Review by Booklist Review
Sophie, the narrator in scholar and seasoned writer Muir's canny first novel, is descended from a long line of naturalists and scientists, including a few who can see invisible animals. Sophie is one such invisible- beast spotter, a gift she keeps secret, worried that disclosure will put invisible species at risk. But after she fails to tell her scientist sister, Evie, about the invisible bees and loses her Truth Bats--the tiny unseen beings that festoon us and create the all-important ring of truth she realizes that it is her duty as a naturalist to share her observations, especially in this time of mass extinction. Muir dexterously mixes fancy with biological fact as she conjures invisible spiders and butterflies, the pitiful Pluticorn, and the problematically impish Think Monkey. Muir's gently satiric, charming, and cautionary bestiary adeptly reminds us of all the essential creatures that are invisible to us in the oceans, everywhere on land, and in our own bodies, all the imperiled beasts that are disappearing right before our very eyes while we remain silent and confounded.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lines blur between the human and animal worlds in this richly detailed debut from Muir (The Book of Telling), which is part fantasy novel, part field guide. Imbued with a rare power to detect animals invisible to all humans except for a few of her family members, amateur naturalist Sophie takes the reader on a tour of nature as she sees it. Arranged like a bird-watching book, but with creatures that even the sharpest of naturalists couldn't identify, the book is filled with minute details about each species' origin and habits, along with keen insights on what the beasts have taught her about human nature. Some of the animals depicted, and their interactions with the human world, are humorous (particularly the Wild Rubber Jack, which, as Sophie bluntly states, is "an invisible American ass"); others provide insight into Sophie's character (she faces an existential dilemma over whether or not to reveal the Feral Parfumier Bee's existence to her biologist sister). In Sophie's struggles to find her footing in a world only she and a few others can see, Muir expertly pinpoints the frailty of the human condition. This is an amazing feat of imagination. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The conceit here is that Sophie comes from a long line of naturalists with a gift for discovering what others cannot see. She details a range of odd creatures, from the fungus-breeding Keen-Ears to Truth Bats, an invisible subspecies of vampire bat. VERDICT The various fantastical beings presented here are described in careful scientific detail with results that are weird, whimsical, and somewhat unsettling. Like very fractured Just-So Stories. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An eccentric bestiary that playfully and thoughtfully underlines the pain and loss of extinction.Muir (The Book of Telling, 2005, etc.), an academic, poet and essayist, combines fact and imagination in 20 fables narrated by an amateur naturalist named Sophie who has the ability to see invisible creatures. Without getting too didactic, each tale conveys a lesson about the beauty, fragility and complexity of living things. Humor and barbs come through in comments on politics, Wall Street and other subjects. Theres an invisible jackass that kicks people intent on making deals and money. The Spiders of Theodora offers Swiftian satire on the customs of a town like Washington, D.C. The sad The Foster Fowl touches on climate change and the role of even caring humans in hastening extinction. In "The Oormz," that cloudlikebeing drapes its faint cashmere self comfortingly over Sophies head and shoulders, helping dispel dark moods and recall memories of the first spring Id ever seen. The Golden Egg is a marvelous capsule of natural history spanning many eons. The Hypnogator, with its mesmerizing reptile, stands out as one of the few tales (The Foster Fowl is another) with the heft of a good short story, not to mention crackling suspense. Sophie sometimes consults her biologist sister, Evie, who adds to a stratum of science that runs through the fantasy like a long, faith-building footnote for the dubious reader. In stark moments, the real world sounds like this: The mass extinction of species is the only one caused by a single organism capable of seeing the big picture, understanding its own destructive role, and changing that.One doubt Muir doesnt quell is whether such a fanciful treatise has a chance of enlightening that organism, but she deserves a good-size audience to give the experiment a fair shot. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
