Mungai and the Goa Constrictor [Kindle Edition]

Select a place..anywhere in the world and you most probably have heard stories about a pair to be very wary of, like Mungai and the Goa Constrictor! Likely, you'll have heard them directly, from the innocent victims left strewn aside in their wake. This is a story about nature, reforestation, gold mining, animals both two legged and four legged and the most nebulous kind of all... that of the cold and calculating... psychological nature.
Mungai, escapes from a zoo by literally biting the hand that feeds him, to obtain his freedom. Along the way he connects with a self centered, narcissistic snake named Goa. They instantly mirror each others lack of conscience and recognize "possibilities" of a greater future together, in the con game they both know and love so well.
They formulate a plan to exploit a group of unsuspecting animals, promising great rewards in the future, if the animals do as they request.
Having every faith in the pair, the animals work laboriously constructing tables, chairs and baskets out of wood with the promise of hope and prosperity for their respective families. They listen attentively to Mungai and Goa, as the two speak with authority and are quite erudite in their knowledge of the woodland surroundings and little gold treasures. To doubt their sincerity would be erroneous as the animals would have a falling out with their peers and thus be made to look foolish.
Through manipulation and cajoling the two cause confusion every step of the way. The woodland and jungle animals work together in good faith but they are gullible and unbeknownst to them are being terribly misled. Their gold mining endeavours, are necessary to pay for new equipment, used by humans to work at reforestation!
They've all been told by the amoral pair, that the "trees are too old" and need to be chopped down, in order that new ones may be replanted in their place. The animals have no concept that they are working illegally and are actually chopping down their own habitat. The two ring leaders start to show a few cracks in their armour however, when they begin to live in loftier and loftier residences. Each move is scrupulously planned, to be farther away from the 'workers' each time and with every move they have obtained, through smooth talk, even greater security.( e.g. wolves acting as security guards).
Finally a very observant crow, becomes very suspicious and tries in vain to alert the diligent trusting foreman, the badger. Of course, the badger doesn't believe a word that the crow tells him, as he has complete and utter "misplaced" trust in Mungai and Goa.
The book is very engaging as one ponders, if this dubious duo will ever be seen for what and whom, they truly are. Amelia E. Curzon has done us all a huge favour, by shining a spotlight on and enlightening us, to the damage done to our society by these unconscionable and despicable human beings. Her insight into this behaviour and relaying this message, through the depiction of animals is truly remarkable. This is an excellent book that would be advantageous and fascinating to read, for all ages. It is a real page turner and I highly recommend this book to all!

Amelia Curzon's Mungai and the Goa Constrictor was a surprisingly fun read, that held my attention throughout. Curzon's clever use of animals interspersed with two legs, all the varying shades of personality along the good to evil spectrum among the forest and jungle was a cleverly written story. It has been said that there are but a few fundamental stories repeated over and over again throughout history, and what avoids tedium and boredom is the creativity in the telling, to that Curzon gets credit. The combination of the Goa and Mungai with their two leg counterparts juxtaposed with the other characters and their two leg members create a tension of good and evil, that holds interest, with scene of fermented apple juice, jungle description, fits of laughter, betrayal, human emotions and dialogue in the cast of animal characters, a narcissistic snake, a cult like following, and messages about deforestation and animal abuse, all combine into a sweet read.

Amelia Curzon's Mungai and The Goa Constrictor is a unique and wonderful work on its own. The characters are varied and interesting. It is very clever how Ms. Curzon uses predominantly animals to tell her story and includes the "two legged" in both a positive and negative light to compliment the story. That being said as a reader I did compare her work to other wonderful works that used animals as characters as well.
There are nuances of George Orwell's Animal Farm and as the one explores the corruption of the powerful and effect on the weak in regards to revolution Mungai and The Goa Constrictor beautifully addresses the effect of corruption and greed set before the need to protect our environment.
Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi gives the reader the heroic Mongoose against the evil King Cobra. Amelia Curzon manages to do far more than that by giving different characters the power to be heroes whether by conviction or chance. "Since no-one was in, they decided to investigate further. They were not brave, they were simply curious."
The character's need to balance understanding what is real, right and true while strong influences cleverly deceive them.
The sophisticated narrative will enhance any young reader's vocabulary while making it an enjoyable read for any adult.
I give Mungai and the Goa Constrictor a five star rating for its clever narrative and unique style.