Who wouldn't take a job that involves "saving the world"? Adi, the antihero of Jonathan Miles's powerful fourth novel, Eradication, is drawn to the job listing not just for the noble mission but also for the chance to be alone for five weeks on a Pacific island. A teacher reeling from his 11-year-old son Jairo's death and his wife leaving, Adi relishes getting away from it all. But he hasn't reckoned with the emotional challenge of eradicating an invasive species--and facing up to humanity's role in environmental crises.
Santa Flora once teemed with endemic birds and reptiles, but many species have gone extinct because of the ballooning population of goats. Whalers left a few on the island as food supplies to retrieve on the way back from expeditions, but the numbers have gotten out of hand since. The goats strip the cliffs of flora and compete with native fauna for habitat. A flashback to Adi's cursory interview reveals that he was completely unqualified, having never fired a gun, but the mysterious "foundation" was so desperate it hired him anyway. Armed with a sniper's rifle, his task is to kill all of the island's estimated 2,000 to 4,000 goats.
From the start, it's clear Adi's not cut out for this. The story nears the midpoint when he finally kills his first goat. He butchers it, but cries while eating the meat. In the meantime, he's made the mistake of becoming emotionally attached to the female goats hanging around his hut. He's identified individuals and named them; how can he kill them? As the likelihood of success plummets, he chooses a new tactic: slaughter all the males to halt reproduction.
Miles (Anatomy of a Miracle) spins a taut parable reminiscent of T.C. Boyle's When the Killing's Done. The setting is imprecise and the backstory sparse, as befits a fable. Adi's relationship with his son and jazz clarinet hobby are resonant. His island discoveries enhance a nuanced environmentalist message: a trash-covered beach; an injured bird thought to be extinct--embodying why the goats can't coexist with endangered species; and two drunken fishermen who illegally kill sharks and sell the fins to China. Guilt and blame, responsibility and revenge, trade off in this troubling novella. Attempts at rectification keep backfiring. Human tragedies, like Jairo's accidental death, may be random. Those that befall the natural world, though--whether intentional or not--can only be laid at humanity's door. --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader, and blogger at Bookish Beck
Shelf Talker: Jonathan Miles's taut, powerful fable pits an everyman against seemingly insurmountable environmental and personal problems.