I present to you the next big Love It or Leave It book. Because this one is gonna be divisive. This review is not going to make a lot of sense so sorry about that up front. Ok how do I talk about this book? For starters, this is a 4.5 and I barely know how to describe it or talk about it.
This story is about two different people: Alexander Wilson (a republican congressman in modern times) and Titus Downing (a taxidermist in the 1800s) and how one thing, a stuffed aardvark connects their lives. If that seems weird, it totally is and I promise it is also so worth it. The humor is dry, exaggerated and satirical and is delivered by both the characters and the narrator. It’s hard to explain, this whole book is, all I can say is that you should read this. Jessica Anthony did such a fantastic job in such a short book that I am SHOOK lol.
This book is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, in fact, I think many people, many people I know, will not like it. The main characters are pretty unlikeable. The language used in one section is so dense and full of jargon that I could see it actively turn people away. The other section is so “not PC” that a lot of people will be turned off. And like I totally get it, I just think it’s satirical. Or essentially leaning into a stereotype so hard as to show all it’s faults and misgivings.
The plot is wild and both linear and not linear. Each individual story is linear and you’re alternating between the two. Sometimes you get flashbacks. I think the sections built tension so well to lead you into the next one, to keep you invested in coming back for more. Sure I could see people skipping chapters of the POV they don’t like and they may enjoy what they read but I think they’d be missing a whole lot.
This has a dark, crass humor that I love. The writing is a blend of stream of consciousness and blunt overly descriptive writing. Idk I liked it. My feelings may change over the next couple days but like honestly such a good read and it’s so short too. Like wow. Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me this experience.
Just Read It 