by Chris Bohjalian
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by Chris Bohjalian
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by Chris Bohjalian
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by Anne Enright
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Product Details
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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Bohjalian's new novel begins with a literal bang: a bullet from a hunting rifle accidentally strikes Spencer McCullough, an extreme advocate for animal rights, leaving him seriously wounded. The weapon—owned by his brother-in-law, John, and shot by his 12-year-old daughter, Charlotte—becomes the center of a lawsuit and media circus led by Spencer's employer, FERAL (Federation for Animal Liberation), a dead ringer for PETA. The many-faceted satire Bohjalian (Midwives, etc.) crafts out of these events revolves around Spencer and Jon's families, but also involves a host of secondary figures. Bohjalian excels at getting inside each character's head with shifts of diction and perspective, though he makes it difficult for readers to connect with any one in particular. This is in part because his portraits are often unsympathetic; the characters are allowed to hoist themselves on their own petards. While some are credibly flawed—Spencer is both a loving father and an obnoxious activist—others are cartoonishly mocked with their own thoughts, like high-powered attorney Paige, who mourns the loss of her leather chairs and briefcases, hidden away for as long as FERAL is a lucrative client. If there is a grounded center to this work, it is 10-year-old Willow, Spencer's niece, who distinguishes herself from this baggy ensemble by always trying to do the right thing. She alone is spared the narrator's irony, and it is Willow, years after the accident, who has the last word. Bohjalian's skewering of the animal rights movement gets the better of his domestic drama, but his skillful storytelling will engage readers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From AudioFile
Bohjalian's novel takes on a great deal in its pages: Family turmoil, infidelity, child-rearing, the legal system, drug use, and the body's ability to heal are a few of the challenges faced by the Setons. However, no issue is as complex or as explosive as that of animal rights. When animal-rights activist Spencer is accidentally injured by his brother-in-law's hunting rifle, the listener is exposed to a litany of modern trials and witnesses how a family copes with these problems. Susan Denaker is a skilled, capable reader, and the story is largely compelling. Some sections are slow to develop or quick to lecture, but overall the story is diverting. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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