The fact that it took me nearly three months to finish this says most of it, and the fact that I skipped more than 100 pages in the middle would seem to say the rest. But somehow, that's not it. This novel, which shifts narrative perspectives constantly--even granting the giraffes a portion of the narrative load, focuses on the "Communist moment" in Czechoslovakia (1973-1975) and retells in gut-wrenching detail the true story of the slaughter of 47 diseased giraffes (the largest domesticated herd ever) during a single, secretive night. The novel almost works, but Ledgard's heavy-handed metaphors (the Czechs are sleepwalkers, the giraffes are the agents of their awakening) drone on, becoming more of an annoyance than a revelation.