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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book as at this best when giving a proposed account of the hidden history of mammoths. The drive of American exceptionalism in the discovery and sale of the mighty american elephant is very interesting. It was at its worst when making up a story about two ex patriot irish revolutionaries who were eventually rescued by Native Americans. It’s just a tired trope and seemed entirely unnecessary in a book about the history that specific mammoths bones. The research about the cloning of mammoths to restore the permafrost is extremely interesting and would’ve been cool to hear more on.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
A dinosaur skull referencing the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and a fossilised penguin referencing Pingu. Need I say more?
Well yes actually, I have much to say.
As a general rule I loved this book. It was engaging and the interactions between the characters genuinely had me laughing at some points. Whilst my favourite section was definitely the beginning with the retelling of Mammut’s story whilst he was alive, the main line of the rest of the book with the movement of his remains across countries and continents was equally interesting and gave a more well rounded story of both the fossils and the humans. I have to say I prefer to think of this book as a complete work of fiction. The links to the real world 2007 auction was such an interesting premise and I’m glad that it created the space for these character to interact but, like Palaeo (my favourite little suspicious guy, I love you!), I certainly just found myself viewing this as a narrative that was imagined rather than based on true events. The ending was interesting with the epilogues taking place in the future, but really to me the joys of this book was the simplicity, genuine conversations and sarcasm between the fossils.
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a super random choice at the library because i like mammoths and it looked interesting. It’s hilarious and touching and tells the story of history through the eyes of fossils. Completely unexpected book that I really enjoyed! Will have to look out his others.
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Completely bizarre and absolutely charming. For anyone who enjoys unusual narration styles and traversing through obscure elements of history.
This book was a lot of fun and I highly recommend the audio book for the amazing voice work.
I was really disappointed that Flynn decided to anthropomorphize the mammoth and other animal fossils. I feel it was a missed opportunity to make a more interesting statement about the human narrative using this novel idea of the mammoth narrator. As it stands, the story is quite pedestrian with little insight into how man can or should change to prevent a climate crisis.