Well hello there
Author: Jessica Anthony
Publication: 2020
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Satire
Where to begin. In parallel storylines, a British naturalist in 1875 “discovers” the aardvark in Namibia and ships a specimen to his secret gay lover back in England to be taxidermied. Meanwhile, in 2019 (?) Washington D.C., someone clandestinely FedExs aforementioned taxidermied aardvark to a closeted Republican congressman. Hijinks ensue.
I am officially giving up numerical ratings for these reviews, and this book is the reason. I struggled mightily with the rating for this one. I really did. My instinct was honestly 9/10. But did I want to rate Aardvark the same as a beautifully constructed novel like Rules of Civility or a the last hurrah for a beloved Terry Pratchett character? This is 180 pages about repressed gay love and taxidermy that, more than flirting with the absurd, wholeheartedly embraces it.
Forget the rating and the comparisons, I loved it. It’s short enough that something’s constantly happening. The second-person narration of the modern story line works. So did the semi-stream-of-consciousness writing and seamless introduction of details unknown to either narrator. It’s over the top. It leans in to the craziness and the excessively paralleled narratives and the caricature of the Republican congressman’s character. There is a major plot point involving transplanted eyeballs.
I can think of 99 reasons why Aardvark isn’t going to work for everyone. Fair enough. But damn, it reeled me in and held me and I don’t remember the last time I read a short book this fast. I’ll fault it a little on the ending, which doesn’t quite hold up, but after the wild ride that was the previous three parts I’ll allow it. Probably a good time to acknowledge that these reviews aren’t really about the literary quality of anything I read. It’s about how much I enjoyed reading whatever it was. And to that end, begone stars.