Imagine a small, solitary figure walking along a winding track somewhere in the central Australian desert, "about two feet tall and covered with short brown fur," by Howard Anderson's description. "He had a short, thick tail that dragged on the ground when he walked upright and a ducklike bill" where his nose would be--oh, and he's carrying an empty soft drink bottle. Meet Albert, a recent escapee from the Adelaide Zoo. This platypus wanted to be free, to discover a place where things haven't changed: Australia "like it used to be." Now he's cut off from water, lost and dying. So begins Albert of Adelaide, Anderson's charming and delightful first novel.
Fortunately for Albert, he stumbles upon a camper named Jack--a large, singing, pipe-smoking wombat with a graying handlebar mustache who provides tea and survival. They set off together and soon come upon a supply depot in Ponsey Station run by a kangaroo with a bar frequented by heavy-drinking bandicotts. After a raucous night, the store burns down; Albert and Jack barely escape alive and decide it's best to split up. Albert is learning fast. He has to feed himself, protect himself and make his own decisions. Some decisions are better than others and, as Anderson writes, a "really bad one could have serious consequences." Like, for example, embarking on a life of crime....
Albert from Adelaide explores timeless themes of friendship, loyalty and survival by presenting animal characters in a straightforward, believable way that just happens to be fantastical as well. --Tom Lavoie, former publisher