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55th out of 249 books
—
144 voters
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating
In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her uncommon encounter with a "Neohelix albolabris" a common woodland snail.
While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sen...more
While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sen...more
Hardcover, 190 pages
Published
August 24th 2010
by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
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This is a book about a creature that I find icky, ugly, weird and (literally) slimey. Still, I have rarely been as fascinated or entertained as I was when reading this wonderful account of a year spent observing a wild snail.
Elizabeth Tova Bailey was transformed, almost overnight, from a healthy, active person to one that lived her life in bed. Her affliction was a mysterious illness that made her weak to the point of near-paralysis. It was impossible to sit up or read and even listening to mus...more
Elizabeth Tova Bailey was transformed, almost overnight, from a healthy, active person to one that lived her life in bed. Her affliction was a mysterious illness that made her weak to the point of near-paralysis. It was impossible to sit up or read and even listening to mus...more
Elisabeth Tova Bailey was 34 when she was struck with a mysterious, flu-like illness while traveling in Switzerland. Upon her return home, the flu symptoms subsided, but her health did not return. She found herself so weak and dizzy she was barely able to sit up, let alone stand or care for herself, and her doctors had no idea why.
Bailey's life changed radically at that point, shrinking to a single room almost entirely cut off from the outside world. On impulse, a friend brought her a pot of wil...more
Bailey's life changed radically at that point, shrinking to a single room almost entirely cut off from the outside world. On impulse, a friend brought her a pot of wil...more
16 likes · like · see review
A great book for someone who is chronically ill or wants a unique perspective on what it's like. I really identified with the main character in this book. As someone who is frequently stuck in bed with a chronic illness, I found a lot of not only similar sentiments in the narrator but also inspiring thoughts.
I never thought that I would enjoy a book about snails so much, and, to be perfectly honest, I think I took one star off because I got bored with the snail topic after awhile.
I never thought that I would enjoy a book about snails so much, and, to be perfectly honest, I think I took one star off because I got bored with the snail topic after awhile.
I accidentally read this. Downloaded a sample to my Kindle> liked it> bought the book to read later but just wanted to read a few more pages> read it all.
This is a quiet, intimate book about a woman and her land snail. The youthful author contracts some unknown and completely debilitating virus while vacationing abroad. This virus changes her body permanently. One day she is brimming with joyeux de vivre and the next day she is bedridden, betrayed by her body and literally without the a...more
This is a quiet, intimate book about a woman and her land snail. The youthful author contracts some unknown and completely debilitating virus while vacationing abroad. This virus changes her body permanently. One day she is brimming with joyeux de vivre and the next day she is bedridden, betrayed by her body and literally without the a...more
6 likes · like · see review
Is it a memoir or a beautiful piece of nature writing? It is both, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about a Neohelix albolabris, the common woodland snail, and encourage you to pick this book up and escape into a world you may never have known to exist...
Elisabeth Tova Bailey found herself suffering from a debilitating unknown illness that left her with severe neurological symptoms and virtually bedridden all the time. As her illness progressed, and as she had to move out of her farmhouse and to...more
Elisabeth Tova Bailey found herself suffering from a debilitating unknown illness that left her with severe neurological symptoms and virtually bedridden all the time. As her illness progressed, and as she had to move out of her farmhouse and to...more
I have often stated that I need to get my larnin’ in disguise; I need to be tricked into it.
Because of this, I have a fondness for biology books like Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body and The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, which do not read like textbooks; in which the author does not talk condescendingly and chapters read like an intriguing story book, with pictures.
I’m pretty sure that author:Elisabeth Tova Bailey never intended to be...more
Because of this, I have a fondness for biology books like Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body and The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, which do not read like textbooks; in which the author does not talk condescendingly and chapters read like an intriguing story book, with pictures.
I’m pretty sure that author:Elisabeth Tova Bailey never intended to be...more
This is such an interesting and original book. It is also very informative about snails!
I've never given much thought to snails before, they're just sort of 'there'. But this book has made me view them in a whole new light.
The second half of the book becomes more factual, providing lots of snail information. But the first half of the book is quite moving at times, offering a different perspective on life - especially if you've never suffered any serious illness.
"Illness isolates; the isolated become invisible; the invisible become forgotten. But the snail....the snail kept my spirit from evaporating."
Having an isolating and debilitating illness myself this book struck a very personal chord. The author Bailey contracts what is later revealed to be tick-borne encephalitis and CFS and while she is bedridden she becomes fascinated with her "pet" snail. The majority of the book is made up of snail facts, from their anatomy to behaviors and everything in bet...more
Having an isolating and debilitating illness myself this book struck a very personal chord. The author Bailey contracts what is later revealed to be tick-borne encephalitis and CFS and while she is bedridden she becomes fascinated with her "pet" snail. The majority of the book is made up of snail facts, from their anatomy to behaviors and everything in bet...more
The author of this fascinating little book was ill and confined to bed for many years. During that time a friend brought her some wild violets in a pot – together with a small snail. Watching the antics of the snail gave the author a new interest in life and at times it seemed like the only thing which was giving her a reason to carry on living.
The book is part memoir and part the natural history of snails. There are interesting quotes about snails from literature and from natural history writer...more
The book is part memoir and part the natural history of snails. There are interesting quotes about snails from literature and from natural history writer...more
It was the cover and title that first arrested my amble through the shelves of my local library “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating”. A the drawing of a common woodland snail trailing across the word ‘wild’ and peering with interest towards the word ‘eating’ immediately below. Am I a closet gastropodaphilic? No. It just grabbed me, the way some books are wont to do and I added it to my pile of possible reads and went on my way.
I read the book in one sitting – thoroughly enchanted from page one unt...more
I read the book in one sitting – thoroughly enchanted from page one unt...more
This is a lovely little book and one that documents how fascinating the lives of even the smallest creatures can be, and soothing too. The author has a debilitating illness that keeps her bedridden for a long period of time. During this time, she acquires a small snail and gives it a home in a terrarium at her bedside. Every day she closely observes the snail as it goes about its life eating and drinking and lounging and exploring and finally, reproducing. It loves to eat the slices of portobell...more
I loved this book that I picked up on a whim due to the intriguing title. I was immediately swept into the bedroom of the author who had been felled by an oddball neuromuscular disease and whose world now allowed for such minutiae as actually hearing the sound of the snail at night munching on a piece of paper. Check out a recording here: http://www.elisabethtovabailey.net/
Excerpt from Chapter 2: Discovery
"Each evening the snail awoke and with astonishing poise moved gracefully to the rim of the...more
Excerpt from Chapter 2: Discovery
"Each evening the snail awoke and with astonishing poise moved gracefully to the rim of the...more
This was a fascinating tale about the study of snails. The chapters are short, concise, and informative. There is also a human element. Most reviewers refer to it was an emotional bond between a sick author and a pet snail; but the human element is even more basic, just care and concern for the subject, something frequently lacking in studies. Each chapter provides delightful new insights into snails. I especially like the part that snails have over 2,000 teeth. Although the bit about 1/3 of all...more
A quiet meditation on a snail by Bailey as she suffered through convalescence from a debilitating illness.
Her close observations are fascinating as is the information she interweaves about snails:
"the snail's two independent tentacle-noses give it a kind of stereoscopic sense of smell. I imagined a small crowd of humans with smell receptors completely covering their arms, walking down the main street of a town. As they passed coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants, their arms would wave wildly...more
Her close observations are fascinating as is the information she interweaves about snails:
"the snail's two independent tentacle-noses give it a kind of stereoscopic sense of smell. I imagined a small crowd of humans with smell receptors completely covering their arms, walking down the main street of a town. As they passed coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants, their arms would wave wildly...more
This was a lovely little book. Incredibly fascinating, I kept reading portions aloud to my husband, sharing the amazingness of snails. While the author is pretty much bedridden due to an autoimmune disease that at the time was mysterious to her doctors and completely debilitating to her, a friend brings her a woodland snail. It is placed in a terrarium and thus begins the authors close observation of the snail and it's offspring. Some of her observations were the first of their kind. After all w...more
This was a surprisingly inspiring and sweet book. It's the author's story of her experience with a terrible, debilitating illness and the pet snail she kept for a year. Well, it's partly her story...there is an awful lot in here about snails! Interesting facts about snails, poetry about snails, quotes about snails from famous people in history--and it's all charming (even though I have never considered myself to be remotely interested in snails). It's a very quick read and also, since there is n...more
I surprisingly totally loved this book and learned a ton. Bailey comes down with a terrible mitochondria, autoimmune virus on a trip to Europe that changes her life for the next 2 decades. She is rendered to her bed with not even the ability to walk around her house due to lack of energy and the incredible exertion the smallest tasks required. A friend brings her some potted violets from the garden, along with a small snail.
Over the next months, the snail is the thing that pulls her through her...more
Over the next months, the snail is the thing that pulls her through her...more
Perhaps one of the best outcomes of getting my kindle is that I have branched out in my reading choices. Typically, I stick within the genres of murder mystery or thriller/suspense. If I go to a bookstore, I make a beeline for those sections, and barely glance at any others. However, since getting this device (thanks, Honey!), I have perused the Amazon daily deals religiously each morning, and bought several titles that are well outside the norm for me.
As a result, this book. Quaint, informative...more
As a result, this book. Quaint, informative...more
EDITORIAL REVIEW: In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her uncommon encounter with a *Neohelix albolabris* —a common woodland snail. While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater under standing of her own confine...more
don't know what I was expecting when I decided to read The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. It sounded interesting and I thought it might a good read. I was wrong. It wasn't just good, it was wonderful.
I judge a book by how much I want to tell someone about it. Almost immediately after reading the first few chapters I tried to tell my husband about it. I admit that me trying to tell someone how good it is, does not at all capture how really truly delightful it is.
After a trip abroad, Elisabeth B...more
I judge a book by how much I want to tell someone about it. Almost immediately after reading the first few chapters I tried to tell my husband about it. I admit that me trying to tell someone how good it is, does not at all capture how really truly delightful it is.
After a trip abroad, Elisabeth B...more
I wanted to read this because Gianna Jessen praised it when I heard her speak. Given the other books on her faves list I thought this would be a good bet (and you've got to love the title). It's a great premise (a disabled woman finds great delight in the life of a snail she has in a terrarium), but like another reviewer said the execution is lacking. I liked the writing style, and the snail trivia is interesting, but the link to her situation and the conclusions she was reaching about her life...more
Having a favorite animal is very childish, isn't it? When I was a kid I was nicknamed Turtle because of how slow I ran. My dad, who coached me in softball, used to say that I was the only one who could hit it over the fence and still get a triple. I owned that nickname and learned to draw both realistic and cartoon turtles and often received turtle items as gifts. Even my senior year in high school, my first boyfriend made me a metal cast turtle that I still have.
There are kids in my second gra...more
There are kids in my second gra...more
It's easy to mistake the common land snail as an isolated introvert who shrinks back into its shell at the slightest whiff of danger from the outside. However, Bailey's reflective prose champions the evolutionary history, unique biology and mere earthly presence of this deceptively simple mollusk.
Using her own struggle against a viral illness she contracted years ago, Bailey brings into stark relief the complexity of this animal's physical attributes and habits by acquiring such a snail from a...more
Using her own struggle against a viral illness she contracted years ago, Bailey brings into stark relief the complexity of this animal's physical attributes and habits by acquiring such a snail from a...more
The writing and the premise of this book were great but the execution left a lot to be desired. I sympathized with the author’s horrible debilitating condition and felt the book offered a lot of insight about disability. However, the snail facts felt choppy and disconnected and I wish they had been incorporated into the narrative a bit better. The constant personification of the snail made me feel like the author kind of didn’t understand the animal very well. For instance, constantly feeling ba...more
Aug 11, 2011
Aleeda
added it
Every once in a while you find a small book that makes an enormous impact on you as a reader. Elisabeth Tova Bailey's The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is such a book. The book recounts the author's interaction with said snail over a year. She adds to it research which she continued, deftly weaving her life story with that of the snail. While I am on that subject, I cannot with a clear conscience order escargot again; Ms. Bailey has made me aware of their awesome brillance. The snail, brought to...more
I'm just enthralled, and suggest everyone go to www.elisabethtovabailey.net to learn more about the author and this slim volume of pure inspiration. Thanks to Heather Sturm for bringing this to the attention of our book club--I plan to buy my own copy very soon.
This observation states my views most clearly:
"Like Seabiscuit's Laura Hillenbrand, this author is at the house-bound, often bed-bound extreme of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (brain stem inflammation), a condition similar to Lyme mockingly l...more
This observation states my views most clearly:
"Like Seabiscuit's Laura Hillenbrand, this author is at the house-bound, often bed-bound extreme of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (brain stem inflammation), a condition similar to Lyme mockingly l...more
Elisabeth Bailey, bedridden for years with a debilitating disease, becomes enamored of a snail her friend brings to her on a whim. Bailey’s forced immobility allows her an intense observation of and intimate connection with this whimsical creature who lives Zen-like by her side in her deepest isolation.
The best parts of the book describe her bemused discoveries of the snail’s minute adventures and how watching its graceful activities keep her “spirit from evaporating”. I laughed out loud when s...more
The best parts of the book describe her bemused discoveries of the snail’s minute adventures and how watching its graceful activities keep her “spirit from evaporating”. I laughed out loud when s...more
The most soothing book I’ve ever read. It moves at a snail’s pace. Small in size, lyrical in language, precise in observation, delicate in articulation.
The author, Elizabeth Tova Bailey, is bedridden due to a mysterious auto-immune disease. A friend bringers her a flowerpot containing a wild violet from the nearby woods, and along with the plant, a snail. Bailey watches the snail and becomes fascinated by its journeys. Up and down the pot to sip the water that collects in the saucer. She figures...more
The author, Elizabeth Tova Bailey, is bedridden due to a mysterious auto-immune disease. A friend bringers her a flowerpot containing a wild violet from the nearby woods, and along with the plant, a snail. Bailey watches the snail and becomes fascinated by its journeys. Up and down the pot to sip the water that collects in the saucer. She figures...more
SOUND OF A WILD SNAIL EATING is a book that I believe strikes a chord with all of us who have been called on to endure some kind of long-term trial or difficulty.
Having been significantly disabled by lengthy times of illness, Elisabeth Tova Bailey has a special insight which she expresses with real wit and intelligence. The wild snail brought into her sick room becomes a vehicle for Tova Bailey to analyze, cope with, and rise above her difficult circumstances. Through detailed descriptions of s...more
Having been significantly disabled by lengthy times of illness, Elisabeth Tova Bailey has a special insight which she expresses with real wit and intelligence. The wild snail brought into her sick room becomes a vehicle for Tova Bailey to analyze, cope with, and rise above her difficult circumstances. Through detailed descriptions of s...more
Short and sweet! This book was so touching, there are so many wonders in this world- if only we would take a moment to slow down and truly see them. Through the eyes of Elizabeth Tova Bailey, we get an glimpse into the world of a snail and how that snail provided her with much needed companionship during her isolating illness.
I liked how she noted that in 70 years the snail could produce seventy generations, compared to the three generations a human might produce. "Although the snail moves more...more
I liked how she noted that in 70 years the snail could produce seventy generations, compared to the three generations a human might produce. "Although the snail moves more...more
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Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s essays and short stories have been published in The Missouri Review, Northwest Review, and the Sycamore Review. She has received several Pushcart Prize nominations and a Notable Essay Listing in Best American Essays. She lives in Maine.
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“Illness isolates; the isolated become invisible; the invisible become forgotten. But the snail....the snail kept my spirit from evaporating.”
—
10 people liked it
“The life of a snail is as full of tasty food, comfortable beds of sorts, and a mix of pleasant and not-so-pleasant adventures as that of anyone I know”
—
8 people liked it
More quotes…
I have two pet snails!!
It's not that I bought them for this reason, I found them 6 years ago inside a lettuce and I did...more
Jun 06, 2012 01:37am
I have two pet snails!!
It's not that I bought them for this reason, I found them 6 years ago inside a...more
Jun 06, 2012 07:57am