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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I had a great time here, save the passages of the author's recollections of his childhood experiences, from fishing trips to conversations with his father; this sort of parallel narrative bothers me in any pop science book, and it seems a pattern in any marine science pop lit I've sampled or read so far. Still, this is some great nature writing, and I had no idea just how enigmatic and elusive the "eel question" had been in the history of science.
“But that’s not necessarily what death looks like. Hearts don’t usually stop beating from one second to the next; instead, they gradually beat slower and more irregularly. They can stop beating and then start again. Blood pressures drop, oxygen levels fall. Rather than suddenly replacing life, death seeps slowly into it.”
medium-paced
I went into this wanting to learn what the deal is with eels. The answer I got was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, with a focus on the social and philosophical effect of the eel on humanity. Enjoyable to read, as Svensson seems heavily inspired by Rachel Carson's artistic and personal approach to scientific communication. However, the tendency to throw excerpts and examples from other works at the reader in succession sometimes felt tedious to get through. When it's good, it's very touching. When it's not, you feel the author's background in newspaper journalism and the growing pains shifting to a longer format. I would still call it a worthwhile read, and I think I would've enjoyed it more if I had different expectations!
informative
mysterious
reflective
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
An interesting booking concept with execution that is lackluster. Rather than being an informative journey about the eel. It’s more of a self reflection by the author that super imposes various psychological analysis that are not rooted in good psychology. If you’re a nerdy person looking for a more narrative format to learn about the eel, I would look elsewhere.
informative
reflective
medium-paced