We the Animals
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3.7 • 9 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
An exquisite, blistering debut novel
Three brothers tear their way through childhood—smashing tomatoes all over each other, building kites from trash, hiding out when their parents do battle, tiptoeing around the house as their mother sleeps off her graveyard shift. Paps and Ma are from Brooklyn—he’s Puerto Rican, she’s white—and their love is a serious, dangerous thing that makes and unmakes a family many times.
Life in this family is fierce and absorbing, full of chaos and heartbreak and the euphoria of belonging completely to one another. From the intense familial unity felt by a child to the profound alienation he endures as he begins to see the world, this beautiful novel reinvents the coming-of-age story in a way that is sly and punch-in-the-stomach powerful.
Written in magical language with unforgettable images, this is a stunning exploration of the viscerally charged landscape of growing up, how deeply we are formed by our earliest bonds, and how we are ultimately propelled at escape velocity toward our futures.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Three mixed-race brothers grow up in an impoverished, abusive household in upstate New York in this poignant and heart-wrenching novella told through a series of vignettes. The boys and an unhappy husband and wife get by, despite luck very rarely going their way. The mother works a night shift to make ends meet, while their chaotic father picks up jobs where he can, often hauling the trio along for the ride—which he then gets fired for. Through it all, the unnamed narrator is battling his teenage years in a confusing and hostile environment while also struggling with his sexuality. Each chapter is a standalone moment yet still manages to propel the story along with increased momentum. Narrator Frankie J. Alvarez feels like part of the family, so you experience every messy, passionate moment. This blistering and poetic tale is a powerful examination of what it can look like when difference emerges among those who once saw you as the same as them.
