Amphibian [Paperback]

Carla Gunn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2005

Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Canada and Caribbean region)

A Globe and Mail Top Five First Fiction Title of 2009
Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Canada and Caribbean region)

Nine-year-old Phineas William Walsh has an encyclopedic knowledge of the natural world. He knows that if you wet a dog's food with your saliva and he refuses to eat it then he's top dog, and he knows that dolphins can sleep half a brain at a time. What he doesn't know, though, is why his grandfather died, or why waste-of-flesh Lyle always picks on him. Or why his parents can't live together — after all, when other mate-for-life animals have a fight, it's not like one of them just packs his bags and leaves the country.

To make it to-infinity worse, he's worried sick about what humans are doing to the planet, and his mother is worried sick about him. But shouldn't everyone be losing sleep over the fact that a quarter of all Earth's mammals are on the Red List of Threatened Species? So, when a White's tree frog ends up in an aquarium in his fourth-grade classroom, it's the last straw, and he and his best friend, Bird, are spurred to action.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Carla Gunn has fashioned (more likely been possessed by) an irresistible voice ... [Her] sense of the absurd — drawn always from the grim facts — is the sort that trumps despair with healing mirth.' – Globe and Mail

'Amphibian is a sweet and smart book for optimists of any age, and Phin the perfect eco hero for intelligent readers everywhere.' – NOW

'Carla Gunn's prose crackles with energy in this illuminating, heart-gripping novel. A hilarious, brilliant, loveable, exasperating child, Phin and his mesmerizing voice need listening to. The powerful, authentic narrator brings to mind The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, but Gunn's an original, and draws us deeply into Phin's many and varied worlds. A compassionate tale balancing light and dark, this is a must-read book.' — Sheree Fitch, author of Kiss the Joy As It Flies

'I'm thrilled to promote Amphibian as our number one summer reading suggestion to customers of all ages, many of whom have returned to say how much they enjoyed it. It really has all the elements of a classic in the making. In nine-year-old Phineas Walsh, Carla Gunn has created a narrator that is perceptive, hilarious and frustrating, as he grapples with humanity's seeming indifference to the rapid destruction of our animals and our planet. The issues are urgent, yet the author maintains a light tone throughout that is breathtakingly delightful, heartfelt and ultimately hopeful. It's fresh,
timely and very hard to find fault with. I was thrilled to read it and shed light on this gem of a book that might otherwise get lost in the shuffle. It's what independent bookselling is all about.' — Andrew Peck, Singing Pebble Books, Ottawa

About the Author

Carla Gunn’s work has been published in the Globe and Mail, the National Post and heard on CBC radio. Along with writing, she teaches psychology and she worries. About everything. But especially climate change, mass extinctions and that mole that she can feel but not see. This is her first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Coach House Books; 1 edition (April 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155245214X
• ISBN-13: 978-1552452141
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,764,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, November 11, 2011

By 

Rik - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amphibian (Paperback)

I loved this book. It is written from a young person's perspective and although I am many years older, I thoroughly enjoyed this trip into Phineas' mind. His idiosyncratic behaviour was entertaining and his character very very likable. I would highly recommend this book for its plot, character and humour. The book also has an environmental theme, but that theme is far from contrived; it's a story involving a kid who grew up with environmentalism an everyday concern. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

- Rik

4.0 out of 5 stars original and beautifully crafted, October 4, 2011

By 

Johanna Bertin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amphibian (Paperback)

Original, and beautifully crafted in the voice of 9 year old Phineas William Walsh, Gunn's novel tells the story of a child dealing with the inconsistencies of human relationships.

"How do people who love each other one day, no longer love each other the next", asks Phin? "Where does all the good stuff go, the happy times, when somebody dies?" And why do teachers prefer "their" answers to the "right" answers?

Phin is a supremely engaging bright child; at turns adorable, frustrating, irritating, sensitive, and demanding. He grieves for a world being destroyed by careless human beings, and he wants desperately to engage other children and adults in the importance of making change while there is still time, and still animals to save. He keeps a list of endangered species and is worried that by the time he grows up, it will be too late.

I found myself fearing for Phin, for this intense child overwhelmed with the seeming impossibility of getting adults to pay attention. He is bullied at school and is hurt and angry at the loss of his father through his parent's separation: "Some male primates don't stick around to look after their kids but human fathers are supposed to be more like the marmoset, who does. What the heck's wrong with my father," he asks?

The sometimes somber mood, the sense of impending catastrophe as Phin's behaviour becomes more and more difficult is lightened by wonderful bits of Phin curiosity. "Once you are in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?" His relationship with his sensitive, caring, frightened out of her mind for Phin mother is a lesson in creative and meaningful parenting.

Kudos to Carla for creating such a wonderful authentic story. I only hope she follows this book with a "Book of Phin Curiosities' geared for other children.

Johanna Bertin
Author of Don Messer: the Man Behind the Music, Goose Lane Editions, 2009