Animal Planet [Hardcover]

Scott Bradfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

Praised as the most original of a new group of California writers, the author presents a satiric fable about what happens when a crow, who leads an animal revolution against ownership by humans, becomes a media celebrity.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Comparisons to Animal Farm may inevitably trail this novel, but this arch fable offers neither the political complexity nor the biting social satire of Orwell's classic. Instead, the narrative wanders uneasily between farce and social criticism, settling comfortably into neither. Here, the instigator of animal revolution is one Charlie the Crow, whose incendiary political commentary rouses the inmates of a London zoo to riot. ("You can't expect the public to continue paying your bills forever," the animals are told.) The disturbance is quelled, but the animals' consciousness has been raised; heeding raucous Charlie's exhortation to "be goddamn articulate," they learn to speak in words, and they venture into the human world, taking jobs and establishing relationships across species boundaries. Charlie flees to Antarctica, where in the company of Buster the Penguin, Rick the Husky and Muk Luk, a sexually aggressive Eskimo, he tries to warn his fellow creatures about the dangers of human politics. Meanwhile, marketing agent Bunny Fairchild sells the rights for Charlie's story for millions; a wildebeest named Scaramangus disseminates anti-Charlie propaganda; and renegade soldiers set out to hunt down Charlie and his friends. Instead of genuinely inventive satire, Bradfield (What's Wrong with America) settles for a series of cheap jokes, launching broadsides at numerous targets but hitting very few.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

At first glance, Bradfield's novel about a worldwide wildlife uprising seems to be an update of Orwell's Animal Farm. Yet its sharp critique of mass marketing and the "culture industry" puts it closer to 1984?the difference being that it's 1995 and Big Brother isn't watching you; rather?as critic Mark Crispin Miller has put it?"Big Brother is you watching." Charlie, chatty and sardonic for a crow, foments a rebellion at the London Zoo. The animals rise up, but Charlie's credibility is coopted by his involvement in a merchandising deal with media giant Worldco, and his role is usurped by the mysterious Mr. Big, a masked wildebeast who orchestrates the revolution and the wholesale slaughter of humans that follow. Charlie becomes an enemy of the people, hunted both by the newly liberated animals and the remnants of the human government. The supporting cast?Bunny, the human literary agent who represents Charlie; Wanda, a lovelorn gorilla who tries to assimilate into the human population with mixed results; and Buster, a penguin and Charlie's best friend, who tries to learn how to fly?are as much fun as the send-up of modern culture. A fine, on-target satire in the tradition of Swift and Orwell. Recommended for popular fiction collections.?Adam Mazmanian, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Picador USA; 1st Picador USA ed edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312134282
• ISBN-13: 978-0312134280
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,907,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A bitter examination of corprate philosophy and revolution., March 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Animal Planet (Hardcover)

"Animal Planet" is a fierce and brilliant work of satire. It's singular aim seems to be the ultimate revelation of absurdity of corporate America. More than this, however, the book examines the true nature of revolution. It tears apart the myths of romance and glory that Americans believe about revolutionaries. The great revolutionaries of this book are not larger than life. They do not lead glorious armies. They resist when it is neccissary and run when it is not. They live underground, scared of shadows and afraid for their lives. Most of their revolution is conducted alone and out of contact as they run across Antarctica. They are heroes by chance. They are icons not because of who they are, but because of what they appear to be. Glory is a lie. They know this to be true. In this their greatness lies.