Earthly Bodies: Embracing Animal Nature

In this contrived blend of nature writing and memoir, herbalist Chakour (Awakening Artemis) strains to highlight the similarities between animals and humans by discussing how the behavior of cheetahs, octopuses, spiders, and other creatures dovetails with anecdotes from her life. Noting that seagulls use “choking displays as part of (often) contentious discussions over where to nest,” Chakour recounts breaking up with her partner because he wanted to continue living in Brooklyn while she wanted to put down roots somewhere more rural after quarantining in the Scottish Highlands during the Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the connections between the animal trivia and the autobiographical material are often superficial. For instance, facts about bumblebees’ eating habits do little to illuminate Chakour’s account of going on Bumble dates after moving to western Massachusetts in 2021. The zoological sections mostly consist of well-known facts, as when Chakour describes how male seahorses carry their partner’s eggs while discussing how she fell in love with her current partner (the author’s assertion that love changes how the hippocampus, “a seahorse-shaped structure in the brain,” processes memories serves as the tenuous connective tissue). There’s too little science to satisfy nature readers, yet there’s enough to distract from the account of how Chakour rebooted her life after the pandemic. This never quite gels. Agent: Terra Chalberg, Chalberg & Sussman. (Sept.)