The Fly trap /
Sjoberg, Fredrik
The Fly trap / Fredrik Sjöberg, translated by Thomas Teal. - 277 pages ; 20cm.
The Fly Trap occupies the Venn diagram intersection of philosophy, poetry, and entomology—that’s entomology with an “n,” the study of insects. More precisely in Sjöberg’s case, the study of hoverflies, family Syrphidae. While flies may not seem the most lyrical of topics, as the author admits, they are an access point for a book-length riff on facets of the human condition that interest him: the urge to collect and classify, the freedom inherent in a highly limited field of study, ambivalence about travel, loneliness, persistence, joy. Loosely organized around the story of Swedish naturalist René Malaise (1892–1978), inventor of the titular fly trap, the book is not a biography—nor is it a monograph, scientific treatise.
9781846147760
Zoology
Insects.
Personal Memoirs.
595.7 SJO
The Fly trap / Fredrik Sjöberg, translated by Thomas Teal. - 277 pages ; 20cm.
The Fly Trap occupies the Venn diagram intersection of philosophy, poetry, and entomology—that’s entomology with an “n,” the study of insects. More precisely in Sjöberg’s case, the study of hoverflies, family Syrphidae. While flies may not seem the most lyrical of topics, as the author admits, they are an access point for a book-length riff on facets of the human condition that interest him: the urge to collect and classify, the freedom inherent in a highly limited field of study, ambivalence about travel, loneliness, persistence, joy. Loosely organized around the story of Swedish naturalist René Malaise (1892–1978), inventor of the titular fly trap, the book is not a biography—nor is it a monograph, scientific treatise.
9781846147760
Zoology
Insects.
Personal Memoirs.
595.7 SJO