This has been a week of Mann awards. . . first Yann Martel who won the Mann Booker Prize for Life of Pi in 2002, then Miguel Syjuco who won the 2008 Mann Asian Award. In Beatrice and Virgil Henry receives a letter from a taxidermist offering a puzzle he cannot resist. An epic journey results with a donkey and a howler monkey that allows Martel to explore profound issues of life, art, and truth. Martel is no dunce, and has strong and well-developed views.