Review: 'Metazoa'

 by Rowan Reddy

I’ve been reading more non-fiction books than usual at the moment, and one specific author has stood out - Peter Godfrey-Smith. I first encountered this writer when I picked up his book, Other Minds, in Waterstones. 

This book described the evolution of sentience, specifically in cephalopods, and I was struck by the fluency and simplicity of its writing style. Many books concerning scientific subjects are full of jargon, and are difficult to understand unless you're an expert in that particular field of study, but Other Minds was very easy to read - it had the engaging quality of a good novel, but at the same time discussed the brain structure of octopi in easy-to-understand yet accurate terms. 

Although I first read Other Minds several years ago, I still vividly remember how captivating it was, and consequently seeing his new book, Metazoa, on the shelf of a bookshop was greatly exciting. Metazoa was released two years ago, in 2020, but it still takes pride of place on tables of newly-released scientific books, and I’m sure it will remain on them for a while to come.

My first impression was that Metazoa seemed more cerebral than Other Minds - although the book began with a description of the seafloor, it quickly progressed into philosophical topics. I haven't quite finished reading Metazoa yet, but I can confidently say that it has surpassed even Other Minds, both in the quality of the writing and the topics discussed.

The name ‘metazoa’ means ‘changing animals’ in Greek, and is an alternate name for the animal kingdom (Animalia). It’s an appropriate name for the book, which describes animal evolution from the pre-Cambrian to the present day.

The book itself tackles philosophical topics, such as what sentience truly is, and how far its boundaries extend. Can, for example, a paramecium be described as having feelings?

As well as having good writing, the book has other merits. The cover design features watercolour illustrations of a weedy sea dragon (Phyllopteryx Taeniolatus) as well as an American lobster, (Homarus Americanus), in a style reminiscent of the German scientific watercolourist Ernst Haeckel. Metazoa also features a selection of photographs, some of which include pictures of sea squirts, octopi and cuttlefish, which, alongside the evocative descriptions, help readers to visualise the animals. 

Overall, I have really enjoyed reading Metazoa. It has been engaging and very easy to read, and I’ve learned a lot from it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about marine biology or philosophy.