The Council of Animals

Nick McDonell, Steven Tabbutt

$51.95

Hardback

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English

HENRY HOLT AND CO
20 July 2021

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Fantasy; Myth & legend told as fiction; Fairy Tale; Dystopia

"From national bestselling author Nick McDonell, The Council of Animals is a captivating fable for humans of all ages--dreamers and cynics alike--who believe (if nothing else) in the power of timeless storytelling.

""'Now, ' continued the cat, 'there is nothing more difficult than changing an animal's mind. But I will say, in case I can change yours: humans are more useful to us outside our bellies than in.'""

Perhaps.

After The Calamity, the animals thought the humans had managed to do themselves in. But, it turns out, a few are cowering in makeshift villages. So the animals--among them a cat, a dog, a crow, a baboon, a horse, and a bear--have convened to debate whether to help the last human stragglers . . . or to eat them.

Rest assured, there is a happy ending. Sort of.

Featuring illustrations by Steven Tabbutt"

By: Nick McDonell
Illustrated by: Steven Tabbutt
Imprint: HENRY HOLT AND CO
Dimensions: Height: 220mm, Width: 141mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 304g
ISBN: 9781250799036
ISBN 10: 1250799031
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 20 July 2021
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Nick McDonell, born in 1984, is a writer of novels, journalism, and political theory. He studied literature at Harvard and international relations at St. Anthony's College, Oxford. His fiction has been published in twenty-two languages and appeared on bestseller lists around the world. A film adaptation of his first novel, Twelve, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. His academic work on nomadism--The Civilization of Perpetual Movement--was published in 2016. As a reporter for the London Review of Books, Time, TheNewYorker.com, and Harper's, Nick has embedded with the United States Army and Marines, the Afghan Special Forces, the African Union Mission to Darfur, and the Iraqi Special Forces. Nick's last book, The Bodies in Person: An Account of Civilian Casualties in American Wars, was published in 2018. Nick is a cofounder of the Zomia Center for the Study of Non-State Spaces, which supports scholarly and humanitarian projects around the world.

Reviews for The Council of Animals

The Council of Animals is a delightful fable full of wit and wisdom. Nick McDonell has dreamed up an ingenious mythology for his animals and he portrays them with the charm of Milne or Carroll. McDonell has the rare ability to combine irony with empathy and deliver satire with grace. The result is a timelessly entertaining tale that readers will find inspiring and irresistible. --Simon Rich, author of New Teeth and Ant Farm This tale's ratio of wit to wildness is positively golden. Its subtle logic and frank and tender mischief have somehow left me with the feeling of having witnessed a wake and christening combined--and I'm so very glad I attended. --Helen Oyeyemi, author of What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours