Kira Jane Buxton
One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.
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S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim; trading insults with Seattle's wild crows (those idiots); and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer-Cheetos.
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Then Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like something isn't quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies - from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim's loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis - fail to cure Big Jim's debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle. Humanity's extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foulmouthed crow whose knowledge of the world around him comes from his TV-watching education.
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HOLLOW KINGDOM is a humorous, bighearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.
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“It's an adventure lit by strange myths, brand names, television and smartphone screens, a fable with teeth and claws about animals making new lives amongst the ruins of humanity... S.T. the irrepressible, cursing crow is my new favourite apocalyptic hero.”
- Helen Macdonald
New York Times bestselling author of
H Is for Hawk
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"Kira Jane Buxton’s voice is fresh, like a newly dug grave, but so joyful and honest
you’ll laugh out loud, and then check to make sure you haven’t lost an eyeball."
- Jamie Ford
New York Times bestselling author of
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
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“Everything you're hearing about Kira Jane Buxton's Hollow Kingdom--that it's wildly original and inventive, funny and profane--is wonderfully true. But even better, this book is timely, smart, movingly written, and beautifully concluded.”
- Laurie Frankel
New York Times bestselling author of
This Is How It Always Is
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“A plucky hero, a boisterous tale, startling prose, and eerie events combine for a thoroughly enjoyable account of the end of the world as we know it. The Secret Life Of Pets meets The Walking Dead.”
- Karen Joy Fowler
PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author of
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
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"Hollow Kingdom offers a bird's-eye view of the apocalypse we all want and need... A dazzling, wholly original debut, revealing the great paradox of humanity’s fatal flaws and resilient spirit.”
- Mona Awad
author of 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and Bunny
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"Full of unforgettable humor, insight and beauty."
- Ruth Ozeki
nationally bestselling author of
A Tale for the Time Being
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“A hilariously exuberant and heart bursting fable for our times.”
- Jennie Shortridge
bestselling author of Love Water Memory
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"With humor and a style that brings to mind Tom Robbins and Karen Russell,
Buxton's debut is heartwarming and heart stopping, hilarious and tragic.”
- Amy Poeppel
author of Limelight and Small Admissions
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“It turns you upside down and makes you realize that you
recognize the world from that vantage point.”
- Rahna Reiko Rizzuto
author of Shadow Child
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"This book is a triumphant feat of imagination, and it had me believing that the
bonds we’ve formed with our pets might help them save us after all."
- Zoe Zolbrod
author of The Telling
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