HOW FAR THE LIGHT REACHES

Part memoir and part study of the intricacies of the ocean, this exploration invites readers to imagine alternative ways of living.

In a book that is much more than an account of deep-sea creatures, journalist Imbler compellingly examines the parallels between the lives and priorities of people and aquatic animals. The author’s ability to locate connections across seemingly disparate topics—e.g., their experience with sexual assault and the life of a 10-foot-long worm called a sand striker—is both unique and engaging. Occasionally, Imbler’s juxtaposition of marine and human life feels forced, but the overall effect is heartening and encourages a reexamination of inherited ideas about family, community, and identity. Offering sometimes-graphic descriptions of the ways in which humankind has chemically altered or thoughtlessly killed individual creatures and entire species, Imbler does not shy away from highlighting the impact of the devastating effects of climate change on the mysterious inhabitants of the sea. Among the fascinating creatures the author profiles are octopus; cuttlefish; the Chinese sturgeon, “which resembles something from a past world, when scaled giants roamed the earth and the continents still clung together”; and yeti crabs, whose “inhospitable” environment, 7,000 feet below the surface, “is nothing to be pitied. The pressure does not crush the crab, and the darkness does not oppress it.” Woven throughout the author’s colorful depictions of underwater animals are equally vivid chronicles of the difficulties they have faced in their life, including disordered eating, sexual assault, racism, homophobia, and more. “Like a dutiful little trash compactor,” they write, “I had digested my messy heap of an identity into a manageable lesson for people who were not like me.” Imbler’s thoughtful presentation of their identity manages to be educational without being didactic, and their entertaining anecdotes about some bizarre animals and their behavior recalls Ed Yong’s An Immense World.

Elegant, thought-provoking comparisons between aspects of identity and the trials of deep-sea creatures.