A Review of Polly Hall's "The Taxidermist's Lover" (audiobook)

Polly Hall’s The Taxidermist’s Lover is unlike anything I’ve listened to before. Scarlett meets Henry on the beach one day, and their love affair begins, both between them and between Scarlett and Henry’s taxidermy. They move in together, and the book follows about a year of their relationship, jumping between Christmas day in the present and the previous months of the year. As time goes on, the narrator slowly reveals exactly how their relationship has ended, and it’s not what the reader expects. 

To be honest, if I’d picked up the novel, I probably would not have finished it. I’m not terribly fond of second-person narration, but it worked really well as an audiobook. The second-person perspective is what makes or breaks this story, and for the audiobook it suits. Listening to the narrator, Justine Eyre, really brought this novel into itself, and I was completely invested in following it through to the end. Her voice matched that of the narrator. I have to admit I sort of binged it. I was reminded a little of the TV series based on the movie Psycho, Bates Motel, because of the taxidermy and mental health issues in this story. That connection drew me in. I love taxidermy (though I’m not allowed to have any in the house). The narration feels like an extended love letter to Henry, which makes it quite intimate.

I am really looking forward to getting others to read this work because I want to talk about it with them! Because of the reliability of the narrator, it is hard to tell how much is real and how much is in her mind, and I want to explore that with other readers. I hope many, many people put The Taxidermist’s Lover on their TBR or “to be listened” lists.