The parts following the politician? Loved those. If only the whole book could have been made up of those - they actually made sense! It didn't feel like they were written in another language! I think this is one of those books that will happily harp on about its intelligence, but doesn't much care for whether it's readable. Quirky is certainly one word for it...

I do like a quirky book but even I found this one a bit odd. I did enjoy it but I'm really not sure I learned anything about the characters in the process?

Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony is an original and offbeat quirkily satirical novel with a dual narrative of parallel storylines.

My thanks to Random House U.K. Transworld Doubleday for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Enter the Aardvark’ by Jessica Anthony in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: “Only one thing stands between Alexander Paine Wilson and his destiny… and it has long ears, spoon-like claws and a tubular snout...”

This is a rather odd book. It’s a work of political satire combined with a backstory of non-satirical historical fiction. The unlikeable Wilson is a right-wing Republican congressman seeking re-election. He is obsessed with Ronald Reagan to the point of seeking out Reagan memorabilia and dressing like his hero. He’s currently concerned that his bachelor status might count against him in the upcoming election, especially as his pant-suited, married with children Democratic opponent, Nancy Beavers, is currently rising in the polls.

One morning a large parcel is delivered to his house by FedEx. Inside is a gigantic taxidermied aardvark! Wilson is aware that the aardvark had been the property of his former lover, Greg Tampico. Its arrival sets off a startling chain of events.

In another timeline we learn of the aardvark’s history from its discovery in 1875 by Sir Richard Ostlet, a zoological naturalist, to its detailed preservation by taxidermist Titus Downing, who received it from his former, secret lover Ostlet.

This proved somewhat of a mixed bag. I wasn’t quite sure what was being satirised as the state of politics in the USA has been so bizarre since Trump’s 2016 election that Wilson’s antics hardly seemed that extreme.

However, the frequent shifts between the two timelines did at times feel jarring. In addition, the sections by Wilson were told in the second person while the Victorian ones had a more conventional narrative. While I got used to this movement, I felt that it caused choppiness to the pace. Checking out the Kindle edition’s sample I could see that it was better formatted than my eARC as a symbol was inserted as a marker to indicate the in-chapter changes between the timelines.

Aspects of the relationships between the four men do mirror one another. That Ostlet and Downing need to conceal the nature of their relationship is no surprise given the society that they live in.

Wilson’s secrecy is also due to expectations of the circles that he moves in. Clearly in denial, he is quite adamant that he is not gay (or bisexual) and continues to support an amendment to ban gay marriage (and abortion). He is prepared to marry and even have children for show. “It’s nothing against women, but by and large they make you uncomfortable.”

So while I felt very much for the difficulties faced by Ostlet and Downing, Wilson remained an extremely unlikeable person throughout. Even the last scene exhibited his selfishness.

‘Enter the Aardvark’ was almost like two novellas stitched together by the presence of the aardvark. Some of the scenes with Wilson were hilarious but again it seemed a strange fit with the more sober tale of Downing and Ostlet.

I found it readable but uneven. Thus, 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.

Enter the title and the cover on Netgalley when I thought two things: What the hell is an Aardvark and I have to read this book because this title and cover are so strange. Enter the blurb, a satire about some US politician who receives a stuffed Aardvark as a gift and from there his carefully well built (and fake) career unravels. Vonnegut was mentioned as a similar writer and I was sold

Enter the two main timelines, first one in the Victorian era where a well-known naturalist, Sir Richard Ostlet, gifts a dead Aardvark to his former lover, Titus Downing, a taxidermist who stuffs it. Enter the 2nd timeline, the present day Washington DC where the asshole Republican Congressman Alexander Paine Wilson is seeking re-election. His campaign is built on promotion of inequality of rights, the separation in two Americas and an unhealthy obsession of Ronald Reagan. Enter the surprise that the Congressman’s POV is written in 2nd person narrative. The jerk receives the above mentioned stuffed aardvark from a former lover, Greg Tampico which will set in motion some absurd and funny events that will end his career. There are many similarities between the stories of the two “couples” which was an interesting aspect of this book. Another one that I enjoyed was the political satire, the idea that there is a difference between who the politician really is and what he/she preaches.

I thought the first timeline to be a sad story and I still struggle about my feelings about the 2nd one. I really disliked the main character which it was intended, I was quite happy what became of him but I am not sure I understood the ending, the part with the donut at least.
I had fun reading the novel, it was witty and different. I was even moved by some scenes but it was too short to make me really care. The 2nd person narrative worked well in the end and added to the absurdness of the events.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I tried but I just couldn’t like this one. The meandering story ultimately added up to nothing, the characters either uninteresting or completely repulsive to follow. All of this would have been tolerable if it weren’t for the fact that it felt overwritten and too clever for itself - long sentences that feel like they build to punchlines that never come or plot lines that intersect only because the story demand it of them.

I like the idea of the grounding device of the aardvark passed on through history, but it chopped back and forth too frequently to ever let me develop a reading flow.

Copy of the book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a torturous read. The combination of taxidermy, political satire and internalised homophobia just doesn't do it for me. Maybe my empathy tank is too full, but I just can't enjoy a book about the destruction of a closeted right-wing politician. Even one as odious as Congressman Alexander Paine Wilson.

This story is told in dual timelines. In the present day, we get the second-person POV of a US politician who gets entangled in a career-ending scandal that starts with a taxidermied aardvark from his secret gay lover and ends with... I don't even care. Fraud? In the past, we get the story of two men who were forced to hide their sexuality. One is the naturalist who hunted the aardvark, the other is the taxidermist who stuffed her. Throw in the appearance of Hermann Göring's father, a few ghosts and a bipartisan conspiracy, and that's basically the book right there.

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who love this book and will praise it to the high heavens. For me, unfortunately, it was a total miss.

This is a wonderfully offbeat, satirical, hilarious and original novel from Jessica Anthony, about the killing of the aardvark in Southern Africa by a Victorian naturalist, Sir Richard Ostlet, and sent to his former lover, 40 year old renowned taxidermist, Titus Downing, in Leamington Spa, along with detailed notes. This is the story of a gigantic taxidermied aardvark and its journey, including some time with the Nazis, up to the present in the US until it finally finds its way home. This oft bonkers narrative shifts from past to present seamlessly, with common themes between the two stories that include repressed sexuality, hypocrisy, and a love that is not seen for what it is until it is too late. Downing is a gifted taxidermist where his extraordinary talent lies in his ability to capture the 'jiva' or soul of an animal in his work, his workshop with its tools is described in detail.

With Ostlet's death, Downing pours his love for Ostlet into the aardvark, albeit with some slightly macabre additions to the animal, his work reaching an exceptional high in his career, even if it does not receive public recognition. In the present in Washington DC, right wing Republican Congressman Alexander Paine Wilson is seeking re-election with a campaign built on divisions with the promotion of inequalities, has dreams and ambitions of being a future POTUS. He is obsessed with Reagan, as his home will attest, uneasy with women, blacks, latinos, and the LBQT community,and feels it is unAmerican that healthcare should be foisted on the people by an interfering government. The deplorable, hypocritical Wilson has been a jerk since childhood, unable to feel empathy for others, knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. He determines he is not gay, despite having been with men throughout his life.

The aardvark plays a central role in the lives and loves of Wilson and Downing, and for Wilson from the minute he takes the disconcerting FedEx delivery of the aardvark from his former lover, Greg Tampico, his career begins a downward spiral, until all that he had valued is lost, but was what he valued of worth? Anthony writes a acutely observed and astute novel of our times that is witty and funny, that draws parallels between two different eras, and two different men linked by the entry of an aardvark and the ghosts of their past. This is a brilliant and fun read that deserves to be read by the widest audience possible. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Random House Transworld for an ARC.

The best description of this book that I can come up with is that it’s fucking weird. It’s irreverent and at times laugh-out-loud funny, but, above all, it’s an inherently odd little story.

Enter the Aardvark does not follow characters in the usual sense. Instead, it follows the journey of a taxidermied aardvark from its moment of death to the present day. When Republican congressman Wilson receives the aardvark via Fed-Ex from his lover (who he would not actually call his lover), it sets into motion a chain of events which, though he does not know it, will culminate in his downfall. Meanwhile, interspersed with Wilson’s story is that of how the aardvark came to be as it is.

Like I said, this is, at heart, a weird story. But it’s also compellingly written, so even though Wilson is definitely an odious character (albeit written in a mocking way), you want to continue reading. Just to find out more. It probably also helps that the second half of the story involves some slightly spooky and mysterious, and apparently paranormal, aspects. Basically, you get to that point where you’re like, just one more page, and then you realise you’ve read two thirds of it in an entire sitting.

Part of what makes the book compelling is the writing. I mean, you have a character as dislikeable as Alexander Paine Wilson, you have to have strong writing to keep my interest. And the writing here is definitely that. I also liked how it never said, hey, you should feel sorry for this absolute shitbag. It mercilessly mocks him throughout (particularly his obsession with Ronald Reagan). He is a caricature of a Republican politician. (Though also to note, sometimes I did wonder if a white cishet woman was the right person to be doing the satire at points but…yeah.)

The other part of the book is a lot different in feel to this. And, honestly, sort of held my interest less. But even so, the separate parts complemented each other well. I think maybe I’d have liked to have followed the aardvark’s progress a little more in between the two parts we see (though we do sort of see the beginning of that), but I guess it is actually following the aardvark taken out of its home country and then returned. In a way and via the downfall of Wilson’s political career.

So yeah. If you’re looking for a quick, funny, incredibly strange read, pick this one up.