Why people recommend it
Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann is a sprawling, experimental stream-of-consciousness novel written predominantly as a single, massive sentence spanning roughly one thousand pages. Michael Pollan recommended the book on The Ezra Klein Show during the episode titled The More You Study Consciousness, the Weirder It Gets, which aired on March 31, 2026. Offering his second book recommendation, Pollan explained that the novel was deeply influential while he was working on his own exploration of consciousness. He acknowledged that its immense length and unique formatting might sound daunting to prospective readers who might initially hesitate to pick it up, but he nonetheless emphasized its structural brilliance and thematic relevance for anyone studying the mechanics of human thought.
Who recommended it
- Michael Pollan Recommended
Michael Pollan — 1 mention
“Another book that was really influential as I was working on the stream of consciousness is a stream-of-consciousness novel by Lucy Ellmann called "Ducks, Newburyport" It’s 1,000 pages, one sentence. And that sounds I know that sounds really daunting and I’m not going to pick that up. You can open it anywhere you want, read 10 pages...”