A review by tolstoytherapy
Sweet in Tooth and Claw by Kristin Ohlson

5.0

With a similar sense of wonder and beauty to Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Sweet in Tooth and Claw is a gorgeous book about the generosity and cooperation that exist around us.

If you've read books like The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, you might know about the secret cooperation of a forest, but who knew that salmon could also help a forest to thrive? This book is packed with such examples and stories that really do help you see the world differently.

Here, Kristin Ohlson rekindles hope in the natural goodness and connectedness of the world, but her book is also a powerful reminder of the damage that humankind has done to our home planet – chiefly, through ignorance of these dense webs of connection that we still can't wholly wrap our heads around.

This book isn't always easy-reading – it's dense and packed with information, which lends it more to slow short reading sessions rather than a day-long read. But I think that's how this book should be enjoyed: slowly and thoughtfully.

Reading this is a reminder that humans can – and should – be involved in this interconnectedness too, as just another co-creator and caretaker of a generous and thriving ecosystem that requires our full attention.

Thank you to Kristin Ohlson, Patagonia, and NetGalley for this ARC.