World of Wonders

Subtitled “In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments,” World of Wonders is Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s beautiful and poetic paean to various animals and plants. Each essay in this collection centers on one thing, be it peacocks, touch-me-nots, axolotls, or ribbon eels. We learn a little about the animal/plant, and then Nezhukumatathil uses it as a prism to reflect on her own life. Plus, there are lovely illustrations throughout by Fumi Nakamura.

I never really read nature writing, but there was something about Worlds of Wonders that grabbed me from the start. It’s perhaps that it’s not just nature writing; it’s about growing up as an Filipina and South Indian girl, on dealing with racism, and finding oneself. Nezhukumatathil’s background as a poet is clear through each essay; you can feel her joy at these varied animals and plants, but also the thoughtfulness with which she writes to describe them. My favorite was the “Firefly” chapters that book-ended World of Wonders, reflecting on her own childhood and the childhoods of those growing up today.

I loved this quote from an interview with Aimee in NPR: “ I think so much terror, so much hate and fear towards each other and towards other cultures has been from a lack of wonder and imagination. It's staggering how much violence has resulted to the planet and each other because of that lack of imagination, or that lack of wonder. So it's a practice. It's definitely something that I work at. And I'm not ashamed to say that I work at it, but it's something that I feel like we have to do. We have to do. Because the news will just make me feel like I don't want to get out of bed and wear a gravity blanket over my head. But I feel myself exhale when I learn more about the planet, and each other.”

Amen.

Rating: ★★★★★