User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
This is a love letter to the natural world and family woven with memoir. I actually first published parts of this series in The Butter (RIP) and I am so happy to see what the project has blossomed into. The writing is intimate and so much care is taken. I actually wanted more but I love what is here, the depth of knowledge, the well-chosen details she shares from both her childhood and her adult years. A truly refreshing read.
Rating: really liked it
An ambitious and lovely project, to interweave personal essay and nature writing, but too clumsily done for me to enjoy. Each essay is named after a natural phenomenon (plant, animal, typhoon) and makes a facile connection from that to a time in the author's life. The associations are bizarre and contrived. Moving to a new school made the author want to be like a vampire squid because she too wanted to hide? Flamingos have long legs, like the author's, and she spent nights out dancing in college on those long legs, and currently worries for the safety of young girls? I don't understand the point of juxtaposing such disparate subjects. Am I, as a human, supposed to feel more connected to the natural world because the mouths of ribbon eels hang open like human babies' mouths (or at least, the author's human baby's mouth)? Or am I supposed to be moved to wonder by the unfathomable alienness of other species, because in learning less than I wanted to know about ribbon eels and more than I wanted to know about the author's early months with her infant, all the differences between those phenomena are called to mind? Am I supposed to be charmed into such ecstasies by the sheer whimsy of it all that my rational brain shuts down? I think what it comes down to is that neither her personal experiences nor the natural phenomena were explored with anywhere near enough detail to immerse me. The little tidbits about interesting creatures only left me wanting to learn more--which would great, if that was a feeling left by a nature book upon its conclusion, but I was left wanting to learn more about the animal while instead having to read boring facts about her personal life. --I'm NOT saying the the author's life is boring. Modern fiction has shown that any life can be riveting material. I'm saying the author writes about her life in a boring way. Generalized accounts of certain life periods, not at all rich in detail. An occasional lifeless anecdote. She's a poet, I understand, but I was surprised that there was nothing at the level of language to make up for the narrative deficiencies.
A small side complaint, but the casually dropped privilege grated at times. "Oh, the last time I was snorkeling in the South China Sea...". Lady. Please.
Yes, there is a phrase "childlike wonder" for a reason. There is something childlike about wonder: looking at the world as though you have never seen anything like it, as if you were just born. That does not mean that, in order to cultivate this childlike wonder, books need to *speak to the reader as though she is a child.* "These suckers contains [sic] about ten thousand sensory neurons that detect texture, shape, and, most of all, taste. How wild to have even just one sucker on the inside cup of our hands. Just one!" How wild, indeed.
This may have gotten two stars for being inoffensive, at least, except it was a little offensive. I am used to references, in other media, to practices I dislike but most people find acceptable--hunting octopuses, clipping pet bird's wings--and just have to shake it off, but this book is supposed to be ABOUT how wondrous octopuses and birds are. I guess I'm naive to be surprised when environmental writing doesn't seem attuned to animal rights. I only forced myself to finish this because it's so short, and yet it felt so long--thank God I'm finally done, and hungry for a better book. Pass the octopus.
Rating: really liked it
I discovered this book while doing some book shopping on Barnes and Noble’s website. It was advertised as the book of the year. Because I’m a nature lover, it was one I had to try. I was pleasantly enlightened from the first pages.
The essays in this book connect nature to parts of the author’s life from childhood to adulthood and now as a married woman and mother. The writings include facts about plants and animals along with short anecdotes regarding some part of her past. The stories were interesting, and many were eye-opening for me. This book emphasizes–in a fresh, unique way–that there’s so much we can learn from the natural wonders around us if we’d only open our eyes. Some of the connections the author made seemed a tad bit far-fetched, but it was something easily overlooked, and I found most to be beautifully woven.
“I know I will search for fireflies all the rest of my days, even though they dwindle a little bit more each year. I can’t help it. They blink on and off, a lime glow to the summer night air, as if to say: I am still here, you are still here, I am still here, you are still here, I am, you are, over and over again. Perhaps I can will it to be true. Perhaps I can keep those summer nights with my family inside an empty jam jar, with holes poked in the lid, a twig and a few strands of grass tucked inside. And for those unimaginable nights in the future, when I know I’ll miss my mother the most, I will let that jar’s sweet glow serve as a night-light to cool and cut the air for me."Some favorites include “Firefly,” “Peacock,” “Cactus Wren,” “Corpse Flower,” and “Axolotl.” There was something I enjoyed about nearly every essay. After sharing portions of the book with my older children, it opened up discussion about the importance of encouragement and other thoughts on gratitude, appreciation, and even mindfulness. We all enjoyed the gorgeous and whimsical illustrations by Fumi Nakamura which complement the essays perfectly.
Nature lovers will enjoy this one. It’s definitely memorable for me, and I’m thankful to have it on my shelf.
5*****
Rating: really liked it
UPDATE: $1.99 kindle US today 4/11/224.5 Stars ⭐️
I loved the majority of this book.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Rating: really liked it
From its gorgeous cover, to the wonderful excerpts within, this book was a delight. What a unique way to tell parts of one's life while enlightening the reader to so many unique parts of nature. The dancing frog, I can just imagine this tiny frog dancing on a rock to attract a mate, to the hardy cactus wren, the largest wren at seven inches. Cara cara oranges, with pink insides, the giving of citrus a token of love. Glass jangling bracelets and the cute axolotl. The magic of fireflies and butterflies. The stinky, unusual corpse flower. Nature in all it's glory and uniqueness.
Each tied to a part of the authors life, memories entwined with nature and the things she sees, admires. Her family moved alot, starting over as a child she read much, noticed much. Nature became her friend, a constant, in all parts of our country and other countries as well. Short chapters each illuminating a particular subject with ties to herself. I loved when she said that she learned to be still by watching birds. To find the tranquility and tenderness in your quietness.
This last year of Covid seclusion, my trips to my river have provided me with a keen sense of just how much nature can give back. We really need to notice, take care of and cherish it more than we do.
Rating: really liked it
This is truly an 11 out of 10. With the world spinning in the wrong direction, the time had been doing me and I had not been able to do the time. Then this book, which I’ve been anxiously awaiting for MONTHS, smacked me in the face. It wasn’t what I expected, starting with it’s small format, and was so much more than I expected (I’ll confess I got a recent sneak peek when she was interviewed by the eloquent Kiese Laymon). His quote... “this book is about to shake the Earth.”
It shook the ground under my feet. I’m headed OUTDOORS to sit under what I didn’t know was a Catalpa tree and dream of having half her childhood recall, half her way with words (!), half her love of the ordinary, and half her style.
I’ll also dream of one day spending more time in Oxford, MS and of having a chance to buy her and her husband a sazerac. We will drink it outside, under the stars for sure.
Rating: really liked it
I downloaded this from Hoopla and read a couple of short essays every morning. Gorgeous writing about the natural world of insects, fish and birds, combined with vignettes from her personal life. It was a great way to start the day.
Rating: really liked it
This is the kind of gentle and lyrical ecotone I've always wished I could write, and am thrilled for everyone on planet Earth to read. Through ancestry, travel, academic study, and her childhood, motherhood, and career experiences as a woman of color, Nezhukumatathil illuminates a brief yet moving display of life through nature.
The essays on fireflies and the Southern Cassowary were my personal favorites, but each animal and anecdote left me with a new creature factoid; a deep nostalgia for my own outdoor upbringing; an urge to observe and protect the natural world. Without a doubt, I will be returning to this collection again and again, for the humor and hope elicited by Nezhukumatathil's words, as well as Fumi Nakamura's original art (which adds an extra, gripping detail to the collection that I want to have printed on my walls)!
Rating: really liked it
I feel awful for giving this collection one-star, but I just couldn’t finish it. I’m sure Nezhukumatathil is a great poet and I wouldn’t object to trying out her poetry, but this wasn’t it. The binding and design of the book itself is gorgeous, but sadly its contents don’t even come close to its physical beauty.
These essays were flat and generic. Essay after essay felt like a half-hearted first draft. The first few essays were quaint and lovely to read, but after the first few I started to wonder when they would go deeper and read more than a personalized encyclopedia entry. The writing didn’t stand out to me, and at times it felt clunky and awkward if anything. I found the language in the essay “touch-me-nots” (and others) a little cringe: “Well, I still coo over its delightful pinnation, the double leaf pattern feathering outward then inward from both sides of a single stem, and its spherical lavender-pink flowers, which bloom only in summer, and look as jf someone crossed a My Little Pony doll with a tiny firework” (25). The essay ends: “How I wish I could fold inward and shut down and shake off predators with one touch. What a skill, what a thrill that could be: touch me not on the dance floor, don’t you see my wedding ring?...” (26-27) and delves into a “touch me not” tirade, but it feels cheap, a little cliche. It feels so formulaic: touch-me-nots —> I don’t want to be touched! —> let’s write that! —> that’s an essay? What more could be done with this??
Many of the essays are only a few pages long and they oftentimes try to do more work than they can pull off in that space. For example, the essay on comb jellies contrasts their fragility to the author’s childhood glass bangles. This imagery and connection is established and then the essay suddenly ends. Every essay does this, and after several it left me really wanting for more detail, more explanation.
I liked the idea of this book. I did enjoy some of the mini essays, like Catalpa Tree— I live in Kansas, surrounded by catalpas and it was a little treat to read about someone else’s life in Kansas. I learned quite a few tidbits along the way and discovered new creatures.
Ultimately though, I think this book needed a lot more work done before it was released. It’s a fantastic concept, but feels unfinished.
Rating: really liked it
The author’s love of the natural world is apparent in this collection of short essays. Unfortunately, her attempt to connect her understanding of the natural world with events in her life often seemed like she was really reaching.
Rating: really liked it
I was absolutely blown away by World of Wonders. Because it is a collection of essays, I did not expect to become so emotionally involved with Aimee's story... silly, now that I think of it: Length does not always measure emotional capacity.
This book dives deep into Aimee's observations of various plants and animals and the lessons we can learn from them. It's an exploration of Aimee's childhood growing up with a Filipiina mother and an Indian father. Described as a warm, lyrical book of sustenance and joy, World of Wonders is a celebration of LIFE and the world's many gifts.
Rating: really liked it
'The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.' Rabindranath Tagore
I enjoyed a virtual author event with Aimee Nezhukumatahil on March 11, 2021, presented by St Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN. Afterwards I was so excited to read and savor her beautiful essays.
One can enjoy this collection of essays on so many different levels. First for the author's lovely and poetic writing. Then for her love of nature and the environment. In each essay she describes one particular creature and how it relates to her life's experiences. The saddest of these all is the last one in which she revisits her favorite fireflies. During a recent visit to an elementary school during National Poetry Month, she was dismayed to discover that 17 out of 22 students had never seen a firefly and thought she was making them up. She had to bring up a video online to show them proof that they exist! A little questioning revealed these kids were normally inside during those moments close to dusk in May when fireflies might be seen--perhaps on their devices instead of playing outdoors. How sad! How can we foster a love for the environment if no one is spending time in it and exploring the wonders of nature?
Another of the themes of her writing is her experience of being a brown girl in a white world. Her mother is Filipino and her father, Indian, both professionals who moved their family around the US fairly frequently. There are so many wounds we receive as children and being 'different' in any way is often the cause.
When I heard Aimee speak at St Mary's College, some of her advice was directed to writing students, such as: choose a topic and begin, then bring in personal stories that relate. Maybe that takes you in a different direction for a while but be sure to come back and tie it all together. That is very much what she has done in these essays.
On a final note, I should mention the lovely cover art and illustrations that accompany these essays. This book would make a wonderful gift for Mother's day or many other occasions.
Rating: really liked it
There’s a nice selection of subjects here, but I really couldn’t get one with this style of writing - almost painful.
Rating: really liked it
I don't usually write negative reviews but this book really just pushed me.
Two thirds in, I decided to stop because the writing style is very grating. I usually love when writers lean onto nature to describe themselves, but here the comparisons that are drawn lack subtlety. Each chapter, a living creature or natural phenomenon is described, and then the author quickly draws a line to their own experiences/feelings etc. Instead of having something that weaves nature and self, it sounds almost forced. The collection reads as rushed and barely researched.
Also, the author's class privilege is very obvious and only mentioned in passing and never acknowledged, which for a collection of personal essays/a memoir of sorts is an added annoyance. This collection failed to reach the goal it set (creating and navigating wonder), instead sounding trite and superficial.
Rating: really liked it
I needed this collection right now. What the author calls "love songs to the planet," with her two young sons in mind, are a beautiful collection of personal essays linking memories of her own life with observations and wonder about the natural world. She has the eye and cadence from her experience as a poet, as well as the joy of being the mother of two curious young sons, and her meditations on the natural world and our society are just a delight to read. This collection could have been three times the length and I would be here for it. How I wish I had been able to take a writing class with her when I was younger. Her University of Mississippi students have a treasure in the classroom.
