This is an interesting and well written book but it was not at all what I expected. It is more along the lines of philosophical essays, and the tone wasn't a great fit for me. I'm sure it will find a good following, but it's not a good fit for my readers.

I had high hopes for this book but ended up finding it a not to be the best fit for me. The writing feels a but strained at times and I was not eager to pick it up and read on a regular basis. Maybe this is more about me thatn the essays themselves but...

I an unable to review this title, as it was archived before I had a chance to download and read it. This feedback is only to stop this title from adversely affecting my netgalley feedback rate. If in the future I have the opportunity to read this title, I will post a proper review here.

I read 7.5 out of the 12 essays.

The style of these essays did not do it for me; the writing feels very staccato, with different ideas in the same essay lined up side-by-side next to each other, without a real thesis (besides a uniting theme, like "viruses" or "race"). This kind of simulated stream-of-consciousness doesn't work for me, but I know this is only a matter of taste.

I really enjoyed the information in the first essay about how different viruses work, and I also really liked a later essay about HIV. I also liked much of the essay about personal writing. So much kindness and joy shines through this book in general and through that essay in particular. But overall I didn't feel that many of the ideas in this book were anything I hadn't seen before, and again, I bounced off the style pretty hard. YMMV!

I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I only read this one because it was a group read for a readathon and I had a feeling it would be very eye opening. I also thought it might have some insights into the world of long COVID which is our current reality. And it was all that and more. The author combines thorough research and memoir to write a relatable, easy to understand, and smart book that gives the reader insight into our bodies, and how science meets, or fails to meet, the needs of those of us suffering.

Very well written and thought provoking essays but the cover/title was a bit disingenuous. People expecting a hard sci/pop sci look at viruses will be disappointed. The author is excellent but this book looks at virology from a different lens.

Thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton for this ARC for review. I was quite excited to read this book, and I ended up quite disappointed. This was a DNF for me, 14% in. The beginning seemed disingenuous as the author kept mentioning “queer” this and that. To me it seemed like he was pushing a gay agenda on the reader even before the book started. I am certainly not a foe of gay or trans people (one of my best friends is trans) but I was expecting a science book, not a diary of a gay man with some mentions of DNA, Covid and Ebola thrown in here and there.

There was also a mention of one of the author’s first sexual experiences in the first few pages of the book. Again, I am not a prude, but I truly don’t believe fellatio belongs in a book claiming to “tackle the scientific….impact of viruses”. The style is not “buoyant prose”, it’s a mishmash of personal stories that are vaguely connected with viruses, by the thinnest of threads.

The author also notes that viruses come out of us in our “piss and shit”. WHY?? Why is this not written using proper scientific words such as urine and feces? This attempting-to-be-glib is so heavy handed.

Yet another sentence starts out with “Even if I were straight, God forbid…” which nearly caused the DNF right there. But no, I kept on struggling along. This interweaving of sexuality and viruses continued to be harsh and disconcerting, as it read more like a diary than a science book.

The final blow to my reader’s sensibility came when the author talks about how he wanted to contract AIDS to be closer to a man he was in a relationship with, for him to acknowledge their togetherness to the public. Or something like that. I stopped reading right in the middle of that sentence and shut down my Kindle. I had wasted enough time. That is time I will never get back.

Sorry for the straight talk, but this is an honest review. If there were an option to give it zero stars, I would, as it does not deserve even a solitary star. Those of you who seek to learn more about viruses should pass this by and read Richard Preston or one of these five books. I include the link here for those readers who might actually find this book an enjoyable read.