![The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating - Elisabeth Tova Bailey](https://www.booktopia.com.au/covers/big/9781921758126/0000/the-sound-of-a-wild-snail-eating.jpg)
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
Paperback | 31 January 2011 | Edition Number 1
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Paperback
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Booktopia Comments
Winner, National Outdoor Book Awards, 2010 (US)
Winner, John Burroughs Medal Award, 2011 (US)
Product Description
While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of the interconnections between species and her own human place in the natural world.
Intrigued by the snail's molluscan anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making, hydraulic locomotion, and mysterious courtship activities, Bailey becomes an astute and amused observer, providing a candid and engaging look into the curious life of this overlooked and underappreciated small animal.
Told with wit and grace, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a remarkable journey of survival and resilience, showing us how a small part of the natural world illuminates our own human existence.
A woman with a mysterious disease is slowed to a snail’s pace. Who would ever guess that the reward for pausing to look at a mollusc could be so profound? Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s book makes us see the natural world afresh.
— Tim Flannery
This is an entrancing record of spiral love, one which grows from the delicate devotion the author feels for a snail-companion, out into the widest whorls of biophilia
— Jay Griffiths
This remarkable meditation on coming to terms with one’s own frailties through understanding the frailties of another species will surely renew our sense of wonder with the world. It is a triumph.
— Sydney Morning Herald
About the Author
Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s essays and short stories have been published in The Missouri Review, Northwest Review, and the Sycamore Review. She has received several Pushcart Prize nominations and a Notable Essay Listing in Best American Essays. She lives in Maine.
Industry Reviews
'A woman with a mysterious disease is slowed to a snail's pace. Who would ever guess that the reward for pausing to look at a mollusc could be so profound? Elisabeth Tova Bailey's book makes us see the natural world afresh. A fantastic investigation into both snails and the human condition.' -- Tim Flannery
'This is an entrancing record of spiral love, one which grows from the delicate devotion the author feels for a snail-companion, out into the widest whorls of biophilia.' -- Jay Griffiths
'This remarkable meditation on coming to terms with one's own frailties through understanding the frailties of another species will surely renew our sense of wonder with the world. It is a triumph.' * Sydney Morning Herald *
'To carry off a book like this-featuring Bailey's observations of a snail living in a bedside pot plant-you have to be either a very good writer or a really interesting person. Thankfully, this New England writer bedridden with a mysterious illness is both. Her book is, in turn, comforting, a delightful piece of time out and a meditation away from a sometimes tumultuous and anxiety-inducing world.' * Listener's best books of 2011 *
ISBN: 9781921758126
ISBN-10: 1921758120
Published: 31st January 2011
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 208
Audience: General Adult
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Country of Publication: AU
Edition Number: 1
Dimensions (cm): 1.6 x 12.9 x 19.7
Weight (kg): 0.16
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You Can Find This Book In
This product is categorised by
- Non-FictionBiographies & True Stories Biographies
- Non-FictionBiographies & True Stories Memoirs
- Non-FictionNature & The Natural World
- Non-FictionScienceBiology, Life SciencesZoology & Animal SciencesAnimal Behaviour
- Non-FictionFamily & HealthCoping with / Advice about Personal, Social & Health TopicsCoping with / Advice about Illness & Specific Health Conditions