Why Fish Don't Exist

“Radiolab in a book! Meandering, self reflective, and obsessive. Charts Lulu Miller’s turbulent 20’s as it parallels her obsession with (controversial) taxonomist David Starr Jordan. You’ll spend much of the book wondering about Chekhov’s non-existent fish, and the payoff is wondrous. 5/5 Korean cover provided because I find it charming.”

“This book took me on quite a roller coaster! The gist: After feeling defeated by certain life choices, Lulu Miller shifts her focus on the life of a figure she'd heard about in the past. After learning about David Starr Jordan, a 19th century taxonomist, she is intrigued by his grace under chaos, how he faced many catastrophes and still carried on. We (including Lulu) come to see Jordan as perseverance personified, a figure even the most downtrodden can perhaps draw inspiration from. Then, Lulu starts digging a little more. A little bit more. Little bit more and we begin to see the epidermis peel back, exposing the raw, messier bits of this fish taxonomist we saw overcome such adversity and chaos. How could someone who seemed so progressive devolve to such a low morality, such barbarousness? It is through this journey of researching Jordan that Lulu unearths more painful practices of America's recent past. It is through this painful discovery that she digs more, hoping to find the calm somewhere amidst all the chaos. Did I mention this was nonfiction?”