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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Chris Flynn pulls off a clever idea with Mammoth.
Embellishing actual historical events via the narration of a long-dead Mammoth isn't something you read every day.
It was well executed if a tad dry at times, but even the other soulful exhibits and our titular narrator concede to that.
I do hope though for the sake of all the fossils out there that they don't have a fossilife and that once we perish out bones are just organic matter left to whatever occurs, whether that be to rot or be stared at aimlessly by others.
Embellishing actual historical events via the narration of a long-dead Mammoth isn't something you read every day.
It was well executed if a tad dry at times, but even the other soulful exhibits and our titular narrator concede to that.
I do hope though for the sake of all the fossils out there that they don't have a fossilife and that once we perish out bones are just organic matter left to whatever occurs, whether that be to rot or be stared at aimlessly by others.
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A quirky, funny and profound story. Lots of hard truths about humanity mixed with hilarious banter between sentient fossils stuck in an auction house waiting to be sold as treasures to the highest bidder.
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Thai was sooooo much fun.
I got invested is a fossil.
I cried.
The BEST twist.
I got invested is a fossil.
I cried.
The BEST twist.
A fascinating conceit marks this novel out for me. Picture it: the fossilised remains of a 13,000-year-old Mastodon americanum (the archaic class of Mammut or Mammoth, as you'll likely know it) holds forth to a warehouse of similarly fossilised detritus from history, including a sassy Tarbosaurus bataar (a slightly smaller T-Rex) who learned English from Spanish-speaking crate packers, a mouthy prehistoric penguin who's picked up his manners from over a hundred years spent in a Boston Bar, the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy and a distant relative of the pterodactyl who lived through the Nazi period.
The point of all this is to take a walk through history and reflect on how human beings (or Clovis as our narrator knows us) tend to fuck things up. If museum pieces are not your thing, fret not (despite T-Batar's complaints), this is anything but a dusty and dull tale. The humour is dry and the conclusions bleak.
I loved it.
The point of all this is to take a walk through history and reflect on how human beings (or Clovis as our narrator knows us) tend to fuck things up. If museum pieces are not your thing, fret not (despite T-Batar's complaints), this is anything but a dusty and dull tale. The humour is dry and the conclusions bleak.
I loved it.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Odd and quirky, which should have been right up my alley, but I couldn't keep track of the narrators or the time periods or the geography. Trying to cram 10,000+ years of history into ~250 pages filled with constant interruptions by snarky fossils felt disjointed and rambling. But kudos for the imaginative approach.