Book 27 - When You Give up the Stars

Title: Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life

Author: Lulu Miller

Genre: non-fiction / autobiography

This book started out slow for me, but is now a shining gold star on my list of faves and will not soon be forgotten. I had no idea who David Starr Jordan was (and would recommend any prospective readers to start out in an equally oblivious state) beforehand, nor did I necessarily have an interest in fish, nor the hierarchy of beings. I was getting kinda bored, actually, of hearing about the guy and his almost block-headed perseverance. I was more interested in how Miller herself was going to fit into the story, especially when she tells the reader not to "get too squeamish" about her flirt with the "grand temptation". Still, I wasn't quite sold on the parallels she makes between her life and Jordan's...

Until, abruptly, she drops a bomb.

Miller - cruelly, perfectly, artfully - gives us only half of the story for the first half of the novel, and then swiftly shifts gears. After that switch is flipped, it's full-speed ahead in a dizzying spiral of horror and wonder. Strangely enough, this is a hopeful story, and one I didn't realize I needed to read until the last page was turned and there was something at peace within me.

Rating: 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓