Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2025.
The profound and life-affirming memoir about finding our way in a chaotic world.
‘A sumptuous, surprising, dark delight’ Carmen Maria Machado
‘Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten’ NYT
As the daughter of a scientist, Lulu Miller was taught that chaos will come for us all. There is no cosmic destiny, no grand plan. But years later, reeling from heartbreak, she stumbles upon the story of David Starr Jordan – a fearless taxonomist devoted to order.
Looking to cure her crisis of confidence, Lulu is intrigued by the hubris of this mighty biologist, who refused to admit defeat when lightning struck his laboratory and earthquakes shattered his collection. Until, digging deeper, she makes a startling discovery. One that will upend her wish for a neatly catalogued existence and reveal the profound beauty of embracing chaos.
PRAISE FOR WHY FISH DON’T EXIST:
‘Shimmering’ Guardian
‘Astonishing’ Prospect
‘Compelling’ The Times
‘Fascinating’ Daily Mail
‘Revelatory’ Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
‘Remarkable’ LA Times‘Magical’ Susan Orlean
‘Perfect’ Mary Roach
Reviews
This genre-defying journey into the science of classification weaves memoir and history in shimmering prose
Guardian, Book of the Day
I want to live at this book’s address: the intersection of history and biology and wonder and failure and sheer human stubbornness. What a sumptuous, surprising, dark delight
Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten
New York Times Book Review
Here is a book that hops nimbly between biography and autobiography, gritty science and lovelorn self-help. And its final, happy leap into the unknown is just astonishing
Prospect Magazine
A story told with an open heart, every page of it animated by verve, nuance, and full-throated curiosity
A bold and original blend of memoir and science, it combines the exhilaration of discovery with the unexpected and revelatory
This book will capture your heart, seize your imagination, smash your preconceptions, and rock your world
Strangely compelling
The Times
Moves gracefully between reporting and meditation, big questions and small moments. A magical hybrid of science, portraiture, and memoir-and a delight to read
This book is perfect, just perfect. It’s both lyrical and learned, personal and political, small and huge, quirky and profound
A tale so seductive that I read her book in one sitting
The Wall Street Journal
Stunning and brilliant and completely un-sum-up-able… I love this book so much!
Remarkable… Lulu Miller draws a heartening lesson-that chaos, which comes for us all, can be defeated by sheer human stubbornness
Los Angeles Times
Wholly unique and a true delight
Refinery29
A wild ride… that upends our idea of what fish (and we) are in the grand scheme of things
Slate
A touching blend of biography, science, philosophy and self-reflection. Like its provocative title, it’s full of surprises
Engrossing… thought-provoking… Lulu Miller does the job with style and intelligence
Ingenious… A quirky wonder of a book
Kirkus Reviews
Quirky, fascinating
Daily Mail
The excitement and curiosity in which she sees and investigates the world is contagious
Economist Podcast
A brilliant meditation on uncertainty, resilience, and human error
Times Now
