A review by nerdygnome
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

4.25

What a beautiful homage to nature and to slowing down in life! While Elisabeth Tova Bailey's slowing was by all means involuntary thanks to her severe illness, she does a wonderful job of showing us the depth and wisdom that we can gain from this changed pace of life. I am a fast reader and often breeze from one book to the next, but I found that while absorbed in The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, even my reading sank to the speed of a snail — and I loved every slow minute of it. I will admit that I did get a bit bogged down in some of the factual information about snails (and yet deeply fascinated by some tidbits — 2,640 teeth?! What!), but it was easy for me to skim through these short chapters whenever they weren't fueling me. It was the author's observations on the snail's behavior that I found most endearing and enchanting. I highly recommend this little book for a breath of fresh air and a unique perspective on life.