Mary Roach

Mary Roach is the first-person narrator in Fuzz. Throughout the text, Roach examines human-wildlife interactions and the methodologies employed by humans to mitigate, cohabitate, and litigate flora and fauna. In Fuzz, the author attempts to answer a “question that has defied satisfactory resolution for centuries: What is the proper course when nature breaks laws intended for people” (2). At the outset of the text, Roach investigates “felony crimes” committed by wildlife and later broadens her research to examine “less grievous but more widespread” criminal wildlife activity (3). As she speaks with biologist, conservationist, and scientists, Roach poses questions of morality and efficacy. She tells the reader her personal assumptions, emotional reactions, and humorous thoughts that arise as she learns about bear hazing, murderous trees, and genetic modification to rat embryos. Roach’s technical yet colloquial approach to examining human-wildlife interactions draws the reader into the world of conservation...