The Council of Animals

February 1, 2021

In this nerve-rackingly relevant tale from novelist/journalist McDonell, pandemic has left a handful of woebegone humans alive in scattered villages, and the animals convene a council. Should they help these poor souls--or eat them? With a 75,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 3, 2021
Journalist and novelist McDonell (An Expensive Education) imagines animals debating the fate of humanity in this exciting fable. In the aftermath of a human-caused ecological apocalypse called the Calamity, a group of animal representatives meet to debate killing the handful of remaining humans. An enraged baboon, the victim of scientific experiments, bribes a simple-minded horse into siding with the plan to eat the survivors, while a dog (who served in “the bacon wars” with an army fighting another group of humans that forbade bacon), a movie star bear, and a cat vote in favor of allowing them to live. An uninvited mouse casts a vote for the rodents; a furry, mythical aquatic beast arrives; and the baboon makes a secret pact with the cockroaches. When the votes are tallied, humans are marked for annihilation and the council adjourns to organize the assault. The cat, however, has a contingency plan and takes the bear and dog through a tunnel built by ninja moles to find a human who is rumored to speak grak (the common language of all animals). Unexpected obstacles upend their plans but set up the surprising conclusion. Dashes of humor and taut pacing elevate this appealing tale. Readers will be delighted.

May 15, 2021
Talking animals convene a meeting to decide the fate of humanity after an environmental catastrophe. A bulldog, a horse, a bear, a cat, a crow and a baboon gather on a superyacht grounded on a cliff high above the sea to vote on whether to kill and eat the remaining population of perhaps a dozen humans after an eco-calamity destroyed the animals' habitats. Each animal representative is given an opportunity to speak for or against consuming the humans. The arguments and vote-by-vote tallies are reported by a historian who, judging by the digressions throughout the narrative, may be more interested in yetis, the nature of courage, and bat justice, among other topics, than the fate of humanity. When the vote goes against the humans, the animals split into two forces: Those who intend to devour the humans and those who hope to save them from the other animals. Humorous wordplay--"it does not behoof the historian," "the cat and dog confurred"--lightens the grim subject matter. Tension builds to a surprising and audacious climax, then flattens to a disappointing ending in which key elements are left unresolved. An entertaining animal story that may prove too scary for children and too childish for adults.

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December 1, 2021

Years after humans caused the Calamity, the animal kingdom realizes there are still a few humans left alive. Terrified that if the humans are left alone, they will simply bring about another Calamity, a council convenes to determine whether the humans should be helped or eaten. But as the council deliberates, true motives, deceptions, and briberies are brought to light. Facing threats from within, a few animals set out to find the rumored human who can speak their language and, as they meet other animals who were not invited to vote, soon realize their goal was not as black and white as they originally believed. With a digression-prone narrator, all-too-human animal characters, a straightforward plot, clever prose, and a heavy-handed allegory underpinning the whole story, McDonell's tale offers a variety of entry points for a broad audience. Tabbutt's illustrations add levity and gravity by turn and often serve as stark reminders of the humans' absence at the vote concerning their own extinction. VERDICT An Aesop's fable for the postapocalypse, this is a conversation starter for book clubs, developing readers, and lesson plans exploring literary devices.-Madeline Newquist, Center for Fiction, Brooklyn

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July 23, 2021

After humans cause "the Calamity," the remaining animal populations on Earth gather to decide whether to allow the remaining human population to live. A council of seven animals, including six mammals and one mythical sea creature, meet to discuss the issue. When their initial vote is in favor of killing the humans by four to three, the animals who voted to allow the humans to live (a cat, a dog, and a bear) search for a way to save the human race. When the cat hears that there is a single human who speaks grak, the universal animal lingua franca, the three friends make their way to the human settlement with the help of some ninja moles. There they find a grak-speaking boy who volunteers to return with them and plead for his species with the other animals. His appearance provokes a wild melee, but he finally convinces the gathered animals to let the humans live by promising them something satisfyingly retributive and ironic. VERDICT Both wildly imaginative and surprisingly funny, with (mostly) endearing characters, this thinly veiled metaphor offers what feels like an appropriate outcome. Tabbutt's drawings of the animals add to the whimsy and interest of the tale by McDonell (An Expensive Education; The Bodies in Person), which readers of all ages will enjoy. Highly recommended.--Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.