When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey — named Beatrice and Virgil — and the epic journey they undertake together.
With all the spirit and originality that made so beloved, this … Life of Pi so beloved, this brilliant new novel takes the reader on a haunting odyssey. On the way Martel asks profound questions about life and art, truth and deception, responsibility, and complicity.
BONUS: This edition contains a Beatrice and Virgil discussion guide.
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Read 7.3.2021
This is a fantastic book. Martel often uses animals in his books. I think this may be because since we can empathize with the vulnerability of an animals helplessness it helps to understand the author’s message. The animals in the play within the book are such completely sympathetic characters that I could cry as I recall them now years after …
Novels about writers and writing have become a cliché. Why don’t we all agree to allow just one more in the genre—the title, Writer’s Angst! The entire text—”It’s hard, baby. Oh, it’s hard.” It has everything. Brevity, drama, plenty of double entendre. Anyway, just a thought.
When Yan Martel’s short 2010 novel Beatrice and Virgil opened with the …
a disappointingly poor follow up to The Life of Pi.
I recently finished reading Yann Martel’s Beatrice and Virgil a couple, and afterwards I was kind of speechlesslessly moved… and disturbed. But after the prickles in my skin smoothed and my fur unruffled, a couple of sleeps later… these thoughts came to me.
One could say that it is ‘like’ Life of Pi in that it’s deep and philosophical… and… it …
Not nearly as engaging as Life of Pi.
Very unique book and presentation. At first I didn’t understand where the author was leading the reader, but once I understood , the uniqueness of the book was revealed.
Loved this one every step of the way. A great complex author.
So weird but intriguing.
i enjoy the author’s self deprecating humor throughout the book. The insights about donkeys and other animals were informative in an interesting way. The book had a lot of humanity
book was not what I expected, looking for another Life of Pi
was disappointed in the author.
It was well-written but a wretched bummer of a story. Definitely don’t read this if you’re depressed.
I loved the Life of Pi — I mean, who didn’t? If you’re expecting more of the same you will be disappointed. It’s good enough and it’s worth the time but I felt myself getting bogged down more than once.