Park Judges Books By Their Covers #1

ENTER THE AARDVARK
Purchased at The Dollar Tree, Los Angeles, CA (2/17/23)

Cover Description:

Red and blue block print on a cream cover. A snaking line of stars and stripes interspersed with capital letters reading — ENTER THE AARDVARK. Is that really how you spell aardvark? That’s a weird word. . .

Five parallel sections; connected by four curvy parts. At the top, facing the left, there is a creature's head and front paws. At the bottom, the back half of the creature with goat-like feet and a tail. The result: a very stretched-out animal — a patriotic wiener dog-like thing. It occurs to me that I don’t know what an aardvark looks like. I’m wondering if that’s something I need to know before reading this book. Is it like an armadillo? I’m suddenly questioning everything. Have I ever seen an aardvark? Are they native to the United States even? One of the sections has the Union Jack Flag. Isn’t that also on the Australian flag? Are aardvarks an Australian thing? Like kangaroos or quokkas? Maybe this book is set in Australia. At the top is a quote from Kate Atkinson: “It’s a long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much.” At the bottom, on the torso of the noodle creature thing, the author’s name in all caps — JESSICA ANTHONY”.

And while usually outside of the scope of my reviews — the side binding looks just as colorful, patriotic, and Australian as the front.

Plot Prediction:

Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony is a light-hearted magical realism political travel novel. It follows the life of Bethany, a young woman who has recently completed her college studies at Boston University. With no family and no romantic relationships, Bethany feels lost and untethered.

When she receives a mysterious invitation to apply for a “too good to be true” job with a highly regarded marketing firm in Australia, Bethany sells her belongings and purchases a one-way ticket. But something is amiss at the airport — a service dog she encounters in the security line won’t stop barking at her, and later, at the gate, a bird flies into the terminal window when she’s looking out at the runway. Are these omens for her trip ahead?

On the plane, she finds herself seated next to Veronica Smoldholm, the resident veterinarian of the Melbourne Nature Conservancy. Veronica leads a team of researchers who are working to monitor the breeding patterns of indigenous aardvarks in the Australian outback. By the end of the 13-hour flight, Bethany has learned more about aardvarks than she ever thought possible, and Veronica seems to understand and sympathize with her struggles better than either of her roommates ever did.

The two women part ways at the airport, with Veronica handing her a card and an open invitation to visit her research facility. A day later, Bethany arrives for her job interview, only to find a boarded-up storefront. With no other obligations and no connections, she directs her Uber driver to take her to the Melbourne Nature Conservancy. Bethany is warmly greeted by Veronica and her team and invited to accompany the department on a research excursion departing the next day. Shortly into the trip, the team encounters a group of aardvark poachers, and the team is abducted and held hostage.

While they are being held captive, Bethany befriends a tiny field mouse that appears at the window each morning by luring it to her with crumbs of cheese. She discovers that the mouse can understand her and that she can understand the mouse in a strange telepathic way. With a bit of ingenuity and the help of the mouse, she devises a way to get a message to the outside world, and the team is saved a few days later.

On their return, Veronica admits to Bethany that she is part of a specialized team of hypnosis researchers titled A.A.R.V.A.R.K (Advanced Animal Relations Division of the Veterinary Aardvark Researchers in Kimberley). She has clandestinely observed and analyzed Bethany’s “Dr. Dolittle-like” abilities since birth and is responsible for orchestrating the fake job interview as a way to lure Bethany to Australia. Veronica offers Bethany a position with the research team communicating with the aardvark at their clandestine facility in the Northern Territory. Despite being slightly put off by the theatrics and the shock of discovering this about herself, Bethany agrees and makes a new life down under.

Additional Comments:

It should be noted here that this was the only adult book at Dollar Tree when I went to make a selection for this review. It was nestled between some alphabet books and Sesame Street easy readers. You should also know that it’s been a while since I’ve been able to get into a novel. Like at all. I’ve picked up and immediately put down almost everything I’ve tried to read recently. So, the quote at the top of the book from Kate Atkinson (whoever she is) is pretty compelling. If it’s really been a long time since Kate has enjoyed a novel this much, then I feel pretty good about my choice and have pretty high hopes that I will too.

Then again, after staring at the cover while I’ve been writing this, I’m liking it a lot less. At first, I liked the design. I love block prints and letterpress, but now it’s really reminding me of a political poster — but with an aardvark (presumably) on it instead of a donkey or elephant. I’m pretty worried that this isn’t going to have anything to do with aardvarks, and I’m going to be stuck reading dry political commentary, or worse — something with a lot of hard-to-read regional dialect.

I’m crossing my fingers that at least one aardvark will make an appearance. That sure would make me happy. Or better yet, an aardvark with a name! But I’m not holding my breath. . .

Advance Ratings:
Cover: ★★
Story Potential: ★★★

Check back in a few weeks for my post-read ratings and to see if I got anything right in my predictions.