Unlikely Animals: A Novel

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett is an unlikely story, a novel that is unique, refreshing, and filled with levity despite the harsh topics it covers. Using the first person plural narrative, the story’s narrators are the ghostly inhabitants of the Maple Street Cemetery. Set in Everton, New Hampshire, the novel revolves around the Starling family and the quest to find a missing woman. Clive Starling, the patriarch of the family, is dying from an unidentified brain disease that causes confusion and tremors. The disease also causes vivid hallucinations, most notably animals and the ghost of naturalist Ernest “Harold” Baynes, New Hampshire’s “Doctor Doolittle.” Emma Starling, the prodigal daughter who returns home after dropping out of medical school, assumes legal guardianship over her father. Together the two unite to help find Emma’s estranged and missing childhood best friend, Crystal Nash, a heroin addict who has been missing for several months. The novel is slow-paced and meanders between past and present. The ghosts even joke about their lyrical narration, “a good story doesn’t always follow an arrow.” It’s true there are several tangents the ghosts go on, and while they do indeed promise a payoff, I’m not sure the patience needed to get to the reveal is worthy of the time spent reading this novel. The novel contains so many pieces that, even though they all fit into the puzzle, the image is unclear. The novel covers witch-like capabilities, the opioid crisis and addiction, infidelity, a drug trial, a budding romance, a hunting preserve for millionaires, ghost encounters, and an $18,000 pet fox from Russia. Not to mention it tackles depression, overdose, suicide, and murder, e.g. With everything combined, Crystal’s disappearance and whether she is alive or dead appears insignificant. If Hartnett had focused solely on the opioid addiction and Crystal’s disappearance, the reader would have been more engaged and invested. The real Harold Baynes is given a short excerpt with a photo for every section of the novel. While this is supposed to tie into the story with the ghostly Harold, it seems pointless. The reader doesn’t obtain any new insight and it further drags the already slow-paced novel. Hartnett has the gift of humor when writing about serious matters of addiction and death. Hartnett began writing this novel in 2020, during the Covid-19 epidemic, and her form of escape is through humor. While humor can be seen as offensive in serious situations, Hartnett’s hilarity is tasteful, and provides an escape for the reader. I found myself laughing out loud at several parts in the novel, especially the erection scene during the play. The ghosts are witty and their banter between one another is hilarious. Hartnett joined our bookclub meeting to discuss her book and I am so very thankful for that. Favorite Quote: “Imperfect human body having a hard time.” Rules of the graveyard 1. No meddling 2. The importance of caring for the people of Everton 3. No lawn games 4. No Evil doing 5. No unnecessary singing Rating 3/5

I was terrified I wouldn't like this book as much as I liked Rabbit Cake. I worried needlessly- what an interesting mix of realistic grief and joy. By the end I was happy-crying.

And oh, how I loved the children in the book. They remind me of the less specific children in "The School" from Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme, with their story flipped. Instead of death, they find life.