The voice of the infinite in the small cover

The voice of the infinite in the small

by Joanne Elizabeth Lauck

The Voice of the Infinite in the Small is a psychological and spiritual look at our misaligned relationship with insects and related creatures. It is less about insects and more about reinventing ourselves as a compassionate people open to the wisdom of nature in all her forms. It employes common so-called pests species to highlight a variety of issues concerning our relationship. Included in the second edition, in particular, (published by Shambhala in 2002) are many stories of kinship and communion with these kinds of creatures. Missing from the second issue is the chapter on bacteria as Shambhala thought that the anthrax scare would stop people from wanting to read the book.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?