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yoshi5's review
4.0
A really wonderful and beautiful book, but i failed to "lose myself" in it. I respect Carson's wish to minimise anthropomorphism but i needed more of a story to be engaged. Very descriptive and lovely. I liked when she was "risky" and included more introspective and philosophical commentary.
littletaiko's review
4.0
This was smartly broken up into three sections, the first focused on life on the shore, the second on the open sea and the final section on the bottom of the sea. Each section highlights several different types of animals. The author also gives names to some of them which makes their journeys even more interesting. You can't help but root for Scomber, the mackerel, who we see from the time he was an egg to his maturation.
The circle of life is in full force and highlights the brutality of nature. A ghost crab searches and finds beach fleas to eat. Later the ghost crab gets alarmed by all the birds flying about overhead as well as a fisherman walking about and takes refuge in the surf. However there it is quickly eaten by a bass who is later eaten by a shark. The remains of the bass come on shore for the beach fleas to dine on.
The circle of life is in full force and highlights the brutality of nature. A ghost crab searches and finds beach fleas to eat. Later the ghost crab gets alarmed by all the birds flying about overhead as well as a fisherman walking about and takes refuge in the surf. However there it is quickly eaten by a bass who is later eaten by a shark. The remains of the bass come on shore for the beach fleas to dine on.
meganmagicmusings's review against another edition
I’m way too sensitive for all of this animal death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
briandice's review
4.0
The island lay in shadows only a little deeper than those that were swiftly stealing across the sound from the east. On its western shore the wet sand of the narrow beach caught the same reflection of palely gleaming sky that laid a bright path across the water from island beach to horizon. Both water and sand were the color of steel overlaid with the sheen of silver, so that it was hard to say where water ended and land began.
That's just beautiful, right? This is the opening paragraph in a 200 page work that continues in a similar tone - a naturalist's objective view of a subject matter both readily familiar and wholly loved. Carson created this work over a ten year span of studying coastal marine life from North Carolina up to the Arctics; she anthropomorphizes the life span of a mackerel and an eel (giving the character names, even) to pinpoint the beauty and the violence of life. The narrative feels reminiscent of everything Attenborough produced for the last 50 years.
As I was finishing this book I was reflecting on how much of Carson's writing I found familiar - and then it dawned on me just how much of the world does not live close to the coast; how many people have never witnessed anything she describes first-hand. To them this book must feel like reading a piece of science fiction describing another world.
Stinson Beach, California
7th book read of 500 Great Books by Women
hedyharper's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
neverly's review
4.0
I found myself charmed by this novel. It’s almost as if you’re watching a nature documentary, but in the form of a book—not the most eloquent way to put it, but you get the idea. Following the eyes and lives of various water-based creatures, Carson weaves a captivating story about nature. Only rating it 4 instead of 5 because some of the prose was written in a confusing manner, and some sections of the novel were a bit slow despite its relatively short length.
Still, all in all, it’s a lovely read which I recommend.
Still, all in all, it’s a lovely read which I recommend.
miquemarie83's review
5.0
Categories:
20th Century Classic (BacktotheClassics2020)
Three Books by the Same Author (#mmdreading)
Wow! Reading this was like watching Planet Earth, Blue Planet, or pretty much anything narrated by David Attenborough. Carson has a way with words. That's for sure. I appreciate her lyrical style. This book covers the Atlantic Coast of North America, mainly by following the lives of a sanderling, a mackerel, and an eel. I admit that as much as I love animals and the ocean, I thought I was going to be bored during the mackerel section. I was so wrong. It turned out to be one of my favorite sections of the book! This is a book I know I'm going to re-visit
20th Century Classic (BacktotheClassics2020)
Three Books by the Same Author (#mmdreading)
Wow! Reading this was like watching Planet Earth, Blue Planet, or pretty much anything narrated by David Attenborough. Carson has a way with words. That's for sure. I appreciate her lyrical style. This book covers the Atlantic Coast of North America, mainly by following the lives of a sanderling, a mackerel, and an eel. I admit that as much as I love animals and the ocean, I thought I was going to be bored during the mackerel section. I was so wrong. It turned out to be one of my favorite sections of the book! This is a book I know I'm going to re-visit
poopdealer's review
5.0
i completely loved this. perfect. i cant imagine what else you'd want from this type of writing