Pluto, Animal Lover: A Novel

In the tradition of such arresting works as Generation X and Shampoo Planet, Stover’s debut novel introduces an unforgettable, sociopathic character whose twisted sensibility, radical obsessions, and utopian dreams drive him toward a resolution as inevitable as it is surprising.When the narrator of this quirky first novel introduces himself as Pluto Hellbender Gerome, animal lover, Stover’s readers will immediately be transported to the private hell of a young man more aptly labeled an extreme misanthropist. From the outset, Pluto sets about perversely proving his love for animals in a fashion horribly reminiscent of any nightmarish narrator created by Poe. All the while, this immaculately dressed control freak obsesses about Wanda, the woman of his dreams, who possesses her own peculiar and secretive past and present. Stover’s brilliantly dark humor may win readers over, but her depiction of the at times downright gruesome acts of this self-proclaimed animal lover is guaranteed to earn her low marks with PETA. Squeamish pet owners may want to think twice about cuddling up to this tale.