Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Gospel of the Eels

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Gospel of the Eels by Patrik Svensson

21 reviews

dibiz116's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

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snapbea's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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maidinnah's review against another edition

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informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.75

Equal parts memoir, historical account, and scientific essay, The Book of Eels is insightful and profound, fully capturing the elusiveness and mystique of the eel. Fair warning -- the undercurrent of the book is the author describing his close relationship with his father, which may turn off some readers. However, at this book's core is the author's sheer fascination and admiration for a creature that is as central to our understanding of entire cultures and the human condition, as it is mysterious.

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bookbrig's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

3.25

Ugh what an ending. Learned lots of eel facts!

Author lost their dad to cancer at the end of the book.

Not an ideal read for me right now.

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iszys's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

2.75

I really enjoyed the parts that were about eel biology and the history of studying eels. Unfortunately, about half the book was an autobiographical account of eel fishing. There's also an odd tangent about faith. It's sad to be reminded that many humans are only interested in nature so they can dominate it. Give me a book about a non-cuddly animal that isn't mostly about killing and eating them please!

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rayreyes's review against another edition

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challenging sad slow-paced

0.5

I thought this book would be like Gerald Durell’s book My Family and Other Animals. Oh boy was I under the wrong impression. This book is not for me. Including my journal entry impressions.

19%

Absolutely disgusting. The discussion of Freud being a fucking skeez and all the killing of eels feels like violence. It’s gutting to hear of all the killing of thousands eels to learn NOTHING for decades. Absolutely sickening. Freud sounds like a damn dangerous creep and this book speaking with esteem for him in conjunction with the endless descriptions of eels writhing in pain under knives is deeply unsettling.

34%

The book goes on and on to describe everything miraculous and stunning about eels and then goes on to describe all the ways they’re destroyed by people wanting to behold them. This alongside the discussion of freud’s volatile love of a TWELVE year old and his belligerence against women he couldn’t have highlights the dangers of being in a world where men believe that to behold beauty means they’re entitled to conquer, behold, and destroy it until satiated. It’s appalling to wade through these casual descriptions of violence. I feel confident that the same type of person who enjoyed Catcher in the Rye would enjoy this book.

37%

This book is about the unrelenting hunger of colonial consumption, not eels.

Stopped at 52%

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