In the flights over from Tashkent to Cairo and fighting jet lag and stress from a big move, I read books in two of my favorite genres, natural history and thriller to help put me asleep.
“Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World’s Most Amazing and Mysterious Fish” by James Prosek was about him travelling around the world, learning about freshwater eels from the genus Anguilla. I didn’t know they were the only fish that spawns in the open ocean but lives its entire life in freshwater rivers and lakes. This lifestyle is called catadromous , a new word for me. It is the opposite of the more famous salmon that spend their lives in the oceans and then swim upstream in freshwater rivers to spawn. I didn’t know it was such a mystery exactly where the different species and populations of Anguilla spawn. It is incredible to think that they start as microscopic eggs and larvae and make their way from the Sargasso Sea, in the case of the North American Eel and find rivers and lakes in the interior of the continent. Due to the degradation of rivers (dams, wetland destruction, urban sprawl), climate change (changing currents), and over fishing, the numbers and range of eels is shrinking.
I ate eel often in Japan where it is regarded as a delicacy. My favorite was the Daggertooth Pike Conger,not a freshwater eel, but a species found in the depths of the ocean. The book gave me a new appreciation of the eel.
I love expat books having lived most of my life as an expatriate. Pavone worked in the publishing world for many years before he became an author. His wife got a job in Luxembourg, where The Expats is set in, and I see that he understands the expatriate lifestyle. It resonated with me that expats are like university students, you can reinvent yourself with every new posting. We live a strange life, moving around the world, changing locations every few years. The 2012 novel is a page-turner and the first book in the Kate Moore series. She is ex-CIA and her husband is involved in international banking. It has a lot of action and suspense. The book has a satisfying ending and a believable plot. I learned a lot about digital bank transfers, tax havens, and cyber security.
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