The Fly Trap: A Memoir

About this book

For years entomologist Fredrik Sjberg has collected cataloged and obsessed over the hoverflies that populate the remote Swedish island he calls home. As confounded by his unusual vocation as anyone here Sjberg explores what drives the obsessive curiosity of collectors along the way finding time to muse on everything from art to lost love and drawing on sources as disparate as D. H. Lawrence and the fascinating and forgotten naturalist Ren Edmond Malaise. A mesmerizing memoir The Fly Trap is one remarkable individuals meditation on the unexpected beauty of small things and an examination of the history of entomology itself. Weaving a fascinating web of associations histories and personal memories Sjberg revels in the wonders of the natural world and through indelible images and stories opens up into it a dazzling irresistible pathway.