I just finished Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony, and I feel oddly satisfied by it. The book is a satire, following two gay men separated by 150 years: a taxidermist in Victorian England, and a modern day republican congressman. The thing that connects them? An aardvark, carefully preserved by Titus Downing after the death of his lover down in Africa. Meanwhile in current times, Alexander Paine Wilson (R) is such a fascinating character. He's so unlikable, but his perspective is so interesting. When he decides to break off his relationship with his lover, the next day a taxidermy aardvark is delivered to his house, and his life begins to unravel. Greg Tampico, his lover and former owner of the aardvark, is dead.

This book really made me think, and overall I enjoyed it. Alexander was particularly awful, but inside his head was so fascinating--insisting he's not gay, but even if he was, it's okay for him. He knows the name and price of almost everything he owns, but not the name of his staffers, who he refers to in the collective--the mysterious "staffers." The point of the satire is to highlight the absurdity of certain political positions, by presenting them as they are (we are all abundantly aware that most political contradictions are due to corruption $) but Alexander isn't a particularly bright character, and as you watch his life fall apart there's a satisfaction, but also a melancholy that comes with the knowledge that this kind of person exists, and exists in a greater frequency than we would like.

Now Titus Downing, Victorian taxidermist, in my opinion is a much more likable character. He clawed his way up into scientific relevance, despite not being educated, and has found deep solace in the work of taxidermy. He wants to capture the spirit, the essence of the skin and bones he recreates. Titus has certain.... preferences (he is gay) and his lover, famous African explorer Richard Ostet has just died. Titus, as always, finds solace in his work, and when a package from Ostet arrives with the skin and bones of the aardvark, he makes recreating it his magnum opus. But his life, too unravels, just in a much different way than Alexander's. Both male characters are misogynistic, but in different ways. Alexander is the kind that we are familiar with, but Titus is so interesting. He has been constrained by society, is unable to be his true self, and so are the women in his society--he is unable to understand them. The author herself isn't misogynistic and her female characters are incredibly intricate, and the way Ostet's wife and Titus try to find their footing around each other is an interesting commentary, I think on, societal pressures.

It's an incredibly short book, but the prose is succinct and yet descriptive and beautiful. It successfully and gracefully satirized something so intricate. I think this book will sit with me a while.

4/5 stars