“Beatrice and Virgil” by Yann Martel (2010, Canongate)
Finished reading on 25.08.2012
Rating: 7 out of 10
When I started reading this book I had no idea, what I was going in for. Having read “Life of Pi” a few years back, I didn’t really remember the style of Martel.
In the beginning it was great, funny, a little odd, but still impressive and interesting, the first dialogues between Virgil (a monkey) and Beatrice (a donkey) were just right – seemingly philosophical and deep and the you think back and realize they’re talking about food… and you haven’t eaten breakfast yet…
There are two Henry’s in this novel, one is a successful writer, and the other one is a taxidermist, who’s writing a play, where the main characters are a monkey and a donkey. The two Henry’s meet. The taxidermist needs the writer’s help on his play, and the writer is happy to help, although the taxidermist seems a little odd.
There’s a twist in the end, which kind of ruined it for me, but otherwise it was a good read.
