J.M. Ledgard's Giraffe
This was seriously depressing, not least of all because it's based on the true story of the largest giraffe herd in captivity being massacred in Czechoslovakia in 1975. It probably would be more depressing if the several narrators--a mysterious scientist, a young girl who sleepwalks, and a sharpshooter--were given more depth of character (I actually liked the girl a lot, but the others were barely more than sketches). Also, one of the giraffes narrates part of the action, but when I expected her voice to come through, it didn't. Whatever, if you want to read a novel about wacky Communists ordering the death of 47 giraffes, then check this out. I like giraffes and this novel didn't quite do them justice. B-.
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