The Animal Lover
The Animal Lover
Best-selling author Ted Botha’s first novel has been praised as a mixture of Evelyn Waugh and William Boyd that “blends sharp wit and satire” and “takes you on “a thrilling wild escapade” through modern-day and wartime Africa.
A madcap chase through today’s urban jungle in search of a priceless trophy gives way to a love story set in a mysteriously magical plantation in the real jungle of World War 2. As Upton Magna reads the 1940 diary of the dashing engineer Hercule, he notices eerie similarities between himself and the Frenchman. Even the two enigmatic women they are pursuing, Ella Bazaar and Sylvie, look and behave the same. Yet the only apparent connection between the four is an okapi, and their separate attempts to find the rare animal lead them all to a cataclysmic showdown.
Equal parts mystery, romance and adventure that crisscrosses the globe, The Animal Lover is reminiscent of Water for Elephants and The Life of Pi, a romp of a journey in time that will keep you guessing right up to the heart-lifting end.
“In a style reminiscent of Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene and William Boyd, Botha’s narrative blends sharp wit and satire… The Animal Lover is a thrilling escapade that will keep readers guessing … until its explosive ending.”
“A wild, hilarious, utterly engaging adventure that traverses continents and timelines, transporting readers from modern to colonial Africa and back again, with stops in London, Manila and Mexico City…Through the captivating dialogue and interactions of his wonderful cast of characters, Botha reveals much about human folly and vanity.”