Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes

Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle

By: Daniel L. Everett

Narrated by: Daniel Everett

Daniel Everett, then a Christian missionary, arrived among the Pirahã in 1977 - with his wife and three young children - intending to convert them. What he found was a language that defies all existing linguistic theories and reflects a way of life that evades contemporary understanding. The Pirahã have no counting system and no fixed terms for color. They have no concept of war or of personal property. They live entirely in the present. Everett became obsessed with their language and its cultural and linguistic implications, and with the remarkable contentment with which they live - so much so that he eventually lost his faith in the God he'd hoped to introduce to them. Over three decades, Everett spent a total of seven years among the Pirahã, and his account of this lasting sojourn is an engrossing exploration of language that questions modern linguistic theory. It is also an anthropological investigation, an adventure story, and a riveting memoir of a life profoundly affected by exposure to a different culture. Written with extraordinary acuity, sensitivity, and openness, it is fascinating from first to last, rich with unparalleled insight into the nature of language, thought, and life itself.

©2008 Daniel L. Everett (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Rich account of fieldwork among a tribe of hunter-gatherers in Brazil.... Everett's experiences and findings fairly explode from these pages and will reverberate in the minds of readers." ( Kirkus)

The narrator makes this book

It’s so cool to hear this language spoken and discussed by someone who actually speaks it. It makes the whole thing far more fascinating IMO.

beautifully written

I appreciate the wonderfully written book and the time Daniel Everett took to discover this now shared information.

Don't Sleep

This was fascinating, and had very little to do with the author's beliefs and deconversion, but rather was mostly about his interactions with the Pirahãs. There was quite a bit of technical linguistic discussion, which I loved. Daniel seems very intelligent and learned. He has a very gentle and non-judgemental way of discussing issues. I think his theories about culture and language make much more sense than Chomsky's.

At times it wasn't totally clear where a particular story was going. I think it could have benefiting from editing. The narration was ok but there were some glaring mistakes and stumblings.

An excellent biography

A really good description of a very unique experience. I hoped for more about religious deconstruction, but I enjoyed the learning nonetheless.

Hear Pirahã

Read by Daniel Everett himself you really get to appreciate the use of pitch, tones, rhythm, and other nuances in the Pirahã's unique language. You also can hear his feelings as he reads particularly emotional parts. Touching and surprisingly funny this is an amazing work.

Daniel finds a black swan!

This book now shares the top shelf, among a very select few reserved for such honor. Want to know why? Read the book 😀

Amazing Book and Audio

What an interesting book. I’ve told several friends. Having the author do the reading is great because learning the language means the pronunciation is more accurate than if I tried reading it alone.

Best memoir I have ever read

Absolutely amazing, riveting book that MUST be listened to as an audiobook read by the Everett himself. Part memoir, part linguistics deep dive, into the many years he spent living in Brazil with a very small, very isolated band of indigenous people called the Piraha. When Everett first came to live with these people, he was literally and figuratively on a mission. He was a missionary bringing them the word of God, and his goal was to learn enough of their language to translate the Bible.

If that sounds off-putting, it is, at first. Like many white people across the ages, he inserts himself into the life of this small village, certain that his ways are superior and that he is there only to "help" the Piraha. Almost immediately, disease and other dangers (the snakes of the title) begin to open his eyes to the narrowness of his worldview. Everett does not flinch in recounting many situations that do not show him in the best light, as he grows and learns and changes over the course of the years. Some of the stories are humorous, others are heart-wrenching, but all are well-told and I couldn't stop listening.

Intermingled with the stories of daily life in the jungle, Everett recounts with professorial accuracy the process he went through to learn Piraha. I have a degree in linguistics and found these sections incredibly fascinating, particularly since in the audiobook one is able to hear Everett speaking the language. To say that Piraha is unique is a huge understatement. Everett's efforts to understand not only the vocabulary, but the underlying structure of the language, yielded results that rocked the linguistic world to its Chomskian core.

Ultimately, this is a hero's journey in the best sense, with the white "hero" discovering that he isn't the savior after all, and that other people have developed different ways of living in and perceiving the world that have much to offer that Western society lacks.

This goes on my list as the best memoir I have ever read--excuse me, listened to.

An ABSOLUTE must read!

This is one of THEEE most fascinating books I have ever read!

If ever there is a way to CURE any "white" person of racism, bigotry, prejudice, then Everett has found it.

The proudly deep internal journey that Everett has made is truly miraculous. This man's faith carried him, yet what has carried him he questions and ultimately discards.

What an amazing masterpiece!

WELL DONE DANIEL EVERETT!

Captivating

This book isn't for everyone. My husband and I both founf it quite interesting for the most part probably mostly due to our experiences as missionaries in the west African country of Mali. Still, for anyone with and interest in linguistics and especially the complexities of communicating cross cultually, I would recommend a read.