Leigh

Leigh, the narrator of most of the novel, grew up in Rotterdam, Netherlands where she was beaten by her father. As a teenager, she becomes suicidal, but finds healing in nature. She has an awakening while swimming in a cold bay. Leigh explains, “There was no gap separating my body from the living world. I was pressed against a teeming immensity…I didn’t look through the water towards life, I looked directly into water-life” (28). She receives a microscope for her 11th birthday that initiates her into the world of microorganisms, which she finds fascinating.

Leigh's early experiences in the Netherlands inspire her to become a marine biologist. Then she joins a crew aboard a research vessel called Endeavour. During this voyage, she makes key contacts with other female scientists, and develops her interest in algae and deep-sea diving. Leigh eschews almost all personal relationships for her work...