Bloomsbury’s Object Lessons series, which promises to deliver “concise, collectable and beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things,” returns with its latest offering in “Snake,” Erica Wright’s deeply personal and highly readable essay collection.
“Snake,” much like the titular creature itself, takes many shapes, shifting fluidly from memoir to pop-culture criticism to academic insight. One of its 11 essays, for example, delves into the sexual symbolism associated with the snake by first taking a look at various fashions and then at the famous (or infamous) MTV Video Music Awards performance in which pop icon Britney Spears draped a python over her shoulders.
The next essay marks a stark contrast, opening with a quick anecdote about the author and her family preparing for a camping trip (as a cat and a snake are in a standoff) before the piece turns its attention to the medicinal history of venom.
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