Description

In the spirit of Richard Powers and Daniel Mason, a novel spanning three centuries and tied together by the tale of Stellers sea cowa long-extinct denizen of the northern oceansat once intimate and sweeping about the tragic clash between man and nature.

In 1741, thirty-two-year-old naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller joins Captain Berings Great Northern Expedition to scout out a sea route from Asia to America. Plagued with hardships, captain and crew never reach their goal, but they do make a unique discovery, a gentle giant that will be named for the young explorer who described it: Stellers sea cow.

In 1859, the governor of the Russian territory of Alaska sends his men to seek the skeleton of the massive marine mammal rumored to have vanished a hundred years before, while his sister curates the settlements peculiar natural science collection. Two years later, a revered Helsinki professor hires a talented illustratora woman!to make precise drawings of a set of bones sent from afar. The ill-fated beast will help introduce to a skeptical public the concept of human-caused extinction.

Finally, in 1952, the Museum of Zoology assigns its most talented restorer the task of refurbishing the antique skeleton, a testimony to the sea cows fate that will fire the imaginations of future generations.

Beasts of the Sea is a breathtaking literary achievement and an adventure that crosses continents and centuries. Told through the stories of the men and women touched by the long-ago discovery of a curious and placid creature, it is a tale of grand human ambition, the quest for knowledge, and the urge to resurrect what humankind has, in its ignorance, destroyed.

Author: Iida Turpeinen
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Published: 11/18/2025
Pages: 288
ISBN: 9780316585835
Language: English