Describing Unlikely Animals is like describing a color—it’s not easy. A prodigal daughter, Emma Starling, returns home to a small town in New Hampshire. Her father is ill, and her presence may extend her padre’s life. Emma has a secret she knows she must confess to her family. However, her family isn’t telling Emma everything either, especially about her best friend. Meanwhile, the ghost of a naturalist is encouraging one of the living to adopt a wild animal, a fifth grade class is coping with the death of one of their friends from leukemia, and Emma crosses paths with an old crush. Oh, and last but not least, dead people in the cemetery provide commentary through the entire book.
Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett is both bizarre and grounded, funny and melancholic, absurd and relatable. Emma is a likable enough main character. The novel demands more and more from her as it unfolds, and she continues to rise to the occasion. Her family is not entirely screwy, except one member, but he has a good reason. The entire plot is a hodge-podge of scenes, difficult to determine where the novel is headed.
A strength of Unlike Animal’s plot is its unpredictability. One moment, everything looks dire, and the next, re-assuring. The narrative is unique, and its writing is the strength that holds it together. The other constant is the dead narrators who are hilarious. Their little pieces of advice or reflections often end scenes with a smile. The cemetery commentary was an inspired inclusion.
The book appears to have no modern agenda. It contains serious themes, but I never had the sense the author was preaching, the fault of most modern novels. Instead, Unlikely Animals is a tale of family, responsibility, and support. The lack of a sermon gives it a timeless appeal, as in, if a reader revisits it in twenty years, it will work the same way.
This is a multiple point-of-view novel, and it occasionally veers off when it jumps into another character. The ending, too, comes together a little too easily. But in this unlikely story, it makes sense. I wasn’t disappointed but surprised at how it ended.
Unlikely Animals deserved a place on many Best Books of Year. Warm and heartfelt, but also absurd and zany, this timeless novel reminds us of the lessons we learn in life…and the afterlife.