Enter the Aardvark

December 9, 2019
Anthony (The Convalescent) stitches together stories from repressive Victorian England and venal contemporary American politics in this marvelous, tragic farce populated by characters uncomfortable in their own skin. In Namibia, 1875, naturalist Sir Richard Ostet sends an aardvark specimen back to England to be stuffed by his friend and love interest, taxidermist Titus Downing, whose unparalleled creations are famed for how the artist captures each animal’s jiva, or the “immortal life-essence of each living being.” After Downing’s uncanny aardvark shows up on the doorstep of U.S. Congressman Alexander Paine Wilson in present-day D.C., the press digs into its past owners, including Hermann Goring’s father, and its presumed sender, Wilson’s secret male lover, triggering a career-threatening scandal for Wilson, an ambitious, Ronald Reagan–obsessed Republican who proudly wields a “0” rating from the ACLU. Anthony alternates between the congressman’s travails and Downing’s taxidermic preparations, which reveal the hidden beauty within the creature’s “appalling morphology.” While the overly broad satirical portrait of Wilson detracts from his plotline’s emotional resonance, the novel’s smooth comic machinery builds toward a satisfying climax that reveals how the aardvark’s history bears on the congressman’s present. This idiosyncratic satire is full of wonders and warnings. Agent: Jim Rutman, Sterling Lord Literistic.

This offbeat audiobook, narrated in a purposely smug, preppy tone by actor Matt Amendt, tells the story of an aardvark from its capture in Africa by naturalist Sir Richard Ostlet to its fateful arrival at the Washington, DC, home of Republican Congressman Alex Wilson. The action alternates between the present and the Victorian era. Amendt approximates the English accents of Sir Richard and his secret lover, who handles the stuffing and selling of the aardvark after Sir Richard's suicide. Their relationship mirrors that of Alex and his lover, Greg Tampico. How this leads to Alex's career unraveling keeps the listeners alternately amused and aghast. Amendt's deft narration maintains listeners' engagement with both the past and present plots. L.W.S � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine