This short novel is subtitled "a fable." Now that I am finished reading it, I've dug a little bit into the actual definition of a fable and I am intrigued by this label. There are no anthropomorphized animals in this book but there is definitely a moral and it's one I am still pondering.
We first meet our main character, Adi, while he's on a boat heading out to a remote island. He's been charged with a specific task: save the island's wildlife by eradicating it of the creature that's destroying it. Adi finds that this is a task much easier considered than actually performed. The goats that he's meant to disappear off the island are *also* wildlife and unfortunately, Adi can't just turn off his brain to do the thing. What we end up reading is the circular thoughts of a man who has experienced great tragedy and yet somehow can't stop wanting to live and let live. What deserves to die or go extinct and what deserves to be saved? And are humans even the right creatures to make that choice? It's a gritty and sometimes upsetting story (most especially if you are a serious animal lover) but I don't think it's going to leave me any time soon.
We first meet our main character, Adi, while he's on a boat heading out to a remote island. He's been charged with a specific task: save the island's wildlife by eradicating it of the creature that's destroying it. Adi finds that this is a task much easier considered than actually performed. The goats that he's meant to disappear off the island are *also* wildlife and unfortunately, Adi can't just turn off his brain to do the thing. What we end up reading is the circular thoughts of a man who has experienced great tragedy and yet somehow can't stop wanting to live and let live. What deserves to die or go extinct and what deserves to be saved? And are humans even the right creatures to make that choice? It's a gritty and sometimes upsetting story (most especially if you are a serious animal lover) but I don't think it's going to leave me any time soon.
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