Animal, by Lisa Taddeo, is a story about Joan. Joan will tell you herself that she is depraved. She will also remind you that she is a survivor and that she’s been judged not only by what she’s done to others, but by the things that have happened to her. For years, Joan’s rage was dormant, but now, after yet another violent act by a man in her life, her rage is growing.
Joan is “hot” and “sexy” but is most flattered when someone simply calls her “pretty”. Men love Joan. They love to stare at her, to touch her, and to take liberties with her body. But men don’t want to marry Joan. Instead, they show her (And tell her! To her face!) that she’s “a certain type” of woman, not particularly worthy of respect. And Joan will tell you this as well.
When it’s all said and done, Joan is a fairly unreliable narrator, but I felt like she was a fairly honest one as well. I don’t usually love an unreliable narrator, but in some strange way, it just worked in this book. I found Joan to be a very sympathetic character and a lot of this book really resonated with me. Apparently you can be as unreliable as you’d like if we share some world views or past experiences!
That’s not to say it was an easy read for me. Even though I liked it, much of it is very upsetting and even horrific. Not nearly as off-putting as Filth by Irvine Walsh (IYKYK), but I did have to take breaks from reading it. And it’s definitely not for everyone. Still, I thought it was very good (4 stars), and I think Lisa Taddeo is an excellent writer and I hope to read more from her.
