Reviews tagging 'Death'

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller

33 reviews

strawberrymoonceci's review against another edition

informative reflective

4.5

This was an incredibly interesting book. She paints such a vivid picture in all the scenes, even the ones she didn't witness. I was very curious about the name of the book, I was also curious about the importance of this taxonomist. It was a gripping read, fascinating really. The audiobook version is wonderful, and I found the little nugget included at the end so heartwarming. This definitely made me want to read more book about natural history.

I absolutely did not expect the plot twists to include murder and eugenics! I think it's very interesting how Robert Starr Jordan went from allegedly covering up a murder, feeling wracked with guilt about it, to making eugenics his new purpose in life. What an absolute monster. The book is a masterclass in how to write a villain. In the beginning you hear mostly praise for him, there are definitely criticisms but you can see the author choosing to focus in his great capacity for perseverance, only for it to take a dark change, and for him to end up being responsible for the death, torture and mutilation (amongs other things) of tens of thousands in the US alone. Also, the US was the first country to make eugenics into national law. Which is so interesting considering the national narrative about it role in WW2. Not the least surprising though. I am surprised at how engaging this book was, considering I didn't like the author at all. Her writing is great, but she did not pass the vibe check. Also, fish dont exist as a category, that's the answer to the title. And Robert Starr Jordan can suck on that!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Torture, Abandonment, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Rape, Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Infertility, and Medical trauma

Minor: Death and Child death

val_so_'s review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Murder, Ableism, Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Sexism, Misogyny, Death, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Homophobia

Moderate: Confinement, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Cultural appropriation, and Xenophobia

sjn_jordan's review

reflective slow-paced

0.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, and Ableism

Minor: Rape, Genocide, and Biphobia

lara112's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.75

Found it perhaps a bit slow for my style but the ending and generally just the whole book was magnificent. Made me feel like I had just been filled up with sunshine and wrapped in a big hug. Loved it xxx

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Murder, Ableism, Death, and Forced institutionalization

erikamtini's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Rape

mirto's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

If I could give this 6 stars, I would. Brilliant book. I would even say Lulu Miller created a whole new genre. Memoir, biography, essay, nature book, history book, sociology, psychology, murder mystery, whatever, you name it. Made me feel so many things, all at once. I learnt a lot, from science to giving myself the life I want. Why Fish Don't Exist will stay with me forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Ableism, Gaslighting, Infertility, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Hate crime

Moderate: Grief, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual assault, War, Death, Emotional abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Murder, Infertility, Infidelity, and Rape

emsim's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Rape, Self harm, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Death, Medical trauma, Infertility, and Suicide attempt

toffishay's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I could not have guessed that I would be adding another 5-star reading at the tail end of the year. But each page of this book brought me new insight, new pain, new joy. And in another sense, it was nothing new. We are faced with our own lives and our natural world and we take what we can get. The writing is intense and thoughtful. It afforded me some additional perspective about the world around us and made me want to learn more about nature. And it made me cry!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Confinement, Racism, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, and Child abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, War, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Toxic relationship, and Car accident

junefish's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Animal death, Infertility, Infidelity, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Rape, Death, and Alcoholism

Includes content about the history of eugenics and the personal experiences of people who were forcibly sterilised.

jemjjb's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide attempt and Death