The Bestiary [Kindle Edition]

Nicholas Christopher (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Christopher's magical fifth novel, a sympathetic history teacher takes an interest in quiet, studious Xeno Atlas, who has developed a burning interest in real and imaginary animals. I first heard of the Caravan Bestiary when I was fifteen years old, and it changed the course of my life, Xeno declares. The young man undertakes a quest to find the ancient manuscript, which describes animals left off Noah's Ark (including the Catoblepas, a white bird with divining powers) and was assumed lost many years ago. The search entails an around-the-world journey, wherein Xeno learns the answers to long-standing family mysteries, uncovers a wealth of lost knowledge and finds true love with his best friend's sister, the lovely Lena Moretti. Christopher (A Trip to the Stars) also saddles his protagonist with a dead mother; a mysterious, perpetually grieving, peripatetic father; a shape-shifting shamanistic grandmother; and a lonely, troubled childhood. His evocative prose yields a narrative loaded with fascinating arcana and intriguing characters. (July)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

The Bestiary, Nicholas Christopher's fifth novel-after Franklin Flyer (2002) and A Trip to the Stars (2000)-has more than a little in common with Dan Brown's hugely popular The Da Vinci Code: the plots of both books are driven by a search for a lost object whose disappearance involves significant religious and historical intrigue. But The Bestiary is no mere Da Vinci knockoff. As the Washington Post opines, by blurring the edges of fantasy and reality, "Christopher is doing something strange here-and tantalizing." The novel's exploration of magical realism is what sets it apart, and its depiction of Xeno's enchanting, melancholy journey from Paris to Venice to Vietnam as he discovers beasts and himself is both riveting and heartwarming.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 390 KB
• Print Length: 322 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0385337361
• Publisher: The Dial Press (June 26, 2007)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000SCHC92
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,090 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 7, 2007

By 

KP (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bestiary (Hardcover)

Caveat: "A Trip to the Stars" was the first Nicholas Christopher book I read. I loved it. I've since read his other fiction works, and I've been disappointed by all in comparison. The Bestiary is no different.

The Bestiary gets off to a good start-- Xeno's empty and lonely childhood is haunting and the tension building in his relationships with those around him is palpable. I kept waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. By the middle of the book, I'd just about run out of steam. I stuck with it to find out what happened, and was unimpressed by the ending. This was a book I finished just to finish, not because I was compelled to find out what happened or even particularly cared.

I also felt occasionally as if there were a private joke I simply wasn't privy to. In an otherwise serious novel, a Maine private prep school teacher named Cletis? Christopher also seems to rely on numerous symbols to communicate or hint at some message. Unfortunately, they seem like sentences with only beginnings and no end: they seem to be meaningful, but what they mean is none too clear to me.

Over all, this book got off to a great start, but sputtered to a fairly anemic end.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first of his books I read, December 1, 2007

By 

Deb - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bestiary (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I notice that other reviewers liked the first christopher novel they read the best; That was true for me with this book. Beautifully written, a compelling mystery and fascinating characters. After I finished Bestiary, I read all his earlier novels which I enjoyed, but not quite as much as The Bestiary (Franklin Flyer was my second favorite. There is a simplicity that I really liked to this book). Strongly recommend Christopher,especially if you are partial to magical realism.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars effortlessly beautiful page-turning fun, August 7, 2007

By 

wordtron (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Bestiary (Hardcover)

nicholas christopher's books are not-so guilty pleasures of mine. not-so guilty because they're just so much fun to read -- effortlessly beautiful page-turning prose following an intellectual (usually arcane) quest. he's quietly building a unique body of work. if you're the kind of person who wanted less action and more book-browsing in far-flung libraries in Raiders of the Lost Ark (which isn't to say ROTLA isn't one of the most perfect movies ever), his books might appeal to you, especially this one, featuring conscipuously named characters like Xeno Atlas, the protagonist, and his lifelong search (1950s - 80s) from the Bronx to Paris to Venice to Crete for an obscure illuminated book called the Caravan Bestiary. legend holds this book contains descriptions of all the animals that failed to make it on to noah's ark. it may not be powerfully deep in the end, but reading this is mostly about sumptuous intellectual escapism in the hands of a wonderful imagination. i'd also recommend A Trip to the Stars by christopher. his poetry books are excellent too, as they also excel in narrative and mood.