Fish Do Not Exist
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Summary
But the more hidden blueprints of life he uncovered, the more the universe seemed determined to stop him.
His specimen collection was destroyed by lightning, by fire, and finally by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake—which sent nearly a thousand fragile glass jars of fish specimens crashing to the floor.
In an instant, his life's collection was wiped out.
Others might have given up, surrendered to despair.
But Jordan examined the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish he could identify, and began confidently rebuilding his collection—sewing labels onto the fish with a sewing needle.
As the world fell into chaos, he used a needle to rebuild order.
When journalist Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote, she took it as a cautionary tale of arrogance or denial. But as her own life slowly fell apart, she grew curious about David. Her excavation of his life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet.
Why Fish Don't Exist is a wondrous blend of biography, memoir, and scientific adventure—and a heartening fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos always reigns.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in the history of science and biography
- Those who enjoy nonfiction that weaves personal narrative with philosophical inquiry
- Readers pondering questions of life's meaning, trauma, and rebuilding
- Readers who appreciate distinctive, richly literary storytelling
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking a traditional linear biography or purely popular science
- Readers hoping for clear conclusions or practical advice
Reading tips
- You can temporarily let go of attachment to 'facts,' follow the flow of the author's thoughts, and feel the tension of the narrative itself.
- While reading, consider what role 'classification' plays in your own life.
- After finishing the epilogue, pause for a moment to savor how the book draws grand themes into personal reflection.
About the publisher
Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序曲
- 第一章 一头扎进星空的男孩
- 第二章 小岛上的预言家
- 第三章 无神论间奏
- 第四章 徒劳无功
- 第五章 罐子里的《创世记》
- 第六章 打碎
- 第七章 不可摧毁之物
- 第八章 论自欺
- 第九章 世上最苦的东西
- 第十章 名副其实的恐怖陈列室
- 第十一章 梯子
- 第十二章 蒲公英
- 第十三章 有如神助
- 尾声
- 插图说明
- 更改说明
- 致谢
- 可供讨论的话题与问题
- 通往超越类别的世界的藏宝图
FAQ
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About the author
Lulu Miller is an author about whom limited public information is available; her nationality, dates of birth and death, and original English name have not been clearly recorded. One work by her is held in the collection, Fish Do Not Exist, classified under foreign literature. Judging from the available bibliographic information, the book takes fish as its point of entry and unfolds with clear literary characteristics, falling somewhere between nature writing and personal essay. Because reliable records of the author's life and creative background are lacking, this note makes no speculation about her education, professional experience, or writing trajectory. The work itself draws readers' attention to the relationship between humans and the natural world and presents related knowledge in an accessible way. For readers wishing to understand this author, Fish Do Not Exist is currently the main entry point into her writing, and further information remains to be supplied by public sources.
Public information about Chen Xiaoyu is very limited. At present, he is known only as the author of four works spanning four fields: foreign literature, medicine, applied psychology and programming design. Such a wide range is unusual among authors and makes it difficult to place him in any fixed category of writing. In medicine, he has written a professional book on the clinical pathological diagnosis and differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases, with an emphasis on diagnostic practice. In programming, he has produced a technical book on Prometheus that runs from principles and applications to source code and extensions, showing attention to technical detail. He has also written on applied psychology and taken part in the writing or translation of foreign literature. On the whole, Chen Xiaoyu appears to be a cross-disciplinary practitioner whose books address different readerships and whose style varies with the subject; no unified personal profile can yet be drawn from them.
