Title: Turtles All the Way Down
Author(s): John Green
Release year: 2017
Publisher: Dutton Books
Why in Database: In Green’s book, the turtles, apart from the title of course, appears in four places, (in polish version, thanks to the translator, in five).
The first mention is a fragment about a turtle in a river:
On a half-submerged tree near the river’s bank, a softshell turtle noticed us and plopped into the water. The river was lousy with turtles.
The second mention is about Ninja Turtles:
I would lie in bed with her and we would watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the TV in her room. Her eyes were open and everything, and she could breathe by herself, and I would lie there next to her and watch TMNT.
The third mention is only in polish translation (“w żółwim tempie” means “slow as turtles”):
We were still inching our way through the student parking lot.
Wciąż posuwałyśmy się przez parking w żółwim tempie.
Another mention is the well-known anecdote about “Turtles All the Way Down“, to which the title refers (and a different version of which appeared e.g. in The Folklore of Discworld):
”Okay, so there’s this scientist, and he’s giving a lecture to a huge audience about the history of the earth, and he explains that the earth was formed billions of years ago from a cloud of cosmic dust, and then for a while the earth was very hot, but then it cooled enough for oceans to form. And single-celled life emerged in the oceans, and then over billions of years, life got more abundant and complex, until two hundred fifty thousand or so years ago, humans evolved, and we started using more advanced tools, and then eventually built spaceships and everything.
So he gives this whole presentation about the history of earth and life on it, and then at the end, he asks if there are any questions. An old woman in the back raises her hand, and says, ”That’s all fine and good, Mr. Scientist, but the truth is, the earth is a flat plane resting on the back of a giant turtle.’
”The scientist decides to have a bit of fun with the woman and responds, ”Well, but if that’s so, what is the giant turtle standing upon?’
”And the woman says, ”It is standing upon the shell of another giant turtle.’
”And now the scientist is frustrated, and he says, ”Well, then what is that turtle standing upon?’
”And the old woman says, ”Sir, you don’t understand. It’s turtles all the way down.”’
I laughed. ”It’s turtles all the way down.”
”It’s turtles all the way fucking down, Holmesy. You’re trying to find the turtle at the bottom of the pile, but that’s not how it works.”
”Because it’s turtles all the way down,” I said again, feeling something akin to a spiritual revelation.
The last mention is a reference to the anecdote described above:
As Daisy switched the song to a romantic ballad that she and Mychal were singing, I started thinking about turtles all the way down.
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