Animal Envy: A Novel - Hardcover

Ralph Nader

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1609807529 ISBN 13: 9781609807528

Publisher: Seven Stories Press, 2016

Synopsis

AN ANIMAL FARM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Politician-turned-author Ralph Nadar writes speculative science-fiction with talking animals, touching on animal rights and ecopolitics. So outrageous it really works!

What would animals tell us - about themselves, about us - if there was a common language among all animal species? A bracingly simple idea, one that has been used before in books like George Orwell's Animal Farm (Secker and Warburg, 1945) and E. B. White's Charlotte's Web (Harper, 1952) - but never like this.

In ANIMAL ENVY, Ralph Nader proposes, quite plausibly, that a programmer has created a 'digital translation' app whereby animals of different species, from insects to whales, can speak to one another, and through a 'hyper-advanced converter' these animals can then also speak, both collectively and individually, to humans. It is decided that there will be a global assembly. It will be called 'The Great Talkout.' Humans are persuaded to reserve 100 hours of network coverage so The Great Talkout may begin and will be viewed by humans everywhere, in all human languages, as well as all animal languages.

The novel that ensues is part parable, part contemporary politics, and part animal lore, deeply felt and powerfully informed. Just as he did when he wrote Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us (Seven Stories Press, 2011, also available), Nader shows here that his visionary genius knows no limits.

About this title

About the Author

Ralph Nader is a lawyer and author who is credited with having passed more major legislation in the twentieth century than all but three US Presidents. For the past 45 years he has challenged abuses by corporate and government officials and has urged citizens to use their time, energy and democratic rights to demand greater institutional accountability. In 1965, Nader's landmark book Unsafe at Any Speed (Knightsbridge Publishing Co.) changed the face of the automobile industry. The Atlantic named him as one of the 100 most influential figures in American history, and Time and LIFE magazines honoured him as one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century. As a result of his efforts, America's cars are safer, food is healthier, the environment is less polluted and their democracy more robust.

Edition details

• Publisher: Seven Stories Press
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1609807529
• ISBN 13: 9781609807528
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224