THE BOOK OF EELS :: Patrik Svensson

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

 An eel's testicles don't usually leap to mind when one thinks of Sigmund Freud. Yet Freud discovered this "holy grail of natural science" when the answer had eluded many before him. The eel is unusually difficult to study-- "Science has come up against many mysteries, but few have proven as intractable and difficult to solve as the eel." Some of the most famous natural scientists in history have tried to find answers, mostly in vain.

In The Book of Eels, Patrik Svensson, a Swedish arts and culture journalist at the newspaper Sydsvenskan, traces the history of efforts to unfurl the enigma of the eel. Though we know more today than when Aristotle gave it his best shot, the eel remains a fascinating puzzle in the modern era. "Somewhere in the darkness and mud, the eel has managed to hide away from human knowledge," forcing scientists to rely, to some extent, on faith.

An eel can live 50 to 80 years, during which time it metamorphosizes multiple times, dictated not by time, but by migration location. We "know" the eel procreates in the equally curious Sargasso Sea, yet no one has ever seen a mature eel or eels mating there. Answers seem only to create more questions, rendering the eel a perpetually interesting riddle with no end. Winner of the 2019 August Prize for nonfiction, The Book of Eels is nature writing at its finest. Svensson's memories of eel fishing with his father speak to the intersection of life and science, and add to its heart.

STREET SENSE:  This in-depth investigation into the scintillating and mysterious life of eels is super fun reading. I thought I knew a few things and it turns out I knew very few things. I had no idea just how cool eels are.

COVER NERD SAYS:  Totally dig everything about this. Color, image, cute face on that little f'er. It's pretty clear the book is non-fiction, but the small subtitle confirms it if there is any question. I like the font, type size, everything about it. The #1 bestseller "sticker" is not obtrusive and I don't have a problem with that like I do with blurbs. In fact, it's more helpful information than a blurb. This gets a solid A in my book.