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Conversations with Extinct Animals: A Novel
An experimental narrative by eco-fiction author and poet Patrick Lawler evolves out of the interactions between twenty-four extinct animals and those characters who struggle for significance in the face of their own extinction
Patrick Lawler’s second novel, Conversations with Extinct Animal, is a dialogue between psychology and ecology—between poetry and story. A suicide note masquerading as a love letter, the novel transcends genres and keeps kaleidoscopically sometimes it is an elegy, and sometimes it is a therapy session—but always these are the field notes for the end of the world.
As a collection of characters associated with The Facility come to terms with an individual’s death, they must confront their own losses amid the colossal absence of the twenty-four extinct animals. All the characters float between various inexplicable, mystifying “syndromes” that call into question their identities and, ultimately, call into question the elements of story itself. “Looking at pictures of the Extinct Animals, I can’t help but wonder if it is too late to save the world—especially since there are so many different worlds,” observes the narrator of the novel in his efforts to save the unsavable.
Patrick Lawler’s second novel, Conversations with Extinct Animal, is a dialogue between psychology and ecology—between poetry and story. A suicide note masquerading as a love letter, the novel transcends genres and keeps kaleidoscopically sometimes it is an elegy, and sometimes it is a therapy session—but always these are the field notes for the end of the world.
As a collection of characters associated with The Facility come to terms with an individual’s death, they must confront their own losses amid the colossal absence of the twenty-four extinct animals. All the characters float between various inexplicable, mystifying “syndromes” that call into question their identities and, ultimately, call into question the elements of story itself. “Looking at pictures of the Extinct Animals, I can’t help but wonder if it is too late to save the world—especially since there are so many different worlds,” observes the narrator of the novel in his efforts to save the unsavable.
108 pages, Paperback
Published March 5, 2025
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November 2, 2025
Conceptually, I’m right there with this one. The premise is fascinating and there are some really beautiful lines of poetry in here. It’s sometimes funny and sometimes irreverent and sometimes heartbreaking. Mostly, it felt experimental and sometimes the metaphors were so densely layered it was hard to untangle them and keep moving forward at the same time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review