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Mammoth
Narrated by a 13,000-year-old extinct American mastodon, Mammoth is the (mostly) true story of how the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy and the narrator himself came to be on sale at a 2007 natural history auction in Manhattan.
Ranging from the Pleistocene Epoch to nineteenth-century America and beyond, including detours to Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany, Mammoth illuminates a period of history when ideas about science and religion underwent significant change. By tracing how and when the fossils were unearthed, Mammoth traverses time and place to reveal humanity's role in the inexorable destruction of the natural world.
Ranging from the Pleistocene Epoch to nineteenth-century America and beyond, including detours to Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany, Mammoth illuminates a period of history when ideas about science and religion underwent significant change. By tracing how and when the fossils were unearthed, Mammoth traverses time and place to reveal humanity's role in the inexorable destruction of the natural world.
233 pages, ebook
First published April 28, 2020
83 people are currently reading
1114 people want to read
About the author
Chris Flynn
14 books35 followersChris Flynn is the author of A Tiger in Eden (2012), which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize. He edited ‘Terra Australis: Four Stories from Aboriginal Australian Writers’ in McSweeney’s 41, and his writing has appeared in Griffith Review, Meanjin, Paris Review Daily, Monster Children, Smith Journal, Age, Australian, Big Issue and many other publications.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
July 7, 2020
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Told through the eyes of a mammoth’s fossilised remains Chris Flynn has delivered a hilarious and thought-provoking tale of life, extinction and rebirth. A tale that spans continents and centuries!
As mammoth is exhumed from the earth his bones absorb information from the conversations around him. Now waiting to be auctioned in a New York City warehouse mammoth tells his story, by mental telepathy, to a tyrannosaurus-bataar skull, a prehistoric penguin and an Egyptian mummy hand. A story that spans oceans and centuries.
Chris Flynn has extensively researched his subject matter and many historical events are included in a narrative where fact and fiction combine.
With Mammut’s formal speech and dry sarcasm, T-Bataar’s witty humour and penguin’s snarky comments Mammoth had me laughing and totally invested in their stories. By the end of the story these ancient fossilised bones felt like old friends.
This quote made me laugh because the story was anything but boring.
Funny, thought-provoking and unique Mammoth is a must read.
Told through the eyes of a mammoth’s fossilised remains Chris Flynn has delivered a hilarious and thought-provoking tale of life, extinction and rebirth. A tale that spans continents and centuries!
As mammoth is exhumed from the earth his bones absorb information from the conversations around him. Now waiting to be auctioned in a New York City warehouse mammoth tells his story, by mental telepathy, to a tyrannosaurus-bataar skull, a prehistoric penguin and an Egyptian mummy hand. A story that spans oceans and centuries.
Chris Flynn has extensively researched his subject matter and many historical events are included in a narrative where fact and fiction combine.
With Mammut’s formal speech and dry sarcasm, T-Bataar’s witty humour and penguin’s snarky comments Mammoth had me laughing and totally invested in their stories. By the end of the story these ancient fossilised bones felt like old friends.
“Can I jump in? Bro. Take a breather. I knew this was going to be a big story. I didn’t realise it would be so boring.
I’m sorry you feel that way, T-bataar.
I don’t mean to be rude, but a couple more jokes wouldn’t go amiss.
I want to hear about your adventures, Mammut.
Not all this stale historical jibber jabber.”
This quote made me laugh because the story was anything but boring.
Funny, thought-provoking and unique Mammoth is a must read.
April 28, 2020
“Did you spend much time on the ground?
That would be azhdararchidae.
Big fella, bit of a temper on him, takes ages to lift off?
So I believe.
Yep, eaten one of them. Didn’t much care for it. Those leathery wings get stuck in your teeth.
Does everything have to be discussed relative to your gullet, T?
How can you truly know someone if they haven’t passed through your digestive tract?”
(Tyrannosaurus bataar to Pterodactylus antiquus re pterosaurs: Mammoth by Chris Flynn)
Mammoth is the third novel by Northern Ireland-born Australian columnist and author, Chris Flynn. In March, 2007, in the Natural History Auction rooms in Manhattan, the consciousness of a specimen of mammoth, Mammut americanum, (residing in bones that had lain buried for thirteen thousand one hundred and forty-eight years before being exhumed in 1801) muses on the events that led to the extinction of his species, and relates his own journey from being uncovered to landing in said auction rooms, which includes being exhumed, exhibited, stolen, hidden, smuggled overseas and left in a cave.
He shares the room with the much more recently (1991) exhumed skull of a sixty-seven-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar, who remembers his own journey from the Mongolian desert to their current location. Eventually, they are joined by the hand of Queen Hatshepsut, an Egyptian mummy (thirty-four thousand eight hundred and fifty-four years old) and a ten-million-year-old fossilised penguin nicknamed Palaeo (this pair squabble incessantly); later, a one-hundred-and-fifty-million-year-old Bavarian pterodactyl joins in.
It’s clear from page one that Mammut blames Clovis (the ancestor of today’s Americans) for the demise of his race. Using the mammoth to narrate the story is certainly a unique approach, and within his tale, which extends from pre-history all the way through to modern times, Mammut offers a commentary on nationalism and religion, on environment and extinction.
Mammut recounts biped conversations which he, when in sufficiently close proximity could, with his elephantine ears, overhear and, with his legendary elephantine recall, repeat verbatim. Thus we get a taste of behind the scenes at the Irish Rebellion, fossil hunting in the American Frontier, and life with the Osage Indians. His companions offer questions and comments, criticism and the occasional insult; the banter between them is smart and funny.
A cute touch is how each “thinker” (because they’re not speaking, having no mouths) is denoted by both the name each of them uses to address the other, and the style of language they use, this being matched to the era when the exhibit was first exhumed and exposed to human speech, and the location. Thus, T.bataar sounds like a teen from the early nineties, Palaeo’s many years in a Boston bar result in a lot of slang, while Mammut’s style is much more sober, and Hatshepsut’s quite formal.
The Epilogus hominum reveals to the reader just how much of what Mammut tells us can be believed (quite a lot) while the Epilogus mammut spells some hope for the future. The illustrations by Eirian Chapman are charming. Clever, perceptive and hugely entertaining.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by University of Queensland Press. Mammoth by Chris Flynn (UQP $32.99)
That would be azhdararchidae.
Big fella, bit of a temper on him, takes ages to lift off?
So I believe.
Yep, eaten one of them. Didn’t much care for it. Those leathery wings get stuck in your teeth.
Does everything have to be discussed relative to your gullet, T?
How can you truly know someone if they haven’t passed through your digestive tract?”
(Tyrannosaurus bataar to Pterodactylus antiquus re pterosaurs: Mammoth by Chris Flynn)
Mammoth is the third novel by Northern Ireland-born Australian columnist and author, Chris Flynn. In March, 2007, in the Natural History Auction rooms in Manhattan, the consciousness of a specimen of mammoth, Mammut americanum, (residing in bones that had lain buried for thirteen thousand one hundred and forty-eight years before being exhumed in 1801) muses on the events that led to the extinction of his species, and relates his own journey from being uncovered to landing in said auction rooms, which includes being exhumed, exhibited, stolen, hidden, smuggled overseas and left in a cave.
He shares the room with the much more recently (1991) exhumed skull of a sixty-seven-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar, who remembers his own journey from the Mongolian desert to their current location. Eventually, they are joined by the hand of Queen Hatshepsut, an Egyptian mummy (thirty-four thousand eight hundred and fifty-four years old) and a ten-million-year-old fossilised penguin nicknamed Palaeo (this pair squabble incessantly); later, a one-hundred-and-fifty-million-year-old Bavarian pterodactyl joins in.
It’s clear from page one that Mammut blames Clovis (the ancestor of today’s Americans) for the demise of his race. Using the mammoth to narrate the story is certainly a unique approach, and within his tale, which extends from pre-history all the way through to modern times, Mammut offers a commentary on nationalism and religion, on environment and extinction.
Mammut recounts biped conversations which he, when in sufficiently close proximity could, with his elephantine ears, overhear and, with his legendary elephantine recall, repeat verbatim. Thus we get a taste of behind the scenes at the Irish Rebellion, fossil hunting in the American Frontier, and life with the Osage Indians. His companions offer questions and comments, criticism and the occasional insult; the banter between them is smart and funny.
A cute touch is how each “thinker” (because they’re not speaking, having no mouths) is denoted by both the name each of them uses to address the other, and the style of language they use, this being matched to the era when the exhibit was first exhumed and exposed to human speech, and the location. Thus, T.bataar sounds like a teen from the early nineties, Palaeo’s many years in a Boston bar result in a lot of slang, while Mammut’s style is much more sober, and Hatshepsut’s quite formal.
The Epilogus hominum reveals to the reader just how much of what Mammut tells us can be believed (quite a lot) while the Epilogus mammut spells some hope for the future. The illustrations by Eirian Chapman are charming. Clever, perceptive and hugely entertaining.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by University of Queensland Press. Mammoth by Chris Flynn (UQP $32.99)
May 10, 2020
Mammoth is a warm, charming, disarming, and funny book. Its critiques are perfectly balanced with revelations that made me snort-laugh (such as “Egyptians have a jizz god!”, courtesy of a fossilised penguin who is, in turn, called a “deformed duck” by the mummy with whom he shares a display). It reads as if Bill Bryson turned his hand to writing fiction. This is one for the eco-conscious and sentimental among us, who are (clearly) in dire need of a good laugh and a bit of optimism about the state of the world.
My extended review of Mammoth is available on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My extended review of Mammoth is available on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
June 26, 2020
Mammoth by Australian author Chris Flynn is like nothing I've ever read before, or likely to read again for that matter. Our narrator is a 13,000 year old extinct mammoth by the name of Mammut. It does sound crazy, but it also strangely works. The reader learns that as the bones or fossils of an animal (extinct or not) are unearthed, their consciousness returns to them and they can communicate.
Yep, you heard me right, this book has a cast of talking fossils. They talk amongst themselves by telepathy as they listen to Mammut's story of his life on earth and subsequent revival after his bones were discovered, dug up and sold.
I enjoyed the easy dialogue between the different creatures and their accents based on when and where they were unearthed and the humans they could listen in on. And boy did they have some things to say about we hominids.
What I didn't enjoy was the lack of punctuation for any of this dialogue. I was chatting with another booklover about this very thing last week, and it's an incredibly hard feat to pull off dialogue without punctuation. Unfortunately it slowed me down here and I frequently had to backtrack to find out who was speaking.
I enjoyed the majority of Mammut's story, however some parts of his story were too detailed and failed to hold my interest while others had me entranced. I wanted to learn more about the other fossils in the conversation, however I recognise the book wouldn't have been called Mammoth if that were the case.
Originality is hard to come by these days, and I take my hat off to Australian author Chris Flynn, because he's certainly achieved it here.
* Copy courtesy of University of Queensland Press *
Yep, you heard me right, this book has a cast of talking fossils. They talk amongst themselves by telepathy as they listen to Mammut's story of his life on earth and subsequent revival after his bones were discovered, dug up and sold.
I enjoyed the easy dialogue between the different creatures and their accents based on when and where they were unearthed and the humans they could listen in on. And boy did they have some things to say about we hominids.
What I didn't enjoy was the lack of punctuation for any of this dialogue. I was chatting with another booklover about this very thing last week, and it's an incredibly hard feat to pull off dialogue without punctuation. Unfortunately it slowed me down here and I frequently had to backtrack to find out who was speaking.
I enjoyed the majority of Mammut's story, however some parts of his story were too detailed and failed to hold my interest while others had me entranced. I wanted to learn more about the other fossils in the conversation, however I recognise the book wouldn't have been called Mammoth if that were the case.
Originality is hard to come by these days, and I take my hat off to Australian author Chris Flynn, because he's certainly achieved it here.
* Copy courtesy of University of Queensland Press *
July 29, 2021
“Did you spend much time on the ground?
That would be azhdararchidae.
Big fella, bit of a temper on him, takes ages to lift off?
So I believe.
Yep, eaten one of them. Didn’t much care for it. Those leathery wings get stuck in your teeth.
Does everything have to be discussed relative to your gullet, T?
How can you truly know someone if they haven’t passed through your digestive tract?”
(Tyrannosaurus bataar to Pterodactylus antiquus re pterosaurs: Mammoth by Chris Flynn)
Mammoth is the third novel by Northern Ireland-born Australian columnist and author, Chris Flynn. The audio version is narrated by Rupert Degas. In March, 2007, in the Natural History Auction rooms in Manhattan, the consciousness of a specimen of mammoth, Mammut americanum, (residing in bones that had lain buried for thirteen thousand one hundred and forty-eight years before being exhumed in 1801) muses on the events that led to the extinction of his species, and relates his own journey from being uncovered to landing in said auction rooms, which includes being exhumed, exhibited, stolen, hidden, smuggled overseas and left in a cave.
He shares the room with the much more recently (1991) exhumed skull of a sixty-seven-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar, who remembers his own journey from the Mongolian desert to their current location. Eventually, they are joined by the hand of Queen Hatshepsut, an Egyptian mummy (thirty-four thousand eight hundred and fifty-four years old) and a ten-million-year-old fossilised penguin nicknamed Palaeo (this pair squabble incessantly); later, a one-hundred-and-fifty-million-year-old Bavarian pterodactyl joins in.
It’s clear from page one that Mammut blames Clovis (the ancestor of today’s Americans) for the demise of his race. Using the mammoth to narrate the story is certainly a unique approach, and within his tale, which extends from pre-history all the way through to modern times, Mammut offers a commentary on nationalism and religion, on environment and extinction.
Mammut recounts biped conversations which he, when in sufficiently close proximity could, with his elephantine ears, overhear and, with his legendary elephantine recall, repeat verbatim. Thus we get a taste of behind the scenes at the Irish Rebellion, fossil hunting in the American Frontier, and life with the Osage Indians. His companions offer questions and comments, criticism and the occasional insult; the banter between them is smart and funny.
A cute touch is how each “thinker” (because they’re not speaking, having no mouths) is denoted by both the name each of them uses to address the other, and the style of language they use, this being matched to the era when the exhibit was first exhumed and exposed to human speech, and the location. Thus, T.bataar sounds like a teen from the early nineties, Palaeo’s many years in a Boston bar result in a lot of slang, while Mammut’s style is much more sober, and Hatshepsut’s quite formal.
The Epilogus hominum reveals to the reader just how much of what Mammut tells us can be believed (quite a lot) while the Epilogus mammut spells some hope for the future. The illustrations by Eirian Chapman are charming. Clever, perceptive and hugely entertaining.
That would be azhdararchidae.
Big fella, bit of a temper on him, takes ages to lift off?
So I believe.
Yep, eaten one of them. Didn’t much care for it. Those leathery wings get stuck in your teeth.
Does everything have to be discussed relative to your gullet, T?
How can you truly know someone if they haven’t passed through your digestive tract?”
(Tyrannosaurus bataar to Pterodactylus antiquus re pterosaurs: Mammoth by Chris Flynn)
Mammoth is the third novel by Northern Ireland-born Australian columnist and author, Chris Flynn. The audio version is narrated by Rupert Degas. In March, 2007, in the Natural History Auction rooms in Manhattan, the consciousness of a specimen of mammoth, Mammut americanum, (residing in bones that had lain buried for thirteen thousand one hundred and forty-eight years before being exhumed in 1801) muses on the events that led to the extinction of his species, and relates his own journey from being uncovered to landing in said auction rooms, which includes being exhumed, exhibited, stolen, hidden, smuggled overseas and left in a cave.
He shares the room with the much more recently (1991) exhumed skull of a sixty-seven-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar, who remembers his own journey from the Mongolian desert to their current location. Eventually, they are joined by the hand of Queen Hatshepsut, an Egyptian mummy (thirty-four thousand eight hundred and fifty-four years old) and a ten-million-year-old fossilised penguin nicknamed Palaeo (this pair squabble incessantly); later, a one-hundred-and-fifty-million-year-old Bavarian pterodactyl joins in.
It’s clear from page one that Mammut blames Clovis (the ancestor of today’s Americans) for the demise of his race. Using the mammoth to narrate the story is certainly a unique approach, and within his tale, which extends from pre-history all the way through to modern times, Mammut offers a commentary on nationalism and religion, on environment and extinction.
Mammut recounts biped conversations which he, when in sufficiently close proximity could, with his elephantine ears, overhear and, with his legendary elephantine recall, repeat verbatim. Thus we get a taste of behind the scenes at the Irish Rebellion, fossil hunting in the American Frontier, and life with the Osage Indians. His companions offer questions and comments, criticism and the occasional insult; the banter between them is smart and funny.
A cute touch is how each “thinker” (because they’re not speaking, having no mouths) is denoted by both the name each of them uses to address the other, and the style of language they use, this being matched to the era when the exhibit was first exhumed and exposed to human speech, and the location. Thus, T.bataar sounds like a teen from the early nineties, Palaeo’s many years in a Boston bar result in a lot of slang, while Mammut’s style is much more sober, and Hatshepsut’s quite formal.
The Epilogus hominum reveals to the reader just how much of what Mammut tells us can be believed (quite a lot) while the Epilogus mammut spells some hope for the future. The illustrations by Eirian Chapman are charming. Clever, perceptive and hugely entertaining.
July 22, 2022
This was the BEST audiobook I’ve ever read. I want all of my history lessons delivered to me by a mammoth’s bones from now on.
Read
May 23, 2020This was quite the novel – unique and visionary on a level I’ve never before encountered within fiction. This story was so incredibly clever, and in all honesty, the author’s imagination has impressed me to no end. The story is narrated by Mammut, a 13,000 year-old extinct Mammoth, so in actuality, he’s a fossil. The story unfolds through Mammut telling his history, from the events leading up to his extinction through to how he found himself present at the natural history auction in New York in 2007. He’s telling this story to his fellow ‘cell mate’, T.bataar, and later, to other fossils and artefacts as they get moved into the holding space where Mammut is presently serving out his days. In terms of narrative devices, he is entirely unique, given that he is now an object rather than a living creature. Of note from this, is how swiftly I forgot that he was an object, so too with the other fossils and artefacts that made up the cast. The author gives the reader pause to consider what defines living, just one of many very insightful concepts to come out of the reading experience that is Mammoth.
‘Thirteen thousand, three hundred and fifty-four years is too great an amount of time to comprehend, and yet that is what I am led to believe has elapsed since the antediluvian days. The primeval struggle for survival. Man versus beast. Those were heady times.
We lost, of course. But we gave you a run for your money.’
Mammut – the Mammoth – and T.bataar – the Tyrannosaurus bataar (distant relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex) are the first characters we encounter. Mammut was exhumed and assembled in 1801 and T.bataar in 1991. This is reflected in their language, as it is inferred that they learned English from those who were working on them during their excavation and assembly. Mammut is quite formal with his language and the telling of his story while T.bataar is the complete polar opposite and when put together, it makes for some highly amusing exchanges – kind of like a 19th century American industrialist having a conversation with a 1990s rapper. Mammut is quite a dry character and possesses the type of wit, that when combined with intelligence and wisdom, offers a special brand of cutting humour. I will confess here, that there is an element of my personality that is still quite immature when it comes to humour and there were so many moments throughout this novel where I was giggling uncontrollably. While the laughs were aplenty and there are no end of examples, I absolutely have to share with you the ‘tiny hands’ exchanges. I still laugh when I think about it.
*Mammut to T.bataar*
May I ask you a personal question? It’s species related, so I hope you don’t find it offensive.
Fire away, tusky.
What purpose do your tiny hands serve?
What tiny hands? My hands are huge.
No, they’re not. They are comically small.
They’re bigger than human hands.
That may be so, but in proportion to the rest of you, they seem unusually feeble.
Says you, Mammut.
Says everyone, actually.
~~~
Perhaps they will provide you with more scintillating conversation.
Tiny fingers crossed!
I thought that was a sensitive subject.
It’s okay for a Tyrannosaurus to joke about the size of his hands but if anyone else does it’s body shaming.
There’s really two stories occurring simultaneously within this novel. The historical narrative being delivered by Mammut and the interactions between the characters as they wait in the holding space for the auction. Mammut’s story is regularly interrupted by the different characters as they question him – particularly his memory with regard to the conversations he seems to be able to recall verbatim even though they occurred hundreds of years previous – as well as offering their own stories and opinions on anything and everything. Again, all of this is highly amusing and offers balance to the historical narrative that Mammut is taking them through. The sarcasm abounds but it is in these particular moments that we are most confronted with our humanity and the infinite power this has afforded us throughout time, not just over the natural world, but also over each other. This novel expresses history in a way that is insightful as well as entertaining and I can’t help but think that more people, particularly young people, would be interested in history if it was always offered up in such a way.
‘What a boon man is to the world, helpfully clearing away its original inhabitants to make room for their grubby dwellings and mewling spawn. You really have to hand it to them — they’ve taken a pristine wilderness that spanned the globe and brought it to heel with their concrete and firearms and technology. For this, they must be congratulated. Without their intervention, the world would be little more than a ramshackle, overgrown Arcadia.’
~~~
‘Hominids tend to overlook the truth because they are too lazy to bother seeking it themselves. They prefer to be told what to do and what to think. A fatal flaw in their character, which will forever hold them back from reaching their true potential.’
This novel offers such an intelligent discourse on the state of the planet today, and while you can’t help but feel as though the situation is dire (let’s be honest, it is), there is also hope offered at the end, not just for our planet, but for us as well, flawed hominids that we are. Mammoth is an exceptional novel, both in its vision and execution. I’m not entirely sure if this review has done this novel the justice it deserves, but I highly recommend it to all, from teenagers onwards, and feel certain that you will be hard pressed to put it down once you have started.
‘We have another chance now. We know what is required. We know what we’re doing, so don’t worry, my puny two-legged friends. We’ll take it from here.’
Thanks is extended to UQP for providing me with a review copy of Mammoth.
‘Thirteen thousand, three hundred and fifty-four years is too great an amount of time to comprehend, and yet that is what I am led to believe has elapsed since the antediluvian days. The primeval struggle for survival. Man versus beast. Those were heady times.
We lost, of course. But we gave you a run for your money.’
Mammut – the Mammoth – and T.bataar – the Tyrannosaurus bataar (distant relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex) are the first characters we encounter. Mammut was exhumed and assembled in 1801 and T.bataar in 1991. This is reflected in their language, as it is inferred that they learned English from those who were working on them during their excavation and assembly. Mammut is quite formal with his language and the telling of his story while T.bataar is the complete polar opposite and when put together, it makes for some highly amusing exchanges – kind of like a 19th century American industrialist having a conversation with a 1990s rapper. Mammut is quite a dry character and possesses the type of wit, that when combined with intelligence and wisdom, offers a special brand of cutting humour. I will confess here, that there is an element of my personality that is still quite immature when it comes to humour and there were so many moments throughout this novel where I was giggling uncontrollably. While the laughs were aplenty and there are no end of examples, I absolutely have to share with you the ‘tiny hands’ exchanges. I still laugh when I think about it.
*Mammut to T.bataar*
May I ask you a personal question? It’s species related, so I hope you don’t find it offensive.
Fire away, tusky.
What purpose do your tiny hands serve?
What tiny hands? My hands are huge.
No, they’re not. They are comically small.
They’re bigger than human hands.
That may be so, but in proportion to the rest of you, they seem unusually feeble.
Says you, Mammut.
Says everyone, actually.
~~~
Perhaps they will provide you with more scintillating conversation.
Tiny fingers crossed!
I thought that was a sensitive subject.
It’s okay for a Tyrannosaurus to joke about the size of his hands but if anyone else does it’s body shaming.
There’s really two stories occurring simultaneously within this novel. The historical narrative being delivered by Mammut and the interactions between the characters as they wait in the holding space for the auction. Mammut’s story is regularly interrupted by the different characters as they question him – particularly his memory with regard to the conversations he seems to be able to recall verbatim even though they occurred hundreds of years previous – as well as offering their own stories and opinions on anything and everything. Again, all of this is highly amusing and offers balance to the historical narrative that Mammut is taking them through. The sarcasm abounds but it is in these particular moments that we are most confronted with our humanity and the infinite power this has afforded us throughout time, not just over the natural world, but also over each other. This novel expresses history in a way that is insightful as well as entertaining and I can’t help but think that more people, particularly young people, would be interested in history if it was always offered up in such a way.
‘What a boon man is to the world, helpfully clearing away its original inhabitants to make room for their grubby dwellings and mewling spawn. You really have to hand it to them — they’ve taken a pristine wilderness that spanned the globe and brought it to heel with their concrete and firearms and technology. For this, they must be congratulated. Without their intervention, the world would be little more than a ramshackle, overgrown Arcadia.’
~~~
‘Hominids tend to overlook the truth because they are too lazy to bother seeking it themselves. They prefer to be told what to do and what to think. A fatal flaw in their character, which will forever hold them back from reaching their true potential.’
This novel offers such an intelligent discourse on the state of the planet today, and while you can’t help but feel as though the situation is dire (let’s be honest, it is), there is also hope offered at the end, not just for our planet, but for us as well, flawed hominids that we are. Mammoth is an exceptional novel, both in its vision and execution. I’m not entirely sure if this review has done this novel the justice it deserves, but I highly recommend it to all, from teenagers onwards, and feel certain that you will be hard pressed to put it down once you have started.
‘We have another chance now. We know what is required. We know what we’re doing, so don’t worry, my puny two-legged friends. We’ll take it from here.’
Thanks is extended to UQP for providing me with a review copy of Mammoth.
December 24, 2020
It's a great idea, to write a history from the perspective of the fossilised bones of prehistoric creatures, but this one didn't quite work for me. I can't decide on a rating - I think it would be 2.5, because it was such a bumpy ride. I'd be totally absorbed and enjoying it, then turn a page and be really irritated.
Although I liked the more or less accurate backstory to the 19th century excavation of the mammoth of the title and enjoyed its imagined journey around the world, I couldn't stand the wisecracking dialogue from the other fossils. Also perhaps I'm being picky but in the natural world these days elephants are lead by females and wolves are led by alpha pairs, but in Mammoth their ancestors are led by the males. There are some great female characters, including an Irish adventurer and a cranky pharoah, but this change seems like male blinkers firmly in place.
Although I liked the more or less accurate backstory to the 19th century excavation of the mammoth of the title and enjoyed its imagined journey around the world, I couldn't stand the wisecracking dialogue from the other fossils. Also perhaps I'm being picky but in the natural world these days elephants are lead by females and wolves are led by alpha pairs, but in Mammoth their ancestors are led by the males. There are some great female characters, including an Irish adventurer and a cranky pharoah, but this change seems like male blinkers firmly in place.
May 23, 2025
A dinosaur skull referencing the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and a fossilised penguin referencing Pingu. Need I say more?
Well yes actually, I have much to say.
As a general rule I loved this book. It was engaging and the interactions between the characters genuinely had me laughing at some points. Whilst my favourite section was definitely the beginning with the retelling of Mammut’s story whilst he was alive, the main line of the rest of the book with the movement of his remains across countries and continents was equally interesting and gave a more well rounded story of both the fossils and the humans. I have to say I prefer to think of this book as a complete work of fiction. The links to the real world 2007 auction was such an interesting premise and I’m glad that it created the space for these character to interact but, like Palaeo (my favourite little suspicious guy, I love you!), I certainly just found myself viewing this as a narrative that was imagined rather than based on true events. The ending was interesting with the epilogues taking place in the future, but really to me the joys of this book was the simplicity, genuine conversations and sarcasm between the fossils.
Well yes actually, I have much to say.
As a general rule I loved this book. It was engaging and the interactions between the characters genuinely had me laughing at some points. Whilst my favourite section was definitely the beginning with the retelling of Mammut’s story whilst he was alive, the main line of the rest of the book with the movement of his remains across countries and continents was equally interesting and gave a more well rounded story of both the fossils and the humans. I have to say I prefer to think of this book as a complete work of fiction. The links to the real world 2007 auction was such an interesting premise and I’m glad that it created the space for these character to interact but, like Palaeo (my favourite little suspicious guy, I love you!), I certainly just found myself viewing this as a narrative that was imagined rather than based on true events. The ending was interesting with the epilogues taking place in the future, but really to me the joys of this book was the simplicity, genuine conversations and sarcasm between the fossils.
September 9, 2025
I was so interested in this book when I bought it, unfortunately it was a really big disappointment for me. I did not find the story funny, which was one of the main comments in the reviews. I really didn't like the writing style, especially when you couldn't tell who was talking.
The one part I did like was the epilogue, because it was more of what I thought the story would be. I didn't care really following these real people with the mammoth narrator. I wanted to know about the prehistoric creatures and what relevance they have in the present day.
Also maybe I am just being anal now but it did frustrate me that the book is called mammoth when the main narrator is a Mastodon. I am sure the book knows they are different species but every time I saw the title it would make me ever so frustrated.
The one part I did like was the epilogue, because it was more of what I thought the story would be. I didn't care really following these real people with the mammoth narrator. I wanted to know about the prehistoric creatures and what relevance they have in the present day.
Also maybe I am just being anal now but it did frustrate me that the book is called mammoth when the main narrator is a Mastodon. I am sure the book knows they are different species but every time I saw the title it would make me ever so frustrated.
October 28, 2025
3.5 - na het eerste deel van het verhaal waar er verschrikkelijk wetenschappelijk gesproken wordt leest het gelukkig nog vlot maar het voelt toch niet echt als een volledig verhaal voor mij… het mist iets, het voelde allemaal een beetje nutteloos omdat je zo weinig tijd spendeert in de subverhalen, dan geef je sowieso ook minder om die personages en hun lot
January 3, 2026
((Ene oor in, andere er terug uit… 🎪🥲))
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January 25, 2021The first book to actually hold my attention this year. A strangely touching tale told primarily by a disembodied mammoth.
September 10, 2020
Just my kind of cool and quirky! If you want something different then this is your book, if you prefer straight laced stories then perhaps you'd better give it to your nearest teenager - especially if they are into prehistoric critters like a Mammoth (different to a Mastodon) Tyrannosaurus and Penguins! Just don't tell them that Chris Flynn has put a bit of other important history in there as well. You might say Flynn has written the bare bones of the history of our world. The wry humour is beautifully executed, the learning curve sweeps you up into its embrace and suddenly you go 'wow, that is amazing!' and proceed to tell everyone about the book. For me, there's a millennial dash of 'James and the Giant Peach' characterisation but it sits well. My favourite bit is when Hatshepsut, fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt meets protagonist Mammut americanum and the others join in with bouncy repartee, e.g. having a go at modern hominids Paleo diet. Inevitably millions of years of evolution brings sadness to the tale when small yet highly significant lives come and go. The cycle of life is the most amazing thing on the planet, well, there wouldn't be a planet without it.
August 1, 2020
I am not a big fan of anthropomorphism and have read very few animal-narrated books. Animal farm is one, while Watership down, so enamoured by many of my generation, is not. However, I was intrigued by Chris Flynn’s Mammoth, which is narrated by a 13,000-year-old American Mastodon fossil, and was glad when my reading group decided to schedule it.
It is an ambitious book, encompassing the story of humanity’s destructive, often brutal march through time as seen through the eyes of those we supplanted, that is, the fossils of extinct creatures. Our narrator, Mammut, is accompanied by a number of other fossils – the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, and the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy – who have found themselves together in 2007 Manhattan, waiting to be sold at a natural history auction. This auction did take place, and was, in fact, a major inspiration for the novel. For my full review, please check out my blog: https://whisperinggums.com/2020/07/29...
It is an ambitious book, encompassing the story of humanity’s destructive, often brutal march through time as seen through the eyes of those we supplanted, that is, the fossils of extinct creatures. Our narrator, Mammut, is accompanied by a number of other fossils – the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, and the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy – who have found themselves together in 2007 Manhattan, waiting to be sold at a natural history auction. This auction did take place, and was, in fact, a major inspiration for the novel. For my full review, please check out my blog: https://whisperinggums.com/2020/07/29...
July 20, 2020
My View:
This is not my usual sort of read – in fact it is probably unlike anything I have read before or will read again😊. The narrator is the voice of an extinct mammoth – one with a very droll sense of humour and a melodious story telling style. Simply put, I felt like I was a child, snuggled in a chair (or bed) being told a rambling bedtime story about the world as it was and how the hominids wreaked havoc and destruction on the environment.
The book is full of thought provoking and enlightening anecdotes, one that is a standout is the mammoth’s reflection on ownership. “Ownership is a strange, uniquely human notion. The bipeds are obsessed with staking their claim over places, people and things. I cannot understand it. No beast of air, land or sea ever asserted the right of possession over another creature, except to devour it. The hominids don’t even eat each other anymore.” p37. Such a simply stated yet relevant observation, Mammoth is such a brilliant observer.
To complete this unusual read is a cast of curious (deceased, extinct, mummified or fossilised) creatures; the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy. I particularly liked the irreverent voice of the Tyrannosaurus bataar.
This unusual book is the perfect read for these unusual times.
This is not my usual sort of read – in fact it is probably unlike anything I have read before or will read again😊. The narrator is the voice of an extinct mammoth – one with a very droll sense of humour and a melodious story telling style. Simply put, I felt like I was a child, snuggled in a chair (or bed) being told a rambling bedtime story about the world as it was and how the hominids wreaked havoc and destruction on the environment.
The book is full of thought provoking and enlightening anecdotes, one that is a standout is the mammoth’s reflection on ownership. “Ownership is a strange, uniquely human notion. The bipeds are obsessed with staking their claim over places, people and things. I cannot understand it. No beast of air, land or sea ever asserted the right of possession over another creature, except to devour it. The hominids don’t even eat each other anymore.” p37. Such a simply stated yet relevant observation, Mammoth is such a brilliant observer.
To complete this unusual read is a cast of curious (deceased, extinct, mummified or fossilised) creatures; the skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar, a pterodactyl, a prehistoric penguin, the severed hand of an Egyptian mummy. I particularly liked the irreverent voice of the Tyrannosaurus bataar.
This unusual book is the perfect read for these unusual times.
October 28, 2022
This book was a lot of fun and I highly recommend the audio book for the amazing voice work.
July 10, 2020
I really enjoyed this novel. I haven't got anything to say about it though that hasn't already been said. Tom Keneally is quoted on the cover as describing it as "Playful and serious, encapsulating the macro-history of all life in the tale of one species". Emily Bitto is quoted as saying "If you've been feeling like the novel is an endangered species, then Mammoth is the book to bring it back to life. This hilarious and heartbreaking book is precisely what we hominids need right now". I agree wholeheartedly with both of these authors.
I loved the interaction between the characters and the different voices the author has given them. I also learned quite a few things about American, French and Irish history that I didn't know before so thank you Chris Flynn. (The first 3 1/2 pages of the Epilogus hominum are really interesting and worth reading on their own.)
I loved the interaction between the characters and the different voices the author has given them. I also learned quite a few things about American, French and Irish history that I didn't know before so thank you Chris Flynn. (The first 3 1/2 pages of the Epilogus hominum are really interesting and worth reading on their own.)
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July 24, 2020⅔A thoroughly enjoyable novel spanning millennia. Following the escapades of a mammoth, from his early days leading his herd through to being sold as a fossil at a natural history auction this novel is filled with dry wit and humour.
Inspired by the history of an actual Mammoth fossil, this story takes you on a journey filled with heart. A big history, this novel takes aim at humanity taking digs at our excess and failings. An absolute gem, and totally unique, this novel is for any with the slightest interest in natural history.
For interest sake, the below article gives an interesting story about how Leonardo Di Caprio and Nicolas Cage tie into the novel https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...
Inspired by the history of an actual Mammoth fossil, this story takes you on a journey filled with heart. A big history, this novel takes aim at humanity taking digs at our excess and failings. An absolute gem, and totally unique, this novel is for any with the slightest interest in natural history.
For interest sake, the below article gives an interesting story about how Leonardo Di Caprio and Nicolas Cage tie into the novel https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/...
November 23, 2020
A quirky perspective narrated by an afterlife Mammoth!
Quite humorous from time to time.
Quite informative too.
Really need to be in a mood to go with it and suspend disbelief to get the most out of it and fortunately that was my feeling at the time.
It's been a few weeks since reading it, I'm behind with a few reviews, so it's one that hasn't really stayed with me, which has made me a little disappointed in myself, so it's one I think I'd consider rereading some time in the future.
Quite humorous from time to time.
Quite informative too.
Really need to be in a mood to go with it and suspend disbelief to get the most out of it and fortunately that was my feeling at the time.
It's been a few weeks since reading it, I'm behind with a few reviews, so it's one that hasn't really stayed with me, which has made me a little disappointed in myself, so it's one I think I'd consider rereading some time in the future.
December 21, 2020
I’m a fan of the quirky, but this missed its mark for me. The concept is interesting - unearthing the planet’s own antiquities (fossils) reignites their consciousness. And there follows the story - as dictated by a 13,000 year old mammoth. Bit part players include an extinct penguin, tyrannosaurus bataar, an Egyptian hand, amongst others. I lost interest and dnf. Certainly a novel suitable for some, just not me.
June 5, 2021
This is an account of history as told through the sentient bones of a mammoth in a museum, and some of the other exhibits that are there with him. I really enjoyed the good humour and interesting ideas.
November 7, 2022
What a fun, playful ride this was! I highly recommend the audiobook. I felt the ending dragged just slightly, but the first 200 pages wizzed by. Loved this.
June 25, 2025
Thought provoking, clever and very, very funny
December 18, 2025
Ik wou meer mammut, minder mens
February 8, 2021
I loved this short novel, where the ice age, extinction events and aspects of US history is told from the perspective of a long dead mammoth. Quietly funny and so different!
September 25, 2024
I think I liked best some of the meandering and specific details. Like the moments where you can tell Flynn was excited by the history and just wanted to include this stuff to characterise the period. This book is filled with these things so it definitely has its charms. I also liked the idea of the framing story, even though it wore thin, it was still a neat gimmick. I do wish we ventured more into sci-fi but I understand the restraint. My biggest criticism would have to be that in a book filled with a lot of failure and misery, there isn't a strong thematic throughline. It reminds me of how the film "Fever" (directed by Agnieszka Holland) handles the narrative device of different people being in possession of objects in a way that feels incidentally thematically potent. "Mammoth" struggled with this and our narrator didn't seem to be interested in it's own status as a powerful object in the streams of capital and cultural interests. Fine to read, a little bit disappointing for me but could see it really hitting with others.
September 16, 2020
A fun journey into a real auction of some prehistoric materials and how they might’ve interacted overnight beforehand. The tale is told by the bones of a Mammoth, who discusses his journeys with a prehistoric penguin, the mummified hand of Hatepshut, and a Tyranasaurus Bataar smuggled out of Mongolia. It makes for a fun and interesting tale.
December 10, 2023
I listened to this as an audiobook, it was absurd and I loved it
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