Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

8 reviews

throwback682's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I have no idea how to describe this book. In short, it's a memoir told through the lens of dense scientific info about sea creatures. But that’s…. nowhere near accurate or at least nowhere near adequate. 

Perhaps it’s a string of long strange similes that forces you to re-examine your assumptions about both marine life and humans. 

How does a book flow seamlessly from Lorena Bobbitt to Brock Turner to dead whales to immortal jellyfish? From strap-ons to gender dysphoria to biracial identities to crabs huddled together on the edge of a volcanic vent at the bottom of the ocean? From mother octopuses starving to death for their babies to alcoholism to rape? From the NYC dyke march and the queer history of a tuberculosis hospital to  cuttlefish camouflage? It shouldn’t all be able to fit in one book but it does and it’s spectacular. Example: at one point they perform a necropsy on an early queer relationship after a breakup. 

I had to take breaks during some of the heavier subject matter and you should definitely check the trigger warnings but for me it was well worth the pain. What a brilliant piece of art. The synergy of all the myriad pieces of this book is extremely powerful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, War, Xenophobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

TW: victim blaming, sexual assault

The author (they/them) describes incidents of a sexual nature and struggles to categorize them as consensual or assault due to their heavy drinking.

TW: gender dysphoria

They describe parts of their body that make them feel dysphoric, things that help the dysphoria (binding), and things that make them feel euphoric (masculine clothes, packing, the word “boyfriend”).

TW: harm to animals This book deals heavily with marine life in the wild as well as marine science.

There is discussion of human experimentation on marine life, including intentionally hurting or killing animals through various methods. Examples include killing a fish to study it further, and doing various things to traumatize a jellyfish to induce a certain reaction. There’s also discussion of animals eating each other etc.

kaydee_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

5.0

This book is strange and lovely and best served slowly, reading a couple essays a day and then putting it back down to let them sink in. I loved the mix of science and memoir. Some essays are stronger than others - the cuttlefish one and the one about the sturgeon stood out as particular favourites in terms of matching the animals to the topic - but all make you think and feel and I loved the writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Fatphobia, War, Lesbophobia, and Toxic relationship

dreareads_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

There is so much about this book to love. I love the way Sabrina is so open and honest about their life, identity, and existence. Each essay provides us with a glimpse to their story, a story that is intertwined with a love for sea creatures and science that only Sabrina can blend together. By portraying their life through sea creatures, Sabrina opened the door for strangers to walk in and see a world that is both familiar and strange. Of all the essays I must say that my favorites were definitely "If You Flush A Goldfish" and "We Swarm". Two essays that felt both deeply personal and universal at the same time.

The only reason I do not give this book 5 stars is because there were a couple of essays where the chosen sea creatures and scientific discussions did not easily blend with the story that Sabrina was presenting at the time. 

Regardless, I cannot help but love a book where I learn a lot and feel even more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Sexual content, Blood, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Grief, Racism, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

madelinegl's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Homophobia

lukests's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I loved this so much

The way Imbler uses these awesome stories from the animal kingdom to illustrate their own story inspires such wonder in the reader. Learning about these unique animals while going on a journey of discovery of the author's self is such an enjoyable ride. 

Being able to relate to Imbler and a cuttlefish and an entire community on a queer beach as well as a colony of individual salps is a wild but magical feeling

To top this all off the gender euphoria and sense of belonging and understanding reading the last chapter was fantastic. 

It's not often I've read someone write the non-binary experience in such an authentic and relatable way. Also reading this and being jealous of a cuttlefish is so bizarre but Imbler just does such a great job and likening it to the trans experience of wanting to change yourself at a whim. 

As well as the stories of the cuttlefish, salps, and jellyfish, the story of the Chinese Sturgeon and how its journey almost mirrors that of their grandparents'own journey of migration through China during a war was harrowing. This coupled with how climate change and expanding civilisation is affecting the sturgeons spawning leaves a lasting impression. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Animal death, Racism, Rape, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Eating disorder, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Transphobia, and Misogyny

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This book was sitting at a solid 4 and then I listened to the essay “Hybrids” and it immediate shot up to a 5. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body horror, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Racism, and Self harm

lowbrowhighart's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Rape, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Minor: Alcohol, Body horror, Drug use, and Child abuse