World of Wonders

In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments

hardcover, 184 pages

Published Sept. 8, 2020 by Milkweed Editions.

ISBN:: 978-1-57131-365-2
OCLC Number:: 1139145954

(5 reviews)

A collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us.

As a child, Nezhukumatathil called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted – no matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape – she was able to turn to our world's fierce and funny creatures for guidance.

A collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us.

“What the peacock can do,” she tells us, “is remind you of a home you will run away from and run back to all your life.” The axolotl teaches us to smile, even in the face of unkindness; the touch-me-not plant shows us how to shake off unwanted advances; the narwhal demonstrates how to survive in hostile environments. Even in the strange and the unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds beauty and kinship. For it is this way with wonder: it requires that we are curious enough to look past the distractions in order to fully appreciate the world's gifts.

8 editions

Eduardo Santiago reviewed World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Review of 'World of Wonders' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Lovely, and entirely unlike anything I’ve read before. Part memoir, part bestiary. Prose, with poetic undertones and charming artwork. Scientific objectivity plus deeply personal reflections, thoroughly infused with wonder. Stir well; let simmer after reading.

Also, TBH, a bit of a stretch at times. Each short chapter is titled after an animal, or plant, or fruit, or a few wild cards ("Monsoon"). Nezhukumatathil riffs on each: she describes them with loving details, draws upon her own experiences with them, ... and then draws a parallel with other parts of her life. These parallels are typically insightful, but occasionally tenuous: I found myself loving the nature info, loving her personal stories, but going ohhhhh....kay..... at some of the connections. Funny thing, though, they ended up being memorable: I remember the touch-me-not and canyon wren and peacock and newt and cassowary, and remember her associations, and reflect back on the personal aspects, …

outofrange reviewed World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Review of 'World of Wonders' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Framing a memoir as a series of metaphorical relations to various living organisms is an unusual approach. My interest in the natural world probably made me extra receptive to it. I learned good things about the included species, but would have been receptive to more of her personal experiences as a child of immigrants in the US.