An impassioned call to action and a vulnerable family portrait of neurodiversity.
A collective portrait of activist Greta Thunberg's family, encompassing not only climate change, but also issues of mental health.
In this moving text, Swedish opera singer Malena Ernman, her husband, Svante Thunberg, and their daughters, Greta and Beata, stitch together vignettes about "burned-out people on a burned out planet.” Before Greta stepped into the public eye with her 2018 strike outside the Swedish Parliament, she had fallen into depression. Ernman details the end of her music career, when Greta refused to eat or speak. Through distilled recollections, she elucidates how autism and selective mutism unfolded in her household, with all its initial hardship, and how Swedish society views spectrum disorders in general. When Greta was finally diagnosed with Asperger’s and OCD, and Beata with ADHD and other conditions, the family found a measure of solace. But they still struggled: “We scream. We kick down doors. We scratch. We pound walls. We wrestle. We cry. We ask for help and we somehow endure.” The narrative delivers a potent, challenging, and heartening portrayal of a family's struggle to hold it all together. The text is more problematic when it conflates environmental issues—such as sustainability and the climate crisis—with mental health problems, positing that society’s prioritization of economy over ecology has led to increasing isolation and desperation. While provocative, the argument feels grounded in simplified conviction. Passages about carbon emissions, damage wrought by air travel, the failure of world leaders to take charge, and related issues are unabashedly alarmist and valuable. Because these elements echo Greta's many speeches, they come off as repetitive in the book. The buildup to Greta's strike—and the strike itself—is an inspiring depiction of the teen who has become a leader on the world stage and of the family who supports her behind the scenes. It also represents a courageous triumph over many of her demons.
An impassioned call to action and a vulnerable family portrait of neurodiversity.Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-14-313357-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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"When others at Harvard spoke of their experiences at Hagia Sophia and the Prado, I reminisced about the wondrous ants I examined in Geneva and Paris,'' remarks the eminent Harvard entomologist in his stylish autobiography. Now 66, Wilson (Biophilia, 1984, etc.) recounts the life of a born observer and synthesizer. As a boy he roamed the woods and creeks of Florida and Alabama collecting bugs; he went on to become the world's leading authority on ants and insect societies. He also pioneered the study of chemical communication among insects and, of course, effected the marriage of population biology and evolutionary biology that led to the still controversial field of sociobiology. Wilson deals fairly with the debate, as well as with the earlier "molecular wars" that pitted Wilson and his fellow naturalists against Jim Watson and the new breed of molecular biologists. He provides telling sketches of the principals, confesses to some naïveté on his own part, but generally adopts a more-in-sorrow-than-anger stance. These chapters, along with his descriptions of mentors and collaborators over the years, are valuable contributions to the sociology of the rapidly changing science of biology. Wilson still thinks the time will come for a theory of human behavior based on the co-evolution of genes and culture. He also argues for his "biophilia" hypothesis—the idea that human beings have an inborn affinity for other forms of life. Not surprisingly, he has become an ardent spokesman for biodiversity, deploring the daily loss of species and natural terrain. Next time around, he says, he'll opt for being a microbial ecologist: "Ten billion bacteria live in a gram of ordinary soil...they represent thousands of species, almost none of which are known to science." To which the reader can only respond: Go to it, and tell us all about in another grand book. (Natural Science Book Club dual main selection; first printing of 40,000)
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NonePub Date: Oct. 17, 1994
ISBN: 1-55963-288-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Island Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
IN THE NEWS
Bickley, a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, offers an exasperated overview of the controversial Rodman's life, concentrating on the power forward's recent career and off-court hijinks. It's a brisk narrative, enlivened by quotes (many of them tackily highlighted in large type) from Rodman's colleagues and ertswhile friends. The problem is that those fascinated by Rodman's perpetual jousting with Chicago Bulls management, the cross- dressing, the very public affair with Madonna, and the on-court antics (head-butting an official, kicking a photographer) are likely to remain unswayed by Bickley's contention that Rodman, far from being out of control, has been deftly manipulating the media and fans, while those likely to agree with him would find this expose unnecessary.
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 1997
ISBN: 0-312-17119-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997
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