A review by justabean_reads
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

4.0

Autobiography via essays about marine life, which could be a little bit clunky at times, and very insightful at others. I think queer community & selps was a favourite, but the format also grew on me as I got used to what Imbler was doing. I think the strongest line in the whole book was the more implicit comparison of the flaws and oversights in scientific research/assumptions scientists make about their subjects, and both the author's own knowledge gaps, and societal bias at large, for example in researching males of a species as more important than females, and discussions of hybridity. I was fully expecting there to be more "this starfish has fourteen genders so why not humans?" than there was, and Imbler's feelings around gender only come into focus towards the end of the book. Which felt like a bit of a missed opportunity, but it also sounds like Imbler is still coming to terms with the topic, so maybe in a future book. I'll certainly read whatever they do next!