Book Review: Animal, Lisa Taddeo

Animal, Lisa Taddeo (2021)

My rating: 3 stars

Joan knows more than most of the price of pleasure, the horror of being a woman at the mercy of the man. Reeling from the public suicide of a former lover, she abandons her New York apartment and drives west for California, in search of the one person who might help her unravel the brutal mystery of her past.

I wasn’t as enamoured of this as I was of Three Women, but I was still fairly compelled to pick it up when I had put it down. For me, the story felt a little… obvious? Joan’s characterisation was one I felt conflicted by. I didn’t like her, but I believe that was Taddeo’s point - not all female protagonists have to be likeable. It did, therefore, make it difficult to exist inside this woman’s brain. I felt the exploration of family trauma was one that lacked depth. It justified the Joan we see, without really feeling fleshed out or almost relevant. I sort of was left with the overwhelming sense of: “what am I reading this story for?”. I’m well aware fiction can be fiction for the sake of fiction, but there was a lack of any real bite to this meal. I was left unsatisfied and irritated. Like I knew what dessert would be, and it was one I didn’t enjoy. I found a lot of things about Joan’s character were clearly marked ***shock factor*** which pulled me out of the story. The most impressive part was where we delved into the emerging friendship between Joan and Alice, and we saw the pull of the two women together. 

I can’t decide if I enjoyed this novel or not, or if the hype after Three Women left too much to be desired. Ah well, another book read. And I will say that Lisa Taddeo CAN WRITE. 

“Men were always putting their coats around my shoulders. They mark their territory that way. It’s better to freeze to death.” (88)

“God I hated myself. That I allowed people like him to feel they owned pieces of me.” (215)

I think if someone asked me to recommend a book, I wouldn’t think of this one. I’d scream in their face to go read Three Women.