What Maximilian offered us stuffed animals was a faith without fears. – Wolf Diaz
Eva Whippoorwill and Sven Beaver always wanted a cub (what all young plush are called regardless of species), but the Environmental Ministry (the agency responsibly for creating the Cub List) never saw fit to grant their wish.
One day while working in the forest on the edge of Lanceheim (one of the four districts which comprises Mollisan Town) Sven finds a small creature, alone and crying. It’s obviously a young boy, but Sven can’t quite identify what kind of plush animal he is. Knowing he won’t survive alone in the forest, Sven takes the young one home where he is named Maximilian and formally adopted by Sven and Eva.
It quickly becomes apparent that Maximilian is not like any other plush animal. His covering, for example, is a strangely smooth, pale material devoid of seams. Maximilian also grows as he ages, something no other animal does since they come from the factory fully made. He is also wise beyond his years and, over time, begins speaking only in similes and parables.
When his teachings begin to gain him followers hungry for an alternative to the harsh constructs of Mollisan Town’s orthodox church, it is only a matter of time before those desperate to hold on to their authority resort to extreme measures to silence Maximilian.
Eric is doing well for himself. In his reckless youth he used drugs, kept pace with thugs, and worked as a runner for a mobster. But with age he settled down, married the love of his life, Emma, and has a prosperous job with a prestigious advertising agency. Life is good. Until the day Eric’s past comes back to haunt him and his world gets turned upside down.
Hey, guess who showed up on the doorstep again? Graham Parke, that’s who. The 
“What would you think of a postmistress who chose not to deliver the mail?” – Frankie Bard
“People don’t consider the benefits of being a fugitive.”
“Can you make anyone confess to anything?” – Captain Mizinchikov
“I believe you. And I believe you want answers. For all the right reasons. But some things are better left alone. This is one of them.” – Tom Reimer
I’m going to do this a little differently than I usually do reviews because, quite frankly, my reaction to this book was a little different than I usually experience when reading a book. Very rarely am I ambivalent about something I’ve read. Love it or hate it – or so despise it I don’t even finish – my feelings about what I read are usually crystal clear. And yet, days after finishing Beatrice and Virgil I still can’t decide: do I love it, or hate it?
