Albert of Adelaide - Hardcover

Anderson, Howard L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 184668840X ISBN 13: 9781846688409

Publisher: Twelve, 2012

Synopsis

Albert is a duck-billed platypus, who has escaped from a zoo in Adelaide to look for somewhere that may, or may not, exist: Old Australia, a place where humans never venture, and animals still rule. Albert knows it's somewhere in the middle of the Outback - not the ideal habitat for a water-loving animal - but now he's lost and close to death. He's saved, though, by Jack, a pyromaniac, sardine-loving wombat, who promptly gets him into even worse trouble taking him to a marsupial-only bar run by a kangaroo called O'Hanlin, getting him drunk and then burning the bar down. And this is just the beginning of Albert's adventure ... A glorious romp of a novel, Albert of Adelaide is a story of friendship, loyalty and heroism. And marsupials. Pacy and poignant, it's completely original -- a book for people (and animals) of all ages.

About this title

About the Author

Howard L. Anderson has lived a varied life: he flew with a helicopter battalion in Vietnam, worked on fishing boats in Alaska, in the steel mills of Pittsburgh, as a truck driver in Houston, and a scriptwriter in Hollywood. After earning a law degree, he became legal counsel for the New Mexico Organized Crime Commission. He is currently a district attorney in New Mexico, where he defends Mexican nationals charged with crimes north of the border. Albert of Adelaide is his first novel. He has never lived in Australia.

Review

"If Larry McMurtry had written Wind in the Willows, he might have come up with something almost as wonderful and moving as Howard Anderson's Albert of Adelaide. This is a novel that defies analysis and summaries. Trust me. Just read it." (Mary Doria Russell, New York Times bestselling author of The Sparrow and Doc)

"This debut novel from a 69-year-old New Mexico lawyer is rich in commentary on weighty themes: power, fear, prejudice, and the fluid nature of good and evil. Most of all, Albert is a charming and compelling hero with the strength to honor his convictions while inventing a new life for himself. Readers who enjoy contemporary fiction with shades of social/political commentary will appreciate this." (Library Journal)

"Memorable . . . lively . . . quick to satisfy with old-fashioned pleasures: action, adventure, fast friends, and unlikely heroes."
(Publishers Weekly)

"Required reading....If you've been searching for an old-fashioned Western with a platypus protagonist, wait no more." (The New York Post)

"Trust me. You will love this book and will find yourself reading passages aloud to your loved ones, maybe even to the dog." (Hudson Valley News)

"Remember the poignant beauty of The Wind in the Willows? Take those characters, switch them with wombats, wallabies, dingos, a Tasmanian devil and a platypus, and then give everyone a firearm." (The Tennessean)

"Charming....Join Albert the platypus on a delightful, sometimes harrowing, road trip in Australia during which many things happen-not all of them good." (Shelf Awareness )

"Funny, touching, and entertaining. Most of all, though, it's unique. Howard L. Anderson's gun-slinging platypus is a whimsical addition to the tradition of beast epics, and, in an industry sometimes enamored of clichés, Albert of Adelaide is one of the most imaginative books published in years." (Fiction Writers Review)

"The novel really is at its heart a wonderfully uplifting tale of friendship, survival, and healing, against the most aggravating of obstacles. Once Albert has waddled onto store shelves in paperback, I fully expect book groups around the country to gleefully tear it apart, especially book groups with an emphasis on civic engagement." (Timestage Embassy)

"The sort of book for which summers on the Vineyard were created...Enough hijinks ensue to insure a sunburn, as the reader tries to get in just one more chapter before having to move to the shade." (NY Journal of Books)

About this edition

• Publisher: Twelve
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 184668840X
• ISBN 13: 9781846688409
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 228