Summary

“Somewhere Along the Line” begins with a mussel narrator meeting Muss, who is a “joyous prophet, a conman curious about everything” (99). Muss is against the expectations put on mussels by society, instead searching for “a new way of being” (100). After listening to Muss and another mussel named Gallos argue about philosophy for a few weeks, Muss, Gallos, and the narrator decide to embark on a journey for meaning. They let themselves drift down the Hudson River into the ocean.

The three mussels travel through the ocean, writing poetry and sleeping with female mussels. Muss returns to his hometown to find his father, only to discover that his father had been missing ever since Muss left him. The two other mussels comfort Muss, and the three mussels...