Reviews

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

fictionalcass's review against another edition

funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this philosophical adventure into the world of nature. I don’t read a ton of nonfiction, but I definitely need to seek out more nonfiction in this style. I loved the approach to these topics that Miller takes, embracing science, nature, philosophy, and humor all in one small book. 

This book takes a detailed look at the life and work of David Starr Jordan, and I went into it knowing nothing about him. As a result, this book contained some very wild turns I was not anticipating, and I really enjoyed Miller’s execution of the storytelling aspects. I felt that I learned quite a bit from this book, in a way that didn’t feel too textbooky. 

I particularly enjoyed the exploration in this novel of the contrasting views of cynicism and the desire to search for meaning in the world around us. It was a really beautiful narrative in many ways, and it definitely prompted my thinking quite a bit. I also loved the different extras included in the back of the book to continue some of the themes. 

This review feels a bit vaguer than most of my reviews, but it’s a bit hard to sum up this book. I would definitely recommend it and I think it’s a good one to just jump into without fully knowing what to expect. I give it 5⭐️!

dilemmag's review against another edition

5.0

Be skeptical of any categories made to simplify the world… it is complex by nature.

I could relate heavily to Lulu’s experience in feeling lost and uncertain. This book was just what I needed to feel like things are going to be okay.

danielpreston1993's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Give the enthralling rollercoaster of a book to Christopher Nolan and be done with it. Amazing.

threegoodrats's review against another edition

4.0

This book really surprised me. I put off reading it for a while because it’s a nonfiction book about science and I was afraid it would be dense or dry, but when I finally picked it up I found that it’s very conversational in tone and I just flew through it. It’s short and the chapters are quite short, and still somehow it managed to cover a lot of territory. It was mostly about David Starr Jordan, but also about the author herself and, surprisingly, went into eugenics enough to make me even more curious about the history of it here in the U.S.

daniandsn's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

lalalaluziie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

This book started out great to me, then took a weirdly unexpected turn but ended even better than I could've imagined it. I've often thought of life not being as rigid and black and white as we like to think it is. And Miller has book beautiful words to this core thought. With just the right balance of research, analysis, and personal anecdotes she's spun complex thoughts and ideas into a beautiful work about the Chaos in and around us. 

knotmeg's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

courtofsmutandstuff's review against another edition

4.5

The writing alone I would say is absolutely 5 stars - I really loved how Miller structured her sentences and crafted everything, and I loved the way she evaluated and engaged with her understanding of the subject. Honestly writing this I'm like "should I just say 5 stars?" but Miller's writing is truly the strongest aspect, to the point I will definitely read any future books she puts out. I was also terribly interested with the Jane Stanford murder section as well! 
It's a very quick read, a very easy audiobook (read by the author), and a solid read! 

trin's review against another edition

2.0

This is not a bad book, but it just didn't work for me, on almost any level (exception: I liked the illustrations). The voice falls flat of true humor, skates just above twee. I don't think the memoir elements meshed well with the biographical ones -- Miller's obsession with scientist, Stanford president, and eugenicist David Starr Jordan should feel like a driving force, but instead it just seems to peek its head above water for awkward transitional moments. And the book is oddly if not poorly paced: it doesn't really build to anything, not even Miller's -- plausible! -- accusation that Jordan may have murdered Jane Stanford.

I am always happy to be cornered to hear about someone's special interests, but this felt more like a series of party anecdotes and less like a book.

luckyonesoph's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5

I really love this blend of popular science and memoir, and I appreciate the author's attention to problematic beliefs and theories that often underlie scientific discovery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Death, Animal death, Child death, and Rape