How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

It's a very clever idea! A mix of light science journalism talking about sea creatures interspersed with the author's memoir of their own queer life. With the sea creatures being metaphors for the queer life, so the octopus that gives its life to nurture its young is juxtaposed with the author's mother, or the color changes of the cuttlefish connected to the author's changing identity and presentation in their life. I admire the audacity of the book, the way the author goes right at it.

Sometimes it's a little too on the nose. It feels like the science parts are being bent too much to support the parallel memoir. Or the analogies are so direct it's a little hokey. Also it's a little diffuse, particularly as a memoir. There's no throughline of the author's life, just a lot of honest and often slightly painful impressions and confessions. It reads like a young person's memoir which, afterall, it is.

As always, 3 stars is fairly high praise for me in a review, it makes "I liked it". I liked this book and am glad I read it. Looking forward to more from this author. Their recent interviews with civil servants fired by the Trump administration are timely and interesting.