Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett begins with an implausible start. The protagonist Emma Starling is born with the gift of healing which seems strange enough. Then the reader realizes that the narrator tells this tale from her allotted space in the graveyard, having died and been buried some time ago. Emma’s central dysfunctional family includes her father with dementia who is slowly dying, her mother who is having an affair with his doctor, her brother Augie who is in drug rehab, and Emma herself who carries the secret of having never entering medical school when she went to study in California.
Emma returns home to New Hampshire near a private hunting park owned by millionaires who have cut it off from the general population. Hope is that Emma’s gift will heal her father Clive, whose illness is compounded with visions of animals and the ghost of famed animal charmer, Ernest Harold Baynes. His visions have led to losing his job and an obsession to find Crystal Nash, Emma’s high school friend who is missing. The small town has given up on finding Crystal since they aren’t too concerned about missing drug addicts.
The quirky novel treats tragic happenings with a sense of humor and a light touch. An interesting twist in Emma’s own ultimate rescue, after it becomes obvious that she has lost her “Charm” for healing, comes from her stint as a long-term substitute for a bunch of fifth graders.
Some of the best characters reside in the graveyard. You even have my permission to read Chapter 6 first since it gives the rules for how much the graveyard residents can participate in the living world. The book is a read that will add nothing to your life but some fun.
An extra from the “Acknowledgements” section is Annie Hartnett’s encouragement to her readers who are also writers, “To any readers of this book who are writers, too: if you’re still in the woods of your own novel – keep going. Exit this way.”