I know you’ll be reading this on April 2nd, but this Enthusiasm was due on April 1st and I couldn’t resist telling y’all about the silliest book I’ve ever loved for April Fools’ Day.
First, allow me to briefly tell you a true story of a thing that almost happened before getting into the book (it’s related I promise):
In 1910 US Rep. Robert Broussard of Louisiana introduced the American Hippo Bill, a proposal to import hippopotamuses into Louisiana to farm for meat and combat an invasive water hyacinth imported in the late 1800’s. The bill never passed, and at the end of the day Louisiana spent $2 million spraying herbicides to control the hyacinth and the country refocused on ways to expand already existing farming sources. (If you want to know more, check out the article ”American Hippopotamus” by Jon Mooallen in The Atavist magazine)
The American Hippo bill may not have passed, but Sarah Gailey’s book American Hippo asks: What if it had?
This book is a delightfully silly adventure story that I adore. It follows a group of hippo-cowboys and their hippo-steeds doin’ a caper on a flooded Mississippi River. The book is usually shelved in Science Fiction but it’s much more an historical fiction western featuring a delightful cast of characters including: an angry rancher seeking revenge, a demolitions expert looking for family, a dapper con artist just wanting adventure, and a pregnant villain fighting for her freedom. They are a set of almost-heroes turned villains turned “heroes” again whom you cannot help but fall in love with from the get-go.
If you love a caper story, morally grey characters, and creative adventuring, this is the book for you. It is the perfect April Fools’ read (even if it’s no longer April Fools’ Day).
H Rooker is the Assistant Store Manager at Still North Books and Bar, and a lifelong New Englander.