A dazzling follow-up to Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal.
‘We would love to discover that each species has a biological clock in its cells, because, if that clock existed and if we were able to find it, perhaps we could stop it and thus become eternal,’ Arsuaga tells Millás in this book, in which science is intertwined with literature. The paleontologist reveals essential aspects of our existence to the writer, and debates the advisability of transmitting his random vision of life to a dieting Millás, who discovers that old age is a country in which he still feels like a foreigner.
After the extraordinary international reception of Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal, the most brilliant double act in Spanish literature once again dazzle the reader by addressing topics such as death and eternity, longevity, disease, ageing, natural selection, programmed death, and survival.
Here you will find humour, biology, nature, life, a lot of life … and two fascinating characters, the Sapiens and the Neanderthal, who surprise us on every page with their sharp reflections on how evolution has treated us as a species. And also as individuals.
‘Dazzling.’ New Scientist
‘A very special book indeed.’ The Telegraph
‘A fascinating journey.’ Helen Gordon
‘No doubt comparisons will be made to Yuval Noah Harari’s
Sapiens, but
Life as Told By a Sapiens to a Neanderthal, is much more fun ... Roll on
Life as Told By a Sapiens to a Neanderthal volume 2.’
Irish Examiner
Praise for Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal :
‘Written with humour and lightly-worn learning, this book makes the familiar strange and the strange uncannily familiar; a fascinating journey into our shared prehistory via the shops, galleries, restaurants, playgrounds, and parks of a twenty-first century city.’
Helen Gordon, author of Notes from Deep Time: a journey through our past and future world
Praise for Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal :
‘Millás is one of the writers with the most truth per square centimetre of a page.’
Antonio Iturbe, What to Read
View all reviews
Praise for Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal :
‘We like wise men to explain things to us and understand each other. This is what Arsuaga does wonderfully in his book, a luminous treatise on life, the universe and human existence.’
Víctor M. Amela, La Vanguardia
Praise for Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal :
‘Juan José Millás is the owner of a fantastic territory of unquestionable personality.’
J.E. Ayala-Dip, El País
Praise for Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal :
‘Juan Luis Arsuaga has recounted that prodigious start of human life with all the force of the great chronicles of travel and discoveries, with his double talent as a storyteller and scientist.’
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Praise for Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal :
‘Millás takes advantage of the present to tell us about his life, to express his perplexity, which is ours, before the passing of the world … Navigating through it allows our imagination to travel.’
Fernando Delgado, La Opinion
Praise for Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal :
‘[Arsuaga] is one of the world's leading experts on the evolution of our species, as well as a prestigious scientist and a born populariser.’
Ixone Díaz Landaluce, ABC
