The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a 2010 non-fiction book written by Elisabeth Tova Bailey.
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| Author | Elisabeth Tova Bailey |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Ecology |
| Publisher | Algonquin Books |
Publication date | 2010 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | 978-1565126060 |
Summary
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The book describes the author's observations of an individual land snail in the species Neohelix albolabris, which lived in a terrarium next to her while she was confined to bed through dysautonomia, mitochondrial disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.[1] The presence of the snail offered the author the opportunity to discover the peculiarities of its anatomy and behaviour, and helped her to cope with her own illness.[2] She also deepened the scientific aspects of her small guest's natural history, and became aware of the richness of its existence.[3] In the last page of the book Tova Bailey wishes terrestrial snails to survive to the ongoing Holocene extinction.
Awards
edit- Winner of the 2010 John Burroughs Medal.[4]
- Winner of the 2010 Natural History Literature category of the National Outdoor Book Award (joint award).[5]
- Winner of the 2012 non-fiction category of the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.[6]
Translations
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As far as late 2019 The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating has been translated into eleven languages.[7]
Movie adaptation
editA short movie (15'), inspired by the book and directed by Elisabeth Tova Bailey herself, was presented in 2019 at the 8th edition of the Brattleboro Film Festival[8] and entered the official selection of the 2019 American Conservation Film Festival[9]
References
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- ^ Bailey, Elisabeth Tova (20 February 2011). "A Green World Deep in Winter: The Bedside Terrarium". The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
- ^ Piers Moore Ede (2010-10-21). "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, By Elisabeth Tova Bailey". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
- ^ Nina Sankovitch (2010-10-09). "The Beautiful Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- ^ "John Burroughs Medal Award List". John Burroughs Association. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ "Winners of the 2010 National Outdoor Book Awards". National Outdoor Book Awards. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ Matson, Christopher (2 August 2012). "Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2012 Saroyan Prize for Writing". Stanford University Libraries. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ "Foreign Translations & Editions". Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- ^ "The Human Element & The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating". Retrieved 2019-12-02.
- ^ "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating". American Conservation Film Festival. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-02.