Reviews and Comments

Part-memoir, part-scientific exploration, The Gospel of the Eels by Patrick Svensson explores the subject of the eel as it appears in science, art, literature and his family. It took me months to read this book - though I was excited by the premise.

I doubt I'll ever again find a book so thoroughly engaged with the eel. They're somewhat creepy and slimy, and as a vegetarian I have no intention of eating one either. I am not, in short, a fan of eels. Svensson has somehow managed to push me closer. The mystery of eels - or the European eel more specifically- is fascinating. You will soon learn on reading this book that very little is known about the life cycle of the eel despite countless attempts to unveil its secrets. Svensson effectively argues for his penultimate theme of preservation in chronicling the wonder and mystery of the eel, which unfortunately suffers from climate and overfishing.

This book was beautifully and uniquely written, but unfortunately bored me at times. Each chapter generally discussed a different theme or moment in the history of eels or Svensson's interaction with them. Some of these subjects, such as Freud's time experimenting on eels or the eel in literature, were fascinating. Others, however, were a bit of a slog to get through. It is important to note here that this was a translated work for me, which certainly could have affected the excitability of certain passages, but I nevertheless found myself longing for an audiobook to get me through the denser parts of the book.

Eel conservation: www.zsl.org/conservation/regions/uk-europe/eel-conservation
Marine Conservation Society: www.mcsuk.org/30species/european-eel
Sustainable Eel Group: www.sustainableeelgroup.org/

I would like to thank Netgalley and Patrik Svensson for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I genuinely have no idea why I enjoyed this so much... the characters were bitchy, vapid and, in the case of Gossip Girl, creepy. As others have said, the characters are also more like caricatures of 16-year old rich kids than real people but I took it as a satire and enjoyed it much more from that point of view than if I had expected something else. The book also captured the vibe of the show far more than I thought it would, and despite the ridiculousness of literally everything that happens I loved it.

‘A Christmas Carol’ is cited to have been both the book that saved Christmas and Charles Dickens’ career. The proliferation of this short, but heart-wrenching novella throughout our Christmas tradition and sense of what the holiday means is undeniable. Reading this for the first time is as though I had been described the flavour, texture and smell of an orange my entire life to finally have one in my possession. I knew Ebenezer Scrooge, and I knew the lessons of this story, but they nevertheless filled my heart as I saw the transformation of that iconic character.

Undeniably, Charles Dickens remains one of the most important and popular writers of the Victorian period, and this entry is not to be missed. As my first Dickens, I knew not what to expect in style or salience. I soon discovered what millions have in the 177 years since its publication: that Dickens’ prose and characterisation is unmatched. Each line was written with poeticism, and each scene with purpose. As the story that gave us Christmas, I was woefully ignorant of just how incredibly Dickens created the feelings of warmth, family and comfort now imbued in popular conscience of the holiday. Notably, A Christmas Carol lacks both Christmas trees and Santa Clause, but the feeling of Christmas is always there. What’s more: Dickens did it all with a strong dose of the wit and absurdism to be expected from a British icon.

The Chiltern Classics edition I read from included the stunning Arthur Rackham illustrations, which successfully captured the feel and imagery of the novel. I particularly loved the attention to detail in Rackham’s representation of fashion across Scrooge’s life, with clear differences between the decades, from the late 18th century robe à l’anglaise to the regency empire-waist. The class and finances of these characters were similarly conveyed through the clothing choices of the illustrations. I adored the use of illustration in this story so much that I ended up buying a second-hand Folio Society edition which I hope to read for many years to come.



I wholeheartedly recommend giving A Christmas Carol a shot, especially if you know the story well through adaptations.

The Forgotten Slave Trade is a broad and informative look at the 'Triangular Trade' of slaves between Europe and North Africa. As noted by Webb, this is a largely ignored and forgotten part of world history as slavery is explored through the lens of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Throughout the book, it's made clear that Webb is trying to dispel the notion that slavery is a uniquely European sin and for the most part he remains respectful of the push to highlight the ills of Imperialism while criticising the selectivity of which nations are frowned upon.

How informative is it?
Webb has managed to create an informative and detailed timeline of the Barbary slave trade along with that which preceded it and followed. He also did a great job of explaining the role of religion in conflicts between Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East. The role of Islam in the Ottoman Empire and historic justifications for slavery and its practices was also well explained and the occasional links to recent conflicts was fascinating.

The scope of this book spans centuries and three continents, focusing on the roles of the Barbary corsairs, Ottoman Empire, Morocco and the response of European nations and the U.S. over time to the issues presented. I went into this book knowing virtually nothing about the Barbary slave trade other than that it happened and was surprised to learn about its prevalence and impact, especially the eventual U.S. involvement.

What didn’t I love?
•The book was at times under supported by evidence and could go for pages without citation. There were several instances where very old/questionable sources were used. At one point a Daily Mail article is used as a reference, a ‘News and Observer’ article at another. I understand that in some cases information may have been difficult to source, but I seriously doubt news articles and descriptions of culture from 1912 were the only available.
•The writing was at times repetitive and could do with editing, although it must be noted that I read an ARC copy and this issue may have been remedied. It could also be a bit dry and boring but I think that’s mainly because it’s a pretty dense and hardcore bit of history to write about.
•Several times throughout the book Webb made a point of comparing the treatment of European slaves in North Africa with black slaves, saying one was worse or equal in awful to the other. I felt these comparisons were unnecessary and made me a bit uncomfortable; the horrors of the Barbary slave trade stood alone just fine. Webb was trying to avoid by looking at slavery through the American/Imperial lens but fell into that trap himself.

Should you read it?
If you’re at all interested in a little-discussed history of slavery I think this text provides a great introduction. However, I did find some parts of the text lacked sufficient citation. Furthermore, I feel the political motivations behind it at times hampered this exploration by causing the author to unnecessarily compare slavery across the world and overstate the importance of slavery in historic and modern events.

Note: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I'd like to thank Simon Webb and Pen&Sword History for the opportunity.