Overall, this book was a really solid example of nature writing. It’s a relatively short book but it feels like it’s just the right length, it’s competently written, and enjoyable to read. Svensson certainly chose a good topic for a nature book - it turns out, eels are fascinating! I know, it’s news to me too. I had no interest or knowledge about eeks going into this, but The Gospel of the Eels drew me in and kept me engaged throughout.
Like a lot of nature books recently, Svensson combines two main threads: his memories of childhood experiences eel-fishing with his father in Sweden, and an account of the biology of eels and the history of research into them (especially into the famous mystery of their reproduction). I’ve seen this combination of the scientific and the personal done in plenty of other nature books, but this is definitely one of the most well-executed examples. In particular, I found the father/son dynamics quite sweet and I enjoyed learning about the cultural impacts of eels (e.g. the fact Freud studied them in an attempt to find their reproductive organs)

Very beautiful, mindful work. Not for anyone wanting a gripping read - this one winds slowly, like the rivers the titular eels occupy at the beginnings and ends of their lives. Fascinating from page to page.

Part-memoir, part-scientific exploration, The Gospel of the Eels by Patrick Svensson explores the subject of the eel as it appears in science, art, literature and his family. It took me months to read this book - though I was excited by the premise.

I doubt I'll ever again find a book so thoroughly engaged with the eel. They're somewhat creepy and slimy, and as a vegetarian I have no intention of eating one either. I am not, in short, a fan of eels. Svensson has somehow managed to push me closer. The mystery of eels - or the European eel more specifically- is fascinating. You will soon learn on reading this book that very little is known about the life cycle of the eel despite countless attempts to unveil its secrets. Svensson effectively argues for his penultimate theme of preservation in chronicling the wonder and mystery of the eel, which unfortunately suffers from climate and overfishing.

This book was beautifully and uniquely written, but unfortunately bored me at times. Each chapter generally discussed a different theme or moment in the history of eels or Svensson's interaction with them. Some of these subjects, such as Freud's time experimenting on eels or the eel in literature, were fascinating. Others, however, were a bit of a slog to get through. It is important to note here that this was a translated work for me, which certainly could have affected the excitability of certain passages, but I nevertheless found myself longing for an audiobook to get me through the denser parts of the book.

Remarkably little is known about the European eel, Anguilla Anguilla. So little, in fact, that scientists and philosophers have, for centuries, been obsessed with what has become known as the "eel question" Where do eels come from? What are they? Are they fish or some other kind of creature altogether? Even today, in an age of advanced science, no one has ever seen eels mating or giving birth, and we still don't understand what drives them, after living for decades in freshwater, to swim great distances back to the ocean at the end of their lives. They remain a mystery.

Drawing on a breadth of research about eels in literature, history, and modern marine biology, as well as his own experience fishing for eels with his father, Patrik Svensson crafts a mesmerizing portrait of an unusual, utterly misunderstood, and completely captivating animal. In The Book of Eels, we meet renowned historical thinkers, from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud to Rachel Carson, for whom the eel was a singular obsession. And we meet the scientists who spearheaded the search for the eel's point of origin, including Danish marine biologist Johannes Schmidt, who led research efforts in the early twentieth century, catching thousands upon thousands of eels, in the hopes of proving their birthing grounds in the Sargasso Sea.

This is a quirky part memoir, part natural history and part meditation on the human condition, and although you may be asking why you need a whole book dedicated to the elusive eel, well, it is a book that asks what it means to live in an uncertain world full of questions that cannot seemingly be answered and not exclusively about the enigmatic creature. Svensson then draws parallels between the mysteries surrounding the lives of eels and those surrounding human existence with many other fascinating forays into the topic of philosophy throughout the book. Not only does it explore philosophical questions from a unique perspective but it also looks at religion, science, marine biology, psychology and literature which are all wrapped up in the shape of a memoir about the seemingly strained relationship between Svensson and his father. A truly original and absorbing read. Many thanks to Picador for an ARC.