Animal Envy: A Fable

by Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader's newest work of the imagination, Animal Envy , is a fable about the kinds of intelligences that are all around us in other animals. What would animals tell us—about themselves, about us—if there were a common language among all animal species? A bracingly simple idea, one that has been used before in books like George Orwell's Animal Farm and E. B. White's Charlotte's Web among others, but never like this. In Animal Envy , Ralph Nader proposes, quite plausibly, that a programmer has created a "digital translation" app whereby animals of different species, from insects to whales, can speak to one another, and through a "hyper-advanced converter" these animals can then also speak, both collectively and individually, to humans. It is decided that there will be a global assembly. It will be called "The Great Talkout." Humans are persuaded to reserve 100 hours of network coverage so The Great Talkout may begin and will be viewed by humans everywhere, in all human languages, as well as all animal languages.     
The narrative that ensues is deeply felt and powerfully informed. Just as he did when he wrote Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us , Nader shows here that his visionary genius knows no limits.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2016

About the author

American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist, and candidate for President of the United States in five elections, including the last election 0f 2008, with his role in the 2000 election in particular being subject to much debate.

Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer rights, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. Nader is the first Arab American presidential candidate in the U.S.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to a learning opportunity, for an eye-opening novel on how humans are impacting natural habitats worldwide. Instead, a majority of this book was spent on animals discussing amongst themselves how to break the awful truth to humans and tip-toeing around our fragile egos (a point which struck the right chord initially but which was too often repeated by the end). Too much was avoided on account of the human response - which seemed, to me, to contradict the whole point of the book and to show little faith in its readership. If I'm reading this story, it's because I'm EAGER to know the hard truth! TELL me what we're doing to the environment, and what we can do to change course! Instead Ralph Nader's animals were too worried we would "become upset and offended" if we were blamed for the annihilation of species, the destruction of habitats, etc. This worry took up more space in the book than any other fact related to the animal kingdom, polLution, or climate change. Nader chose to focus instead on strange, irrelevant topics such as bonobo sex and beastiality.... I'm not kidding.

Whatever nuggets of wisdom existed among these pages were lost amid boring and useless information. The section on Global Warming was less than a page in length.

For a book that was written to shed light on the impact humanity has on nature, the only truth I came away with is that bonobos are weird. It would be more worthwhile, I think, to watch BBC's "Planet Earth."

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most imaginative books I have read. It is funny and serious and informative. It is full of interesting facts about many mammals and insects, many I had not known about. I liked the way each, including humans had distinct personalities. This is basically a cry to save Mother Earth but in a way anyone can grasp.

[Dayton Martindale · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I found out that Ralph Nader had written a 200-page "fable" in which nonhuman animals gained the ability to communicate with humans and staged a moral call to action, I was very excited.

Unfortunately, the book isn't actually that good. The main things I learned are that Ralph Nader is weirdly obsessed with animal sex, that he might not have a great grasp on what an insect is (lumping in earthworms and centipedes in the "insect kingdom"), that he loves indulging in mediocre wordplay that might generously be called "dad humor," and that, you guys, he's *weirdly* obsessed with animal sex, and thinks everyone else is too!!

Still, good to see influential progressives dedicate this sort of attention to the animal question--Nader conveys some useful tidbits on nonhuman intelligence, ecology and the ethical implications thereof (although his species politics, especially when it comes to "domesticates," are less radical than I would have hoped).

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Ralph Nader, he is an American treasure, this book is different from others and there is unfortunately not much story rather than a series of articles in which animals convey their grievances to humans. I did learn some interesting animal facts and if animals really interest you this book is for you. If you're looking for "classic Ralph" try "Breaking Through Power"

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

It would have been more interesting to read a bunch of academic journals than reading a bunch of animals quoting academic journals. This book is a bit contrived. Though Nader admitted he was going for an environmental "Animal Farm", it falls a bit short. Not a fun read.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a pick for my book club, and the person who picked it prefaced the choice by saying that it would probably either be really good or really bad. I had high hopes, but unfortunately, it was the latter. I really respect what Nader was trying to accomplish here, but it is my STRONGLY considered opinion that he should stick to nonfiction. While I learned a few new intersesting animal facts, this was perhaps the most painful book I've ever slogged through.

[Christina]

Found this in a display at the library and the premise of animals being able to talk to humans was intriguing. But I only stuck with it for the first 20 or so pages, then skimmed a bit. All the animals organize peacefully and communicate about how to delicately break the news to the humans about their issues caused by humans. The problem is their arguments are those that human environmentalists and activists have established. Example, even if a wolf did suddenly gain the ability to speak, how would it know that human folklore frequently casts it as a villain? It’s a clever concept, but I was hoping this would delve deeper, and use a convincing animal perspective.