Jessica Anthony

Describing this book will be a challenge. The book centers around a stuffed Aardvark. Yes, you read it correctly. This is a clever story that delves into the lives of several characters... none of whom are truly without their faults. In fact, most of the characters aren't all that likable. They manipulate each other, they're dishonest, they're cheating and lying and misrepresenting themselves.

I'm not even sure I can pin down the genre of this book. It's part political satire, part fable, show more part romance. I loved the pacing of the book... I was hooked from the moment I began reading it. Because who wouldn't be!? From the moment the aardvark arrives on the doorstep of Republican Congressman Alexander Paine Wilson his life begins to unravel. The arrival of the aardvark sets in motion a series of events, missteps and bad timing and there's little room for mistakes in the world of politics.

I'm not trying to be evasive, I really can't quite figure out how to describe this book. It's remarkably original... I have never read anything like it and that makes me incredibly happy. Anthony has written parallel journeys for two different men... different times... the only common witness is the stuffed aardvark. The book is about choices, feelings - or lack of feelings, posturing and making the right decisions at the right time. It's also about a variety of losses and the way that people deal with loss.

This is a clever, unique, entertaining and rewarding read. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone with a sense of adventure when it comes to fiction! There aren't enough books like this in the world! show less

It's so interesting to read the other reviews of this book and see either the people who looked through it too fast and assumed it was a basic YA romance, or those who took their time and really discovered the book for what it is - a super creepy psychological mystery. Jess Anthony went to my MFA program a few years before me, and while I never knew her personally, you can bet I will be praising this book left and right simply because it is crazy good.

Before I realized who the author was or show more what kind if story I was getting into, I was hooked by the visual element. The story is told through instagramy photos, pics of artifacts, minimal text, and IM message chats. The entire space of each page is absolutely filled and utilized; you really have to scan everything closely and not just rifle through the pages. This book is also a unique concept that I haven't encountered before - they've employed actors for all the scenes portrayed. It's kind of a brilliant concept that takes the idea of a graphic novel to a different territory.

The best thing I can say about the book is how effective it is turning the reader into voyeuer and also turning that back onto the reader- you think you're reading a simple love story and suddenly it turns into something far more disturbing...while at first I turned the pages quickly to find out what happens next, I began flipping much more slowly near the end because I was afraid of find out the outcome. And there's no truer hallmark of great story and strong characters than that - and no higher praise I can give , either. show less

Set in Autumn of 1957, this novel centers on a married woman with two young children against the backdrop of the Soviet space launch of the dog Laika on the Sputnik 2. On a warm Sunday morning, Kathleen stays home from church and instead goes down to the unused pool in her apartment complex. Her husband, Virgil, goes to church with the children, happily planning to spend his afternoon golfing with his friends at the insurance agency. As Kathleen sits in the pool and her husband takes the show more kids to church and then golfs, their pasts are revealed as well as the tensions in their marriage.

This is a slender book, taking place over a single day, but there is so much included in its less than 150 pages. Character studies of two people at a point at where they need to change to move forward, a look at how the roles imposed by the culture they lived in harmed both of them, a vivid picture of a place and time, and over them, the small body of a Moscow street dog. show less

This is an odd book. It begins like a James Michener novel where how the water, the land, and the animals are formed but James Michener does it better. Then it goes to a politician in present day Virginia and alternates his story with a story of a taxidermist in 1875 London who is stuffing an aardvark for his scientist friend.

I suspect this is a book better for discussion then simply reading alone. I feel there are many layers here but they are not so easy to pull out alone. Others will show more read the same book and find something different. What I found is a politician who is a phony. He is interested in how he looks in polls and to the press. He does not care about his constituents. He models himself after Ronald Reagan to the point of buying what Ronald Reagan owned. The cost of everything is more important than the item he is talking about. He makes sure that his life looks good in public but don't look at it in private. Trouble begins when he receives an aardvark.

The taxidermist part of the book was interesting. After reading Kingdom Under Glass by Jay Kirk I was interested to see if the author got the taxidermy part right. She did. For me this is what saves the book. There is a lot in this section that can be talked about. Sexuality, feelings, emotions, taxidermy, hunting, and Nazis and how they overlap the politican's story.

I cannot put a label on this book but it is one that if you have someone else to read it along with you, you can have a lively discussion. show less