Enter the Aardvark
Published on 11. March 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-78416-518-5 (ISBN)
Description
Discover the rip-roaringly funny satirical novel about a stuffed aardvark who threatens to derail a Republican Congressman's political career...
'It's a long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much. Fresh, witty and smart it also has heart' Kate Atkinson
'An ingenious political satire...deliciously astute, fresh and terminally funny' Guardian
'What begins as a topical takedown of the American political system deepens into a hugely enjoyable romp through history' Observer
______
We all know politics is absurd. But could a scheming politician be brought down by a stuffed aardvark?
Republican congressman Alexander Paine Wilson is determined that nothing will stop him in his campaign for re-election.
Not the fact that he is a bachelor, not the fact that his main adversary Nancy Beavers - married, with children - is rising in the polls. Nothing.
That is, until one hot day in August, he receives a large parcel via FedEx. Inside is a gigantic taxidermy aardvark.
This aardvark has a surprising history - from the Victorian naturalist who discovered it to the taxidermist who deemed it his finest creation.
But for Wilson, the entrance of the aardvark sets off a chain of events that threaten to ruin his entire career.
Constantly surprising, brilliantly comic and piquantly provocative, Enter the Aardvark is a tale for our times, a biting satire with a tender underbelly.
____________________________________________
'So perfect and funny that you read it over and over, laugh every time...Completely insane but utterly hilarious' John Boyne
'Inventive and darkly funny' Time
'Fresh, astute and mouthwateringly sharp, this is a rare thing; a political satire that tugs on the heartstrings in unconventional ways' Irish Times
'Spry, slim, clever...the inventiveness is impressive and the story has heart' The Sunday Times
'The most fizzing and amusing novel of the year' Strong Words magazine
'Sharp, inventive and very funny, it's an entertainingly bizarre political satire' TATLER
'Weird, wonderful, and very much of the moment, Enter the Aardvark is a landmark political novel of the Trump era...With heart and humor, Anthony expertly skewers our current political climate' Esquire
'It's a long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much. Fresh, witty and smart it also has heart' Kate Atkinson
'An ingenious political satire...deliciously astute, fresh and terminally funny' Guardian
'What begins as a topical takedown of the American political system deepens into a hugely enjoyable romp through history' Observer
______
We all know politics is absurd. But could a scheming politician be brought down by a stuffed aardvark?
Republican congressman Alexander Paine Wilson is determined that nothing will stop him in his campaign for re-election.
Not the fact that he is a bachelor, not the fact that his main adversary Nancy Beavers - married, with children - is rising in the polls. Nothing.
That is, until one hot day in August, he receives a large parcel via FedEx. Inside is a gigantic taxidermy aardvark.
This aardvark has a surprising history - from the Victorian naturalist who discovered it to the taxidermist who deemed it his finest creation.
But for Wilson, the entrance of the aardvark sets off a chain of events that threaten to ruin his entire career.
Constantly surprising, brilliantly comic and piquantly provocative, Enter the Aardvark is a tale for our times, a biting satire with a tender underbelly.
____________________________________________
'So perfect and funny that you read it over and over, laugh every time...Completely insane but utterly hilarious' John Boyne
'Inventive and darkly funny' Time
'Fresh, astute and mouthwateringly sharp, this is a rare thing; a political satire that tugs on the heartstrings in unconventional ways' Irish Times
'Spry, slim, clever...the inventiveness is impressive and the story has heart' The Sunday Times
'The most fizzing and amusing novel of the year' Strong Words magazine
'Sharp, inventive and very funny, it's an entertainingly bizarre political satire' TATLER
'Weird, wonderful, and very much of the moment, Enter the Aardvark is a landmark political novel of the Trump era...With heart and humor, Anthony expertly skewers our current political climate' Esquire
Reviews / Votes
If you are anything like me, you will end up loving the actual aardvark...and relish the world of taxidermy that Anthony brings to life. Enter the Aardvark sizzles with uproarious fun, from its snout to the sting in its tale. * INDEPENDENT * [An] ingenious political satire...The perfect tonic for testing times...deliciously astute, fresh and terminally funny. * GUARDIAN * Spry, slim, clever...the inventiveness is impressive and the story has heart. * THE SUNDAY TIMES * What begins as a topical takedown of the American political system deepens into a hugely enjoyable romp through history...Madcap and satirical without ever being flippant, Anthony's novel is totally unrealistic yet completely truthful. * OBSERVER * Fresh, astute and mouthwateringly sharp, this is a rare thing; a political satire that tugs on the heartstrings in unconventional ways. * IRISH TIMES * It's a long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much. Fresh, witty and smart it also has a heart. What more could you want? And who would have thought that you could become emotionally attached to a stuffed aardvark? * KATE ATKINSON * 'Part 21st-century political satire, part unexpectedly affecting 19th-century love story...It's every bit as strange as it sounds, and yet somehow it works: there's a pleasing symmetry to the parallel plots, and Anthony's writing is evocative enough to snare the imagination.' * DAILY MAIL * 'Sometimes, a paragraph near the start of a novel is so perfect and funny that you read it over and over, laugh every time, and know you're in for a treat...I'm loving it. Completely insane but utterly hilarious' * JOHN BOYNE * Enter Jessica Anthony. With her highly inventive, ever attentive, and morally serious (as all great comedy must be) Enter the Aardvark, she estranges all over again our deplorable political moment, and thereby helps make it bearable. * JOSHUA FERRIS * 'Jessica Anthony's Enter the Aardvark was exactly the smart, funny and poignant pick-me-up that I needed...Anthony entwines her two narrative threads with seamless precision...Riotously entertaining' * i-news *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
140 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78416-518-5 (9781784165185)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jessica Anthony
Enter the Aardvark
The wry, intelligent and uniquely funny novel about ambition, politics and taxidermy
E-Book
03/2020
1st Edition
Transworld Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Jessica Anthony is the author of The Convalescent, Chopsticks, and Enter the Aardvark. Anthony's novels have been published in over a dozen countries, and are featured in Time, Newsweek, Esquire, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times Book Review as an Editors' Choice. She is the recipient of the Creative Capital Award in Literature and has been awarded fellowships from the Bogliasco Foundation and the Bridge Guard Foundation. She lives in Maine, USA.