This is not a book about eels. Well, it is, but it's also a book about the scientific process and our relationship with nature and the author's relationship with his father. It made me cry several times (this is an endorsement.) 

"𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚍 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗; 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐."

This book manages to be not simply a science nonfiction, but a memoir and historical novel too. Svensson discusses the long history and searches for the birthplace of the eel -- the Sargasso Sea -- and the modern hunt to answer the question of how and why eels return there after living decades across the Atlantic. Using the life cycle of the elusive eel as the pivot of this tale, Svensson discusses life, memory, and humanness. He weaves together personal memories of hunting eels in his childhood as the story of the eel moves through history. This book is both mystifying and comforting and wholly unforgettable. 

 

Huh. Eels are real weird. That was takeaway #1. Takeaway #2, I have gone from having literally no opinions about eels to wanting desperately for them to survive beyond humans. They're just so alien and wonderfully aloof. I also loved the interweaving of Svensson's personal narrative throughout the piece. I honestly can say that without his personal memoir built around eels, I would not have been nearly as invested in these truly weird creatures that live so far from the desert I live in. A really interesting science read that crosses over to memoirs.