Unlikely Animals
Hartnett, Annie
Emma Starling once had big plans for her life, but she's lost her way. A medical school dropout, she's come back to small-town Everton, New Hampshire, to care for her father, who is dying from a mysterious brain disease. Clive Starling has been hallucinating small animals, as well as having visions of the ghost of a long-dead naturalist, Ernest Harold Baynes, once known for letting wild animals live in his house. This ghost has been giving Clive some ideas on how to spend his final days.
Emma arrives home knowing she must face her dad's illness, her mom's judgment, and her younger brother's recent stint in rehab, but she's unprepared to find that her former best friend from high school is missing, with no one bothering to look for her. The police say they don't spend much time looking for drug addicts. Emma's dad is the only one convinced the young woman might still be alive, and Emma is hopeful he could be right. Someone should look for her, at least. Emma isn't really trying to be a hero, but somehow she and her father bring about just the kind of miracle the town needs. [Taken from book blurb, Hodder Books]
Comments from BDS Reviewers
"Quirky, absurdist family drama. So enjoyable and different."
"Tender, and despite everything, all members of the family care for one another."
"Many unusual, almost crazy, things happen but the book is captivating and compelling and very satisfying at the end."
"A story of deep loss that is also funny, indeed hilarious at times."
"I found the whole topic of Corbin Park fascinating - I'd never heard of it before."
"Serious topics are explored in a way which is intriguing and thought-provoking, all in a storyline which drives the reader on."
"It took me a wee while to work out how the story held together. It was well worth hanging on until the situation revealed itself."
"This is a very quirky book! The dead in the cemetery are frequent narrators in the book which brings a lot of humour."
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2023