Fathoms: The World in the Whale
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
Winner of the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * Finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction * Finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award A “delving, haunted, and poetic debut” (The New York Times Book Review) about the awe-inspiring lives of whales, revealing what they can teach us about ourselves, our planet, and our relationship with other species. When writer Rebecca Giggs encountered a humpback whale stranded on her local beachfront in Australia, she began to wonder how the lives of whales reflect the condition of our oceans. Fathoms: The World in the Whale is “a work of bright and careful genius” (Robert Moor, New York Times bestselling author of On Trails), one that blends natural history, philosophy, and science to explore: How do whales experience ecological change? How has whale culture been both understood and changed by human technology? What can observing whales teach us about the complexity, splendor, and fragility of life on earth? In Fathoms, we learn about whales so rare they have never been named, whale songs that sweep across hemispheres in annual waves of popularity, and whales that have modified the chemical composition of our planet’s atmosphere. We travel to Japan to board the ships that hunt whales and delve into the deepest seas to discover how plastic pollution pervades our earth’s undersea environment. With the immediacy of Rachel Carson and the lush prose of Annie Dillard, Giggs gives us a “masterly” (The New Yorker) exploration of the natural world even as she addresses what it means to write about nature at a time of environmental crisis. With depth and clarity, she outlines the challenges we face as we attempt to understand the perspectives of other living beings, and our own place on an evolving planet. Evocative and inspiring, Fathoms “immediately earns its place in the pantheon of classics of the new golden age of environmental writing” (Literary Hub).
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This is maybe a 3.5 star for me. I learned a fair amount and certain parts were very interesting, and I love learning about Whales. The parts about their vision and whalefalls and how whales are impacted and impact the environment and the parts about whale songs were fantastic. I wanted to give this book 5 stars just for that.
Alas.
Two major problems arise here, both relating to writing style. The first is just an extreme lack of focus. The author would take huge tangents away from the central subject. I would zone out on audio for just a second and suddenly she'd be discussing the history of plastic manufacturing or Japanese cuisine history. None of it was TOTALLY unrelated, but I'd be left wondering, “Is this long tangent necessary?”.
The second problem is that the author was determined to write this in the most pretenscious way possible. I am honestly baffled that she thought it was a good idea. Why would you overwrite a book about whales this much? Understand the general public. I consider myself well read with good reading comprehension and half the time she would say five nonsense sentences that sounded lyrical but didn't mean anything at all. It was severely off-putting. If I had read it physically, I probably would have DNF'd. It was a bit easier to bare as an audiobook; I could just float right past the unnecessary words.
A decent read overall, but I would only recommend if you really enjoy the subject matter.
