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A review by itschelseaw
Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A great book about breaking free from the labels placed on us/the world by others, by way of a rather terrible man who spent his life imposing those labels on the world and ushering in terror to those he deemed unfit.
The structure of the book was great; to go from initially learning about David Starr Jordan and how he broke from the conventional wisdom of the day, to learning how he imposed conventional wisdom on others, to eventually how he fostered eugenics in the United States (and gave the Nazi the blueprint for their genocide). It's a wonder that he's still celebrated considering how horrid he was at the end of his life.
The scene with Anna and May was especially touching; I couldn't stop crying while reading it. The tenderness they have for each other, the love and respect after all these years. My heart broke for Anna and incandescent rage filled me at David Starr Jordan and what he championed.
It's interesting how someone who devoted his life to understanding the natural world ended up ultimately having such a bad understanding of it. Unfortunately his misunderstanding of the world has led to terror and usurping bodily autonomy for far too many individuals. The twist at the end of fish not really existing as their own category of animals? Chef's kiss.
The structure of the book was great; to go from initially learning about David Starr Jordan and how he broke from the conventional wisdom of the day, to learning how he imposed conventional wisdom on others, to eventually how he fostered eugenics in the United States (and gave the Nazi the blueprint for their genocide). It's a wonder that he's still celebrated considering how horrid he was at the end of his life.
The scene with Anna and May was especially touching; I couldn't stop crying while reading it. The tenderness they have for each other, the love and respect after all these years. My heart broke for Anna and incandescent rage filled me at David Starr Jordan and what he championed.
It's interesting how someone who devoted his life to understanding the natural world ended up ultimately having such a bad understanding of it. Unfortunately his misunderstanding of the world has led to terror and usurping bodily autonomy for far too many individuals. The twist at the end of fish not really existing as their own category of animals? Chef's kiss.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma and Infertility