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'Diary of an Eco-Warrior' takes us on Trevor's journey to unwittingly do his part for endangered animals. Trevor is a journalist and writer who is commissioned to write a biography about Chuck Collins, a famous animal tracker who has a haphazard way with animals. Collin's has made TV documentaries before featuring some of his unfortunate encounters with animals and Trevor is involved in a plan to try and get Collin's back on the big screen. Things don't quite go according to plan and Kamish introduces many twists and turns throughout his novel.
The style of the book at the start was quite unexpected and the description of London and modern society seemed grimly accurate and convincing. Kamish reveals insights into politics, society and relationships with a dark wit and humour. To put his insights into perspective he puts them into historical context and explains how things have changed to be like this along with ideas as to why. The characters that Kamish introduces are well described and introduced which really drew me into the novel. It wasn't only the characters which gripped me. From the very start the narrative and the unfolding action was enjoyable to read and there were many laugh out loud moments for me, of the type which are as much to do with the writing style as the story. There is a running theme throughout the book of class, wealth and power and there is much cynicism directed towards those who represent these three things. Particularly with regards to their role in the current recession and how their actions can have an impact on countries on a global scale.
Trevor, the journalist, has a deep resentment for the London that he sees around him but at the same time he gives the impression that he is irresistibly drawn towards it as well. His quirky and cynical outlook on life provide the author's vehicle for much of his opinions and ideas about why and how things happened. Sometimes these border on the slightly controversial, such as a brief dialogue on the war on Iraq. There are so many quirky moments and twists in the book that it is difficult to go into much detail about specific events without spoiling some of the surprises. One of the most interesting themes is how peoples attitudes to endangered animals differ and the different methods and approaches which have been thought of, in some cases implemented, to try and 'help' endangered species. Kamish's imagination has come up with some truly entertaining scenarios and dialogue.
The book was certainly an enjoyable read although I didn't really have any 'difficult to put it down' moments. The book was certainly action packed but in quite a 'dry' way. The action was presented as quite matter of fact in places and there were points that I had to re-read what happened as there were important plot moments which passed by quite quickly. Some of the story line was very surreal in places as well to the extent were it was almost a little bit too silly sometimes. I liked the way Trevor's character developed over the duration of the book and his relationships with other characters.
The style of the book is hard to place and it reminded me of various things I have both seen and read. The best combination I could think of to describe the book is as a mixture of 'Filth' by Irvine Welsh, 'Old Dogs' by Donna Moore and the movies 'Burn After Reading' and 'Thank You For Not Smoking'. I mention 'Filth' because of its gritty no nonsense style of writing and 'Old Dogs' because of the unlikely plot and dark humour used.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I would definitely recommend 'Diary of an Eco-Warrior' as it is an enjoyable, darkly comical book that tackles the fate of endangered animals in a blunt fashion. I will certainly be reading the next book in the series to see what happens, but also to find out if Kamish develops and uses the characters and ideas at the start of the book which were particularly gripping.
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