A review by lieslindi
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann

5.0

“ … the fact that it’s unbelievable but every single thing alive has its own center of being, and looks out on the world from that point of view, even a worm, a jellyfish, hamsters, owls, the fact that even a leaf has feelings, the fact that you know the leaves are enjoying this warm sun going right through them, the fact that the leaves seem to be sunbathing, letting the sun lick them, the fact that there are times, maybe the most unlikely times, that you realize you’re simply thrilled to be alive, and what a great piece of luck it is just to be a part of things, to have a body, so you can feel and see and walk the earth, for just a little while, the fact that children are born happy, and it’s a mom’s duty to preserve that in them as long as possible, everybody’s duty, the fact that it’s the same with flowers, the fact that there is no way a newly opened poppy can’t be thrilled to be alive, and trees, waterfalls, the fact that waterfalls sure act thrilled, except when they dry to a trickle during a dry spell or something, the falls at Fallingwater, the fact that water must have a sense of itself, a real liking for itself, because bodies of water are always trying to meet up, the fact that it’s hard to keep them apart, the fact that that’s why oceans exist, they’re big water get-togethers, Jacques Cousteau, the fact that maybe waves worry about getting separated from the rest of the water …" (785)