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renbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Wow, I thought this would be a 5-star read for me, but I feel like 2 stars is the absolute maximum I could give this. This was another book that I thought was right up my alley, being an entomologist and seeing that this book was described as a "major best seller in its native country", I figured it must be amazing if even non-entomologists are reading it. Boy was I wrong about that. I found this book dull, poorly-organized, and the majority of it was not at all about the author and his memoir, but rather random tidbits about a historical entomologist. this book didn't seem to know what it wanted to be, a memoir, a history book, or a story about flies. It seems like the author tried to do all three, resulting in none of them being done well. I did enjoy the anecdotes and information about hoverflies, just not the rest of it. One of the best compliments I can give this book is that it was mercifully short.
queerandweird's review against another edition
2.0
It's a well-written piece of non-fiction in terms of language and structure, it just doesn't provide enough storytelling incentive to keep turning the pages so it shall remain unfinished.
kisaly's review against another edition
4.0
Every entomologist I've ever met has been hilarious - and I work in a field where I've met quite a few. I was surprised at how much of this book was dedicated to Rene Malaise but enjoyed the stories and dry humor.
buggy's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
A bit hard to follow, but I enjoyed learning about flies and the wandering narrative was relaxing to read. I don't understand the ending unfortunately.
A bit hard to follow, but I enjoyed learning about flies and the wandering narrative was relaxing to read. I don't understand the ending unfortunately.
enantiodromia's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting read and a lot of meandering, and Sjoberg can be hilarious, but for those coming by this book really hoping for a solid book about hoverflies, collecting hoverflies, and the eccentricities of naturalists written about in a direct way, keep on going. Sjoberg wanders off completely to talk about Malaise, the creator of the Malaise trap, for the rest of the book, to the point of the author's obsession with Malaise's life to the point of exploring Malaise's later-in-life art collection. Interesting, but not what reviews (elsewhere from Goodreads) and the jacket of the book itself had me thinking I'd be reading about. It really is a biography about Malaise.
librarylucija's review against another edition
3.0
Malo dosadno osim ako vam muhe i kukci nisu hobi.
faerthurin's review against another edition
5.0
“La televisione ci ha insegnato a vedere la natura come fosse un film, come qualcosa di immediatamente comprensibile e accessibile, ma è soltanto un’ illusione. Nella realtà non c’è la voce dello speaker a spiegare. Quello che in superficie si presenta come arte magnifica e musica dolcissima non è altro, per il non iniziato, che un’ impenetrabile massa di vocaboli appartenenti a una lingua straniera. La migliore risposta alla domanda sul perché io raccolga sirfidi è dunque, alla fin fine, che voglio riuscire a capire anche i testi scritti a caratteri minuscoli nell’unica lingua che, a mia memoria, è sempre stata la mia.”
originalmelodie's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
5.0