The Melodic Munching of a Wild Snail

Lindsay Knowlton: This was a wonderful quirky book

United States on Nov 02, 2023

WildAtHeart: I have been on my own journey into quietness and slow time this year, barely leaving the house and spending a lot of time in the garden communing with the wild creatures that also call this particular place home. I can really resonate with the way in which connection and communing with the snail brought meaning and a sense of purpose to the authors life. We live in an age where the human way of life is deemed the only one with any value or meaning. In reality there is a whole world out there, quietly going about its business of survival and living, with a lot of lessons to be learned if we only dare to slow down and listen. Let’s face it, we aren’t making a very good job of it at the moment. I love the quote on p 116 on the snails way of life
“The right thing to do is to do nothing, the place to do it is in a place of concealment, and the time to do it is as often as possible”
I think the world could do with a bit of snail time right about now, and this book could lead us there. I really recommend this book.

United Kingdom on Oct 11, 2023

Amazon Customer: I learned something about snails and have more appreciation for them!

United States on Sep 10, 2023

Amazon Customer: Loved this book! Helps gain humility and perspective on life and appreciate the wonder of our natural world - especially molluscs!

United Kingdom on Aug 28, 2023

Japan O'Phil: I can think of no better way to rate this splendid and unique little book than by borrowing the words that reviewers have used: moving, beautiful, funny, sweet, wise, and profound. It is all of these things. At first, looking at the unusual title I was in two minds as to whether or not to buy it, but reading the reviews convinced me to try it. I am not disappointed! Highly recommended!

Japan on Dec 02, 2022

Martin: In summary, The Sounds of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey is a memoir about the author, being bedridden and accompanied by a wild snail. What kept her in strive was her curiosity and interest in the snail she kept in a terrarium. I must say this is not a memoir for everyone, unless you're a snail enthusiast. The chapters are filled with captivating moments of her snail grazing on portobellos, producing slime, estivating during the summer months, laying eggs, and more. There's ample information on mollusks in general. Although not apparent, the chapters provide unique perspectives and golden nuggets (or writings) about life and purpose. One of my favorites is "Survival often depends on a specific focus: a relationship, a belief, or a hope balanced on the edge of possibility. Or something more ephemeral: the way the sun passes through the hard, seemingly impenetrable glass of a window and warms the blanket, or how the wind, invisible but for its wake, is so loud one can hear it through the insulated walls of a house." The isolation and dependence between Bailey and her snail created a society of their own. After reading, it is certainly wild (pun intended) to reflect on...

United States on May 18, 2021

Ian Julian: I was recommended this book, and have to say, it is a lovely read. We know what it is going to be about, Elisabeth Bailey lies bedridden, but she is blessed in one respect - she loves the natural world. So we read about the changing of the seasons, about what she is missing on the great outside, something we all take for granted, unless we too were to suddenly miss it. But most of all, it concerns her and her pet snail.

Not the most appealing of subject matters you would have thought, but it is. As she studies its behaviour, she reads about snails, the 20,000 species, how they have become so successful, and gently informs us in bits and pieces throughout the book, about their evolution and various lifestyles. Like Chris Packham and David Attenborough, she can inform whilst we are hardly aware of being taught.

A book about a snail is different, which may be becoming increasingly hard to do in nature writing, and just by saying it is different does not mean it is going to be good, but in this case it is and a delightful read. I am writing this at the time that Cecil the Lion was shot, making headlines all over the world. Why Cecil and not the millions of animals...

United Kingdom on Aug 13, 2015

Kate Saundby: IMHO, the best way to describe this lovely book is in terms of a Japanese Zen garden or, perhaps, a haiku.

In other words, "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating..." is perfect just the way it is and absolutely nothing needs to be added or taken away. The spare elegance of Ms Bailey's writing is as welcome and refreshing as a glass of cool water on a hot day, especially when compared it to the lushly baroque, over the top descriptive and narrative styles of far too many of today's most popular authors, and none more so than the Romance variety.

Or, to put it another way, "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating" is a perfect example of the truth in the old saying "Less is more."

Two things drew me to this book. The first, I have to confess, is the intrigue of its title which pulled me in immediately. As soon I read the reviews, I found I had a lot in common with the author starting with the fact that, on and off for the better part of five years, my circumstances were painfully similar. I was confined to bed on doctor's orders and alone for up for twelve hours a day. Except for my husband, I had no family and few friends. This all took place during nine pregnancies, of...

United States on Dec 29, 2014

tiggrie AKA Sarah: Elizabeth Tova Bailey was struck down by a mystery illness which left her bedridden. A friend brought her a violet, with a passenger - a small snail. This book is the story of that snail's life, and the things the author learned about snails as she got to know her small friend.

I think this is a bit of a marmite book. If reading about a snail's sex life, for example, sounds like something you'd only do on pain of death, this is probably one to avoid. It's slow, gentle, informative, contemplative; Tova Bailey clearly did masses of research on snails, and there are masses of fascinating facts to be learned. For someone like me, who is interested in stuff like this, it was engrossing, if slightly disgusting at times... I'm no big fan of snails, and sometimes when talk of slime got too much I had to put the book down! I certainly have more respect for and interest in them now than I did when I started, though.

It's also a fascinating insight into chronic, crippling illness. For those who have suffered in similar ways, as I have, it's a comfort to know "it's not just me", and I think this book will give those who've never been chronically ill a little insight into what it...

United Kingdom on May 09, 2012

Bruce: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

This little book of 184 pages I digested at one sitting. I couldn't put it down. From the opening quote of Florence Nightingale that "A small pet is often an excellent companion" to the farewell cameo from "Snails and Their Houses", 1888 about love-making among snails (sorry, but you will have to read the book yourself to find what was said there) the narrative held me spellbound. I thought I knew a good deal about snails, but this little book opened my eyes to a whole new world of discovery about terrestrial snail behaviour.
This is a true story. The author, Elisabeth Tova Bailey, was confined to bed with a debilitating and fluctuating chronic illness that she has fought for over two decades. During one year of this time she became intrigued with the behaviour of a snail that had taken up residence in a small potted plant that a friend had brought her as a present and which was placed next to her bed. Her fascination in the snail's midnight wanderings and reactions to small morsels of different foods introduced into its environment makes for fascinating reading. We are taken on a journey of discovery that includes observations of a hole...

United States on Feb 14, 2012