Beatrice and Virgil: A Novel
When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey--named Beatrice and Virgil--and the epic journey they undertake together. With all the spirit and originality that made Life of Pi so beloved, this brilliant new novel takes the reader on a haunting odyssey. On the way Martel asks profound questions about life and art, truth and deception, responsibility and complicity.
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Community Reviews
I had no idea this book was so controversial. I only know I bought it a long time ago and then kept it on my shelf for forever because I was sure I would be disappointed after the genius of Life of Pi.
I immediately fell in love with Beatrice and Virgil, the characters — a donkey and a howler monkey. Their dialogue, their gentle souls, their love for each other... We know they’ve been through something horrific that they have difficulty talking about (“The Horrors” they decide to call it).
I guess some people object to using animals (and btw, I object to critics using the term "stuffed animals" in talking about this. Yes, taxidermy is technically stuffed animals, but using that term "frivolizes" and infantilizes what the author is trying to do) to talk about the Holocaust -- or more correctly, to talk about how hard it is to talk about the Holocaust. I thought it was brilliant, poignant, heartbreaking... And horrifying at the end. I think he's trying to say (maybe?) the only way most of us can deal with talking/reading/hearing/knowing about the Holocaust is only in vague terms. We know it was horrific, but please don't make us hear the specifics because we just can't take it. So as he says, Beatrice and Virgil are our guides through hell, and they've lulled us so gently into this shocking and violent territory, when it's too late for us to look away.
I have to admit that I didn't really understand what happened with the taxidermist at the end. Was it because he knew/felt he had been "found out" that he did what he did?
I immediately fell in love with Beatrice and Virgil, the characters — a donkey and a howler monkey. Their dialogue, their gentle souls, their love for each other... We know they’ve been through something horrific that they have difficulty talking about (“The Horrors” they decide to call it).
I guess some people object to using animals (and btw, I object to critics using the term "stuffed animals" in talking about this. Yes, taxidermy is technically stuffed animals, but using that term "frivolizes" and infantilizes what the author is trying to do) to talk about the Holocaust -- or more correctly, to talk about how hard it is to talk about the Holocaust. I thought it was brilliant, poignant, heartbreaking... And horrifying at the end. I think he's trying to say (maybe?) the only way most of us can deal with talking/reading/hearing/knowing about the Holocaust is only in vague terms. We know it was horrific, but please don't make us hear the specifics because we just can't take it. So as he says, Beatrice and Virgil are our guides through hell, and they've lulled us so gently into this shocking and violent territory, when it's too late for us to look away.
I have to admit that I didn't really understand what happened with the taxidermist at the end. Was it because he knew/felt he had been "found out" that he did what he did?
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