Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

As if I didn't have enough to read this month, I had to add this tale, mostly because my hold came up at the library. I finished it just in the nick of time, as it's due back tomorrow, and I know there are plenty of folks waiting to read it--and hopefully love it just as I do. It's a novel that grows and grows on you after you've finished it and have spent some time ruminating on the big themes, and the lovable animals that populate the pages. 

At first, I chuckled as I was introduced to S.T. (short for Shit Turd), the domesticated crow who lives with Big Jim and his bloodhound, Dennis. Something odd is happening to Big Jim--his eyeball just falls out one day, and then it all rapidly goes downhill from there. Trapped at home with Big Jim as he descends into a ravening, decaying mess, S.T. realizes really quickly that it's time to leave and venture out into the great unknown--also known as Seattle. Taking Dennis, they set off to discover that what's happening at home is actually a small part of a really big apocalyptic crisis. Humanity is attacked by a virus (I won't tell you what causes it, but you betcha Mother Nature is pissed) and people are turning into ravening zombies that slowly decay into blobs of...ugh...stuff. Nature is taking over, and animals are roaming around. S.T. and Dennis realize there are many domesticated animals that are trapped in their homes, unable to get out, and doomed to die of starvation, so their mission is to rescue as many as possible. 

S.T., domesticated to the point that he feels almost human (or Mofo, as he refers to humans), almost forgets his bird-ness when he needs it the most. His relationship with Dennis was one of my favorite highlights of the novel. There's so much more to this tale than a misfit duo trying to survive in an apocalyptic world. S.T. discovers a much bigger connection to his fellow crows, nature, and the ebb and flow of Mother Earth as he slowly starts to let go of his 'Mofo-ness' and isolation. It's a cautionary tale of losing our connection to nature, and our place in the great chain of life. I know you'll come to love S.T. and Dennis as much as I did, along with the supporting characters: dogs and cats of every kind, elephants, murders of crows, and one bad-ass bald eagle. 

Rating: 5/6 for a surprisingly wonderful novel that will have you laughing, weeping, on the edge of your seat, and cheering on a rag-tag bunch of animals battling to survive a crazy, crazy world. This one will stay with me for quite some time. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

I've never read a Kurt Vonnegut novel before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I bought Galapagos on the recommendation of my brother. Uh...I bought it a few years ago, and it's been sitting on my bookcase. But once again, a book group spurred me on to pick it up and finally dive into a truly odd tale.

Published in 1985, Galapagos is told from the viewpoint of a ghost. Yes, a ghost. He's connected to the story through a ship that becomes, in a weird way, a modern Noah's Ark. Oh, and the story is told from a million years in the future.

It's A.D. 1986, and an apocalypse is brewing all over the world. A group of guests have gathered at the El Dorado Hotel in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. These guests are all bound for a trip to the Galapagos Islands for a spectacular cruise aboard the Bahia de Darwin. Little do they all know that in the space of a few short hours, two will be dead, one will be dying, and a new human race will come down to one man, a high school science teacher, and six indigenous young girls. Oh--and there's a woman who will give birth to a furry baby girl on the island that becomes ground zero for the new human race. 

It sounds pretty goofy, and it is-but there is a point to all of it. Vonnegut talks about the "big brains" that humans have in 1986, and how much trouble they are; humans are only concerned with food, shelter, and money. If they are successful, their brains keep them from ever thinking about life without food, money, and shelter. Being oblivious to need, they don't realize there are people in the world who don't have one, two, or all three of those things. Blinded by money and a full stomach, they just don't see the signs of impending doom as economies collapse, people riot, and those with happy trigger fingers declare war on each other and start unloading nuclear bombs. 

The story travels back and forth between 1986 and a million years into the future, when humans aren't really human anymore--rather, they've evolved back into fishy-type things that have smaller brains, fins, and hit their peak at age six. Utter nonsense, right? It was actually quite fun to read. Timing, slight adjustments in plans, and plain old dumb luck (or not) all play a part in the survival of the human race. Adapt, adjust, survive, until a shark eats you and you go into the blue wiggly after-life tube that everyone enters when they die. Is the human race even human a million years from now? What does it mean to be a human, after all?

This was definitely not at all what I usually read, but I'm glad I finally dipped my toe into the writing of Kurt Vonnegut. I will be interested in reading more of his novels. He's funny, thoughtful, pointed, and writes a story that kept me involved-even when I knew the ending (because he keeps telling it to you all throughout the book!). 

I don't think I'll ever think of Darwin quite the same again. 

Rating: 4/6 for an odd novel, for sure. But it's funny, in a very pointed way, about the obsessions we have that are really not worth much, and usually keep us from paying attention to what's really going on. I would love to discuss this novel with one of my reading friends, so I'll be nagging someone to read it soon! Interesting characters, a truly imaginative plot and plenty of moments where I laughed out loud. 

Available in paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut