My Stupid Intentions

The intelligent animals of Zannoni’s zany debut couldn’t be further from the gentle beasts of Disney. The guide to this savage natural world is Archy, a beech marten whose first harsh lesson comes when he is crippled by a fall from a tree while stealing robin’s eggs. His second comes when his family sells him to a cantankerous and shrewd old fox named Solomon. Solomon teaches Archy to read, write, and fear God; in time, Archy becomes the equal of the forest’s wild boars, dogs, and rabbits despite his injury, yet he still worries God has interfered, making him “the only anomaly in a design that was already staring me in the face.” After his search for his family ends in disappointment, Archy—recognizing that even Solomon will one day pass from the earth—seeks his own destiny. He comes to know love only to leave it behind, and a battle with a vengeful lynx takes him far from the only hill he has ever known. Taking refuge in the burrow of a particularly obsequious porcupine, he begins to compose his memoirs. In this exciting modern twist on The Wind in the Willows, Zannoni knows when to leave his existential Eden behind and go for the jugular. (June)