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The Gospel of the Eels
The Gospel of the Eels: A Father, a Son and the World's Most Enigmatic Fish | Patrik Svensson
5 posts | 5 read | 6 to read
I cant recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I cant remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did. The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that its born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies. And yet . . . There is still so much we dont know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eels metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we dont know exactly why. What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us. This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svenssons quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature. Through the exploration of eels in literature (Gnter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotles and Sigmund Freuds complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best. As Patrik Svensson concludes: 'by writing about eels, I have in some ways found my way home again.'
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IuliaC
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Such an engrossing blend of memoir and natural science, a reflection on the mysteries of this enigmatic creature that is the eel and on the mystery of life in general. It is eye-opening and moving. The father and son bond through fishing and share a deeper understanding of nature. The eels are on the brink of extinction and humanity has not yet succeeded to fully decipher their astonishing life cycle.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 💚 11mo
IuliaC @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks thank you 🤗 11mo
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IuliaC
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"In ancient Egypt, the eel was considered a mighty demon, an equal of the gods and a forbidden food. A creature moving effortlessly beneath the glittering surface of the holy Nile, slithering through the sediments of existence itself. Archaeologists have found mummified eels in tiny sarcophagi, laid to their eternal rest next to bronze statuettes of the gods."

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rockpools
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A complete surprise, combining a memoir of the author and his father, whose ‘together‘ activity was eel fishing, with a natural/social history of the eel, and what we don‘t know about them. I went in (honestly?) indifferent to eels, and came out with respect and fascination for these stubborn, elusive creatures. Great stuff!

Thanks for prompting this read #naturalitsy! #NonFiction2023 #RollingInTheDeep #NaturalitsyBingo #Water

jlhammar I agree! Great review. 1y
AllDebooks Love this! Great review x 1y
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jenniferw88
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When I read this I couldn't help but think of all the #PemberLittens currently reading Middlemarch @BarkingMadRead

rubyslippersreads 🦤😆 1y
rubyslippersreads 🦤😆 1y
TheBookHippie 🤣🤣🤣🤣🦤 1y
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jenniferw88
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Mehso-so
Cinfhen I have a few options for letter G planned ☺️ 1y
Librarybelle Nice! 1y
AllDebooks Great! 😊📚 1y
46 likes3 comments