I’m not that intertwined with the queer experience, and I’m not mixed either, I’m not Chinese, etc. But I’m still a child of immigrants, at least one of my parents still saw war, and I find myself in some of the author’s reflections. The prose is enchanting, and the connections with the lives of humans is almost, meaning-imbuing.
Anything like this runs the risk of sounding like “out of touch wokey” stuff. I’m often critical of this (even though I’m an out of touch wokey). I was discussing with my cousin one (and only one observed) case that seemed… disingenuous for me. The author in the first chapter mentions in passing all the Native American tribes (?) that resided where they lived as a child, in passing while describing the past ecosystem. The pertinence of the author’s connection to this is not made clear enough for it to not seem like… posturing, for me. But apart from that incident all other writing seemed very personal and honest. Telling stories like this is not necessarily about proving something, but feeling the reality, feeling the reality of being mixed but wanting to do the same things that hurt you, the reality of our ancestors, the reality of queerness, etc. Perhaps my critique is misplaced, as it has been in the past, but I just thought to mention.
Anything like this runs the risk of sounding like “out of touch wokey” stuff. I’m often critical of this (even though I’m an out of touch wokey). I was discussing with my cousin one (and only one observed) case that seemed… disingenuous for me. The author in the first chapter mentions in passing all the Native American tribes (?) that resided where they lived as a child, in passing while describing the past ecosystem. The pertinence of the author’s connection to this is not made clear enough for it to not seem like… posturing, for me. But apart from that incident all other writing seemed very personal and honest. Telling stories like this is not necessarily about proving something, but feeling the reality, feeling the reality of being mixed but wanting to do the same things that hurt you, the reality of our ancestors, the reality of queerness, etc. Perhaps my critique is misplaced, as it has been in the past, but I just thought to mention.
oceanelle's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
One of my absolute favorite nonfiction books I’ve read in a while. Each essay is carefully crafted without losing its lyricism, and the connections Imbler draws between sea life and their own personal humanity are poignant without feeling maudlin. It’s also SO refreshing to see a queer, mixed-race writer grappling with the in-between and nowhereness of being mixed-race while also being conscious of how much space that line of thought can take up in your brain; I really resonated. Love, love, love.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
laurenrdsteis's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Read this for a book group and liked it. At first, I enjoyed the marine life chapters more than the memoir chapters but then that flipped in the second half. At first I didn’t quite get the connection between the chapters and it felt a bit disjointed but then it all came together
eleeeeleelee's review
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
A magical memoir that circles who we are, how we got there, and our capacity for change. What a beautiful creative choice to use 10 sea creatures and brilliantly match them with the movement of the story (it almost works completely). It’s funny, heavy, dark, light, and so so hopeful. Make it required reading for any queer lit class 🩷