SYNOPSIS
I drove myself out of New York City where a man shot himself in front of me. He was a gluttonous man and when his blood came out it looked like the blood of a pig.
That's a cruel thing to think, I know. He did it in a restaurant where I was having dinner with another man, another married man.
Do you see how this is going? But I wasn't always that way.
I am depraved. I hope you like me.
MY THOUGHTS
From the author of Three Women, comes Lisa Taddeo's debut novel, Animal.
"I drove myself out of New York City where a man shot himself in front of me. He was a gluttonous man and when his blood came out it looked like the blood of a pig."
These are the opening lines from our narrator, Joan, a thirty-something year-old woman who flees shortly after this scene, to California in search of a yoga instructor named Alice. Throughout the novel we're given insights into Joan's past, from her childhood, youth, and the present, explicitly the relationship she's had with various men. Characters Joan meets in California provoke Joan to think back on these memories where we piece together how she got into the position she's in now.
We're questioning several things throughout the novel; who is Alice? What is the unspeakable childhood event that caused Joan such trauma? Who is Joan addressing in second person? And, what is the secret nurtured by Joan's aging and wealthy landlord? Does he hold something that we don't know about Joan?
Thankfully, all of these questions are answered, and although I wasn't always surprised by the outcome, Taddeo's execution is nothing short of brilliant. Although she doesn't hold back on detail, this is clearly a testament to her power of observation that I loved so much about her non-fiction title Three Women.
Joan is the core of every page, and is one of the most captivating characters I have ever read. Her traumatic past makes her a seemingly-sympathetic victim, but at times she can be entirely unlikeable. She's vulnerable, blunt, and honest. At times you feel like you want to wash your hands of her, whilst simultaneously you're rooting for her too. Taddeo takes a punch to your gut with every revelation we're told of Joan's story, revealing to us all that Joan has endured from the men in her life, and the fierce fight in her.
This novel won't be for everyone and it certainly won't be a novel I will forget. For some it could be triggering. Taddeo has given us a novel about the insidious nature of rape culture and the violence inflicted upon women by men. I was captivated by Joan from the start, her story, so much so she almost felt real. She represents what so many women across the world have endured, and what they may not have spoken about to anyone. Although I thankfully can't relate to Joan on most of what she experiences, I can in terms of how I have been treated by some men in the past, and recognising how problematic it was even if I didn't realise it at the time.
I thoroughly enjoy Taddeo's writing and how brilliantly she can tell a story. Animal is a novel I won't forget, and its certainly one that I will be putting in the hands of everyone I know, both women and men.
Animal is to be published on the 24th June 2021.
*gifted. Thank you to the publisher and Georgina Moore at Midas for sending me a proof copy for an honest review.
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