{"product_id":"eradication-a-moving-story-of-goats-grief-and-what-it-means-to-play-god-9781529449037","title":"Eradication: a moving story of goats, grief and what it means to play God","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA short, sharp fable-esque novel about a grieving man on a remote island who is forced to reckon with an invasive population of goats and the fragile ecosystems that call everything into question.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Excellent' \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An instant classic. . . \u003ci\u003eHamlet\u003c\/i\u003e but with goats everywhere' \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Beautifully weird, eerie, unexpected - a story for our times' Kevin Barry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A work of genius. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEradication \u003c\/i\u003eis a beautiful and devastating novel' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eLuke Kennard\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e'\u003cb\u003eA deft, unsettling exploration of what it means to play God' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eMaria Reva\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA moving fable in which a grieving man, confronts a broken world on an island overpopulated by goats.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eReeling from tragedy, a former jazz musician-turned-schoolteacher named Adi answers a job listing advertising a chance to save the world. The assignment: to spend five weeks alone on the tiny, isolated Pacific Island of Santa Flora and reckon with its invasive population of goats that's sent the ecological balance severely out of whack..\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat follows, however, is anything but balanced. The threats to the once-Edenic island, Adi soon learns, aren't exactly what his employers said they were - and, complicating things further, he discovers he's not alone on the island. Fearful for his own life, and for the fate of the island, Adi spends his sun-drenched days rooting out the true threat to Santa Flora, and, by extension, to the world it occupies - and the desperate steps he must take to eradicate it.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eEradication\u003c\/i\u003e is an utterly unforgettable reading experience and the work of a truly singular imagination. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781529449037\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 03 Feb 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Quercus Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 21.8(H)x13.8(L)x2(W)289\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 289\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eJonathan Miles is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003eDear American Airlines\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWant Not\u003c\/i\u003e, both New York Times Notable books, and the novel \u003ci\u003eAnatomy of a Miracle.\u003c\/i\u003e His journalism, essays, and criticism have appeared in a wide variety of publications including the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, where he served as a columnist. In 2024 he toured as a multi-instrumentalist in the band of the Grammy-winning artist Jon Batiste. He currently serves as Writer-in-Residence at the Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eEradication\u003c\/i\u003e, Jonathan Miles\u003cb\u003e tackles the brutal paradoxes of ecological conservation with both unflinching clarity and comedic flair\u003c\/b\u003e. When saving an imperilled Eden means eliminating [sacrificing?] one species - whose only crime is to \"refuse to stop living\"- to protect dozens more, there are no easy answers. \u003cb\u003eA deft, unsettling exploration of what it means to play God\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e -- Maria Reva, author of Endling\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBeautifully weird, eerie, unexpected - a story for our times, and all powered by the writer's tremendous narrative imagination\u003c\/b\u003e -- Kevin Barry, author of The Heart in Winter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA work of genius.\u003c\/b\u003e From the beginning Adi is an endearing castaway of sorts, marooned from his former life, well-employed but hopelessly ill-suited to the grim job at hand. But strangely the best possible witness to his own (our own) role in the natural and unnatural order, whatever that may be. What struck me is the way Miles can pivot seamlessly, symphonically, from a fist-gnawing comedy of errors to a heartbreaking requiem for a habitat, a world, a near-extinct Reed Warbler, a son, resolving into a shocking and defiant denouement. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEradication\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautiful and devastating novel.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Luke Kennard\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMiles's taut, powerful fable pits an everyman against seemingly insurmountable environmental and personal problems.\u003c\/b\u003e * Shelf Awareness *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e[Eradication] blew me out of my socks. . . . Short and powerful . . . The second I finished it, I immediately reread it.\u003c\/b\u003e * Susan Casey, author of Voices in the Ocean *\u003cbr\u003eExcellent * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUrgent and lyrical \u003c\/b\u003e * NPR *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBoth dark and funny . . . This is one for the ages\u003c\/b\u003e * Elizabeth Gilbert *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eComplex, funny and sad, it is full of big ideas about planet, place and both social and ecological hierarchy. Just brilliant.\u003c\/b\u003e * Marie Claire *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFables are so back\u003c\/b\u003e . . . The story that follows could be seen as an allegory for corporations playing god with nature, for the treatment of immigrants, or any number of other readings.\u003cb\u003e In fact, you might feel the urge to immediately re-read it\u003c\/b\u003e. The interplay of the moss, basalt and (remaining) cloud forest of the island with the ugly human instincts which have arrived there is deftly conducted, the meditations on failing to 'save' something hit with real impact and\u003cb\u003e the final pages are just about as satisfying as you can get.\u003c\/b\u003e * Shortlist *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn instant classic . . . \u003ci\u003eHamlet \u003c\/i\u003ebut with goats\u003c\/b\u003e * The Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEngaging and speedy\u003c\/b\u003e * Strong Words Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGutsy and visceral\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Goes from blackly comic to cathartically upsetting, all told with a tight springy energy. * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eClever * Literary Review *","brand":"Jonathan Miles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48506084131033,"sku":"9781529449037","price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781529449037.jpg?v=1775742464","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/eradication-a-moving-story-of-goats-grief-and-what-it-means-to-play-god-9781529449037","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}