How to Attract the Wombat

Gently funny.

Mr. Fully had an unusual, and delightful way of looking at the world. I wish we had humorists like him around today.Oh, well, at least we still have Wombats.

Will Cuppy sta trovando un seguito di "cult" e si capisce. Non mentono i suoi primi estimatori: il suo umorismo è irresistibile.

Il est mort l'année où je suis né, ça nous laissait peu de chance de nous rencontrer. Dommage, j'aime son côté blague-à-froid, cet air de ne pas y toucher ; il garouille dans la zoologie comme un gamin dans une flaque de boue, il éclabousse avec le sourire d'une oreille à l'autre.

Will Cuppy has written a very strange, very funny little volume that covers a lot of territory. Ostensibly, it is mainly devoted to an overview of animal characteristics, and includes a great deal of odd and relatively unknown facts on a myriad of animals (my undergraduate degree is in Biology, and I learned many peculiar things from this book).The amazing thing about the book for me is the literate weaving of a coherent book which includes not only an explanation of the head-foot and lifestyles of lower mollusks, but a tracing of literary references of mollusks through history, from the ancient Greeks to Wordsworth (really). That kind of surreal juxtaposition runs throughout the book, and is perfectly delightful. The net result is a book that it genuinely educational, and simultaneously hilarious.Cuppy has a wonderful way with words, indeed he has a rich vocabulary and elegant writing style that is mostly forgotten in contemporary writers. I wish this book was compulsory reading in all high schools (take your pick in English or Biology class) to expose students to the concept that a book, even with a sometimes strange or mundane subject, can be utterly fascinating when told well.My only minor critique of the book is the relative abundance of footnotes, which is sometimes a bit distracting. If you want a good laugh, or you just love animals this book is a good choice. It turns out that wombats are pretty interesting, believe it or not!

Love Will Cuppy's work. It's a little awkward on the Kindle, because the footnotes are often the best (funniest) part, and it's hard to navigate to some of them without turning a page instead (or to navigate back instead of turning a page); but it's well worth the trouble.