The idiosyncratic and deeply international success - a darkly astonishing scientific biography and a guide on how to live well in a world where chaos comes for all of us.

"A luxurious, astonishing, darkly delightful" - Carmen Maria Machado

"A genre-breaking book... quick, skillfully balanced, full of surprises" - Guardian's Books of the Day

"Her book led me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was captivated" - New York Times Book Review

"A magical blend of science, portrait, and memoir" - Susan Orlean

"Absolutely unique and truly enjoyable" - Refinery29

If fish do not exist, what else have we got wrong?

As a child, her scientist father Lulu Miller taught her that chaos will come for all of us. There is no cosmic destination, no plan. We enter the world of David Star Jordan, 19th century, classifier and loyal to order. A fish expert, dedicated to mapping the great tree of life, who spent his days sorting unruly wings, studying shimmering scales, and sealing new discoveries in ethanol jars.

At a time when Lulu's life is falling apart, David Star Jordan calls her. Reading about his futile perseverance after a earthquake destroyed his collection, Lulu discovers an unexpected antidote to life's unpredictability. But behind the folklore of this powerful classifier lies a darker story waiting to be told: a story about the human cost of trying to define the shape of the unknown.

This is a story you have never read before. It’s about a very tall man with a whale mustache, the injustices and upheavals of the universe, love that beats like lightning, and why fish ultimately do not exist.

Pages: 240, Dimensions: 13.5x13.5cm