Egg: A Dozen Ovatures

by Lizzie Stark

An unconventional history of the world’s largest cellular workhorse, from chickens to penguins, from art to crime, and more. The egg is a paradox―both alive and not alive―and a symbol as old as culture itself. In this wide-ranging and delightful journey through its natural and cultural history, Lizzie Stark explores the egg’s deep meanings, innumerable uses, and metabolic importance through a dozen dazzling specimens. From Mali to Finland, mythologies around the globe have invested the egg with powers of regeneration and fecundity, often ascribing the origin of the world to a cosmic egg. An oracle to Romans, fought over by Gold Rush gangs, used as the foundation of the Clown Egg Registry, and blasted into space, the egg has taken on larger proportions than, say, the ovum of an ostrich. It has starred in global dishes from the Korean comfort food ttukbaegi gyeranjjim to the less regaled yet iconic soft-boiled egg. Stark writes a biography of French-born chef Jacques Pépin through his egg creations, and weaves in her personal experiences, like attempting to make the perfect omelet or trying her hand at pysanky―the Ukrainian art of egg decoration. She also explores her fraught relationship to the eggs in her body due to a familial link to cancer, and shares her delight in becoming a mother. Filled with colorful characters and fascinating morsels, Egg is playful, informative, and guarantees that you’ll never take this delicate ovoid for granted again.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Food, Audiobook, Memoir, Adult

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 2023

About the author

Lizzie Stark is a participation designer and the author of three nonfiction books, Egg: A Dozen Ovatures , Pandora’s DNA and Leaving Mundania. Her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, i09, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, among other publications. She lives in Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Nicole H · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite type of nonfiction book is the deep dive into a topic so specific, I wouldn’t have thought an entire book could be written on the topic. When the book is informative, funny, charming, and even heartwarming at times, it’s a slam dunk.

Eggs are everywhere - across the globe, all cultures and all of history - so they end up being a remarkably apt vehicle to explore everything from religion, to gender, colonialism, capitalism, medical advancements and more.

A quick, informative and thoroughly enjoyable read.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes. I am telling you to read a book about eggs.

This is not a cookbook. Instead, it’s a funny, fascinating and occasionally snarky book about one of the world’s most important foods.

The author brings us history, mythology and a little political commentary. We also have death, war and the wholesale destruction of species – all because of…eggs. It’s absolutely amazing.

(I was going to say this book is ‘eggs-ellent' but you might have killed me. Oops, I said it.)

As I was reading the book, I started reading portions aloud to whoever was around me – sorry to my kid and coworkers. Every time, people were interested, engaged, and then completely bemused that I was reading a book about eggs.

I loved this.

Seriously…get the Egg book.

• ARC via Publisher

[Jonathan Shaheen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since we’re stuck with a felon as president for the next 4 years largely because of eggs, I figured I should do some research. Surprisingly, this book confirms that eggs have indeed been used historically to make important decisions (also with mixed outcomes). A fun mix of autobiography and investeggative research that will change how you view (and vote on) eggs.

[Paul Vogelzang · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative, eye-opening, and funny look at the simple egg. So much to know and consider, and author Lizzie Stark does the work with research and wit to tell a very engaging story. The book is filled with great examples of eggs in history and why this is important. Thanks for the book and the great interview! Check out my interview with author Lizzie Stark: https://soundcloud.com/notoldbetter/e...

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally enjoy books about the history of something. Really liked this one too, even as a vegan. Lol. Plus, chapter 13 talking about Alice Woodruff, class of 1922 from my alma mater Mount Holyoke College, was a nice bonus.

[jamie sinéad · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be able to eat eggs without immediately getting nauseous is a privilege…I envy you egg eaters!!

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and informative book. I enjoy deep dives into topics like these and you can feel the author's own genuine interest. A fun time.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but I liked it a lot! There were laugh out loud moments, some lovely heart-warming stories about her and her dad cooking, some truly horrific stories about bird murder, and lots of interesting facts and stories in between. I especially loved the chapter "Egg Money," on the history of women and people of color raising chickens as a way of raising their own funds when they were largely cut out of more traditional markets and ways of making a living. I also appreciated the connection between women's reproductive cycles and systems and the connection with chickens and their own cycles and eggs; I thought that Stark handled the affinity very thoughtfully, and didn't harp on the idea that maybe we should consider all the labor and pain chickens are going through.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quirky and memorable take on a seemingly mundane topic.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew I knew so little about eggs before reading this book? I love books like this that show me a world and info and facts on something I never thought to think about or just knew so little about and never really cared- until now. I have so much more respect for the eggs I use and I thank the author for a very enjoyable book to listen to.

[Lisa H · Rating 5 out of 5]

The comprehensive EGG...

This is probably the most comprehensive, objective look at the egg and all that it entails. From history, scientific to food, to anedotal, it is absolutely comprehensive information on the egg.
You'll never looks at an egg the same way again.
Recommend.

[Devyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Ex ovo omnia."
(From the egg, everything.)
- William Harvey, 1651

I received this book from Goodreads.

I started Egg: A Dozen Ovatures by Lizzie Stark with the thought that there simply isn't enough interesting information about eggs to justify filling a book of this size.

It's safe to say that I ate my words over-easy.

There's a lot to know about eggs of all types and even more about how we humans have made use of them. We've fought over, died for, profited off, collected into extinction, shot into space, experimented on, and CRISPRed onto making pharmaceuticals.
And that's not getting into all the creative ways we've learned how to cook them.

Part memoir, part women's history, and part chronicle on the myriad of ways we humans have utilized the ova, Egg: A Dozen Ovatures is a book acknowledging something habitually overlooked by reminding us how extraordinary the common egg really is.


"The egg is a universe in a shell." - Lizzie Stark

[Jennyfer · Rating 3 out of 5]

EGG is a fascinating look into, well, eggs.

It's not a cookbook - rather it's a comprehensive study of the most important foods on the planet, and the history, politics, economics and complex social factors surrounding the egg. Without eggs, there is no life.

This book is a far deeper dive into the humble egg than I ever thought possible, told with wit (and snark) . An engaging read that is part memoir, part non-fiction, and egg-sactly what it says on the cover.

~ Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an eggs-tremely fun book to read. Covering the insides and outsides of eggs as a source of food, art, wars, hunts, mythologies, vaccines, and of life itself, this deep dive on the familiar object was an informative and perfectly timed Easter season read. My one complaint is that Stark's own political opinions (very left) make frequent appearances that often don't seem to contribute to the wider points of the topics covered. Other than that, I quite enjoyed this eggs-citing read (okay, I'll stop).

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great short exploration of the egg: biologically, culturally as a food, spiritually and personally to the author as she talks about the removal of her own ovaries to prevent cancer. I love the authors voice and how she reflects on the femininity and womanhood in relation to how those with eggs are treated. This is not a list of egg facts held at a distance, this is eggs more personal than that and you'll realize you have a personal feeling about eggs after this too.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5)
You have to be REALLY interested in eggs to find every chapter in this interesting, but I definitely enjoyed several of the chapters and moments! Looking forward to discussing in micro history book club!

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t know EGGS were so … complex and symbolic!!!

What came first? Chicken of the egg?

I learnt - duh - it’s the EGG! Because some dinosaurs laid eggs!!! 🦖🐍🐢🦕

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Ex ovo omnia (From the egg, everything)”

So very interesting and informative. The egg is so…misunderstood. So multifaceted. Love egg.

[Heenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know more about eggs than I ever wanted to, and had a great time doing it.

[Isabella Kunkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Such a creative organization scheme and just the right amount of “narrative” along with the nonfiction. I found myself admiring the author AND learning something every chapter AND somehow still enjoying myself and wanting to pick it back up.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read, full of humor and tons of interesting information. It's not a cookbook, but instead a journey through the many ways eggs are important. Everything from religion, mythology, history, art, science, and more.

[Agnes Chu · Rating 5 out of 5]

As advertised, egg: a dozen overtures is a series of New Yorker style essays that run the gamut of entertaining, trivia, scientific, and opinion (/ feminist commentary). Some are tangentially related to eggs. I learned quite a bit — I had no idea that most vaccines are made from eggs, that we were 3d printing human meniscus in space already (!), that chickens have glands that spray paint eggs different colors (I shoulda known), that ovaries removal can wreck havoc on the body because so many important hormones are tied to it, and that there were some weirdos back in the Victorian age that were addicted to stealing endangered birds nests. I also learned more about the farallon islands near the San Francisco Bay Area and murre eggs—now that would be a tour more entertaining than Alcatraz.

Btw the worst journey in the world to Antarctica to retrieve penguins eggs (to prove what came first: chicken or egg) is unbelievably more horrific than society of snow.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchantingly fun microhistory slash philosophy slash Fun Eggy Trivia book here! I really love the chosen range of topics here, from the Clown Egg Registry to the development of vaccines. Highly recommend for anyone with passing interest.

[Booksingarden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not one for pop-science books, or at least I don’t think so. I didn’t think so, until Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and this book- Lizzie Stark’s Egg. It’s partially a memoir- culinary, as she chronicles her life through egg-based recipes, and part medical, as through writing she heals from the emotional upheaval of having her ovaries removed. It’s partially scientific- how do we use eggs to create vaccines, to send people to space, to heal burn wounds? It’s partially religious- the significance of the egg as a symbol of fertility, or protection, or womanhood, egg-worship and egg-Gods. It’s partially historical- the gold-rush Egg Wars, the Clown Egg Registry, egg-shell collectors in the Victorian era.
All of this is fascinating on its own, but what really pulled the book into its 4 star territory was the meditations of feminist theory. She finds this significance in everything: the young men who continue to steal eggs from the nests of female animals despite its illegality, trying to live a bygone era of British manhood. The quail eggs and mammary tissue and Henrietta Lack’s immortal cells that were sent into space before any man was. The traditions with eggs, egg-painting, and fertility across cultures.
Definitely worth reading. Weird, and ambitious, and moving, in a scientific sort of way.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I won't lie, I picked it as my choice for my book club so that I'd have an easy menu for hosting.

Other than that, I very much enjoyed this read. It was short and sweet and a quick, fun read. The author brings the reader along her journey and passion around eggs through cooking, history, and overall educational fun facts. Each chapter focuses on a new and different topic, all egg related. From the inevitable question "did the chicken or the egg come first" to omelets and omelet pans to clown eggs to the historical desire to hunt and collect rare eggs and more.

A few things I knew and many others, I didn't. Definitely a fun enjoyable read. I will look at eggs differently now. I am very thankful my husband is an expert at making the classic french omelet - Stark's description of how beautiful and life changing it is when made correctly is legitimate.

Here's a little egg humor: Why do the French only use one egg? Because one egg is an oeuf.

Cheers, friends!

[Thecrackedspine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not what I expected, but what I needed from a read in 2023. I recieved a copy from a goodreads giveaway. I usually choose books from the fiction categories but when I saw the synopsis of this book, I really wanted a copy for myself. I am really glad I picked it up. It was way more interesting than I could have imagined and with the economy around eggs in current times, I think more people would find this book interesting and worth their time to pick up.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my normal read but I really enjoyed the authors take on Eggs. I learned quite a few new things and plan to broaden my horizons with eggs. I am also now hyper aware of eggs in other things I read and eat!

[brianna ☁️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading this book, i learned more about eggs than i thought there was to learn about eggs. everything was super interesting and lizzie stark's personal narratives and interviews elevated the knowledge presented as well.

i checked this out from my local library!

[Kitty Stryker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book! I loved all the different looks at eggs from a variety of perspectives, and the tone is perfect - fun yet educational. A soothing and pleasant read!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, funny, quirky book that speaks to my inner anthropologist, chef, scientist, and chicken farmer.