"In fluid, sinuous prose, Wong marvels at the endurance and habits of these creatures while scrutinizing how humans imperil ocean life. Wong imagines the consciousness of these life forms and what it means to encounter one. About meeting a starfish she writes: "We inspired silent amazement in each other, a condition so all-consuming it means no more than itself, its own extravagance, irresistible stillness.""
""In Bermuda, where I was born and remain marooned, there are no literary magazines, book publishers, or bachelors programs in the arts; so the internet has been my best resource-often my only resource-for research and opportunities," says Wong. "I say this to encourage those writers who are not North American or European and who may feel as if they have no idea where to begin: The internet is a capitalist tool, but [it] can also serve creative and subversive work.""
The essay collection centers snails, mussels, starfish, and other overlooked marine animals as protagonists, imagining their consciousness and interior lives. The prose is described as fluid and sinuous, marveling at endurance and habits while examining how human activity imperils ocean life. Scenes range from speculative encounters to philosophical and emotional reflections, including intimate meetings with individual creatures. The work emerged from island conditions with limited local literary infrastructure, using the internet as a research and opportunity resource. Collaborative publishing with a print and online quarterly led to a column that contributed three pieces to the collection.
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