Animal

Books | Fiction / Literary

3.9

(322)

Lisa Taddeo

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and global phenomenon Three Women, comes an “intoxicating” (Entertainment Weekly), “fearless” (Los Angeles Times), and “explosive” (People) novel about “what happens when women are pushed beyond the brink, and what comes after the reckoning” (Esquire).Joan has spent a lifetime enduring the cruelties of men. But when one of them commits a shocking act of violence in front of her, she flees New York City in search of Alice, the only person alive who can help her make sense of her past. In the sweltering hills above Los Angeles, Joan unravels the horrific event she witnessed as a child—that has haunted her every waking moment—while forging the power to finally strike back. Animal is a depiction of female rage at its rawest, and a visceral exploration of the fallout from a male-dominated society.

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More Details:

Author

Lisa Taddeo

Pages

336

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

2021-06-08

ISBN

1982122145 9781982122140

Community ReviewsSee all

"This book ruined me. "

Emily Calleja

"what a straaaaange and gruesome book"

alex

"5/5 for me. Full of raw emotion and feminine rage. Though I predicted many major plot points before getting 100 pages in, I greatly enjoyed this read. Would definitely check for trigger warnings beforehand but I highly recommend."

Emily

"It was engaging but fell flat "

M P

Megha Parhar

"read it. now. "

iris tucker

"I enjoyed this but think I would have preferred to read the physical copy rather than listening on audio."

Amanda Farris

"“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…” yeah. that’s how this book starts. lisa taddeo grabs you by the throat from page one and doesn’t really let go. it’s jarring, intense, and kind of gross, but also weirdly beautiful. and it sets the tone perfectly for everything that follows. joan is the type of narrator you watch with one raised eyebrow. she’s angry and selfish and sometimes unbearable, but also completely fascinating. i never knew if i was supposed to root for her or just hope she went to therapy. what kept me going was taddeo’s writing, which is sharp, unflinching, and soaked in emotion. this book just tells its truth and lets you deal with it. i’ll admit there were parts where i felt a little lost. the flashbacks, the second-person narration, the general chaos of joan’s trauma spiral…it’s a lot. but somehow it works. the messiness feels intentional. like it’s not just telling a story, it’s living inside of one. by the time i reached the end, i didn’t feel closure exactly, but i did feel something. and these days, that counts for a lot. this book is not soft or kind or neat. but it’s powerful. and if you’ve ever felt like your rage was too loud, too much, too ugly, this book might make you feel seen."

Nafisa

"Hated this at first, and now I feel I consider the main character somewhat like an old friend. Sticks with you like a punch to a gut, but heartwarming it beautiful all the same. "

C S

Celia Scurry

"Upsetting bleak, intensely inspirational. There were times I hated reading it honestly, but that’s how you know it’s a good book"