Albert - Ein Glorreiches Schnabeltier (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Definitely odd but great fun. This is a book about a duck-billed platypus in an Australian Western and as long as you don't try to think about it too much it's fine. Actually, suspend thinking all together (where do all the sardines come from, how do they open the tins, how does a platypus get dressed etc etc) and just go with it. It is a quick read, no literary allusions or ambitions at all, no hidden meanings - unless you want to go looking for them - and all in all a book designed to put a smile on your face. If your last book was so depressing you wondered whether you could ever read another book again then try this, total nonsense to rebalance the brain. After reading this book, I have decided that I must be shallow. I couldn't read the profound meanings into this book that others have. On the back of the book "Library Journal" says the book has weighty themes about power, fear, prejudice, and good and evil. From the same quote....Albert, the main character is charming, compelling, and has the strength to honor his convictions. Albert, the platypus, escapes from the zoo and takes off traveling across Australia. He travels across the Australia looking for the "old Australia." He come across all kinds of characters (all animals I barely know....wombat, dingo, bandicoots, Tasmanian devil....had to look some of these up to see what they were talking about) I could see maybe prejudice as a theme as none of the animals Albert meets know what he is and thus they don't trust him. In all books,I try to find something redeeming or worth thinking about. Albert thinks,"a lack of certainty is never a reason to do nothing." I just kept wondering what kind of mind it took to write this book.
What do You think about Albert - Ein Glorreiches Schnabeltier (2013)?
Whimsical and exciting; eventually it feels totally natural to have a platypus as a protagonist.
—Harvin
Enjoyed very much kind of "Wind in the Willow " meets "The Good, Bad, and the Ugly".
—Billy
I liked it and would read another by this author. It seemed real, down to earth.
—pinxter