I have not read Lisa Taddeo's non fiction debut, Three Women, but after reading rave reviews I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review her debut novel. Animal is a dark and intense novel, beautifully written, occasionally convoluted and a challenging read. I read it alongside listening to the audiobook which is beautifully read by Emma Roberts and I did feel more immersed in the audio version. This is an original and impressive debut that I found to be a difficult read.
3.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

One of my fav recent reads! This is so different, unlike anything I usually pick up. I'll definitely be looking out for more from Lisa Taddeo - I'll be recommending this to my followers too. Thank you!

(I currently work at Bloomsbury but thoughts are my own!)
Fantastically written, I adore the writing style massively. I loved the eerie perspective. I have yet to finish it but I will definitely be continuing!

I’m sorry but I couldn’t finish this book. It started out quite promising but just descended into a poor plot and unexplained situations and characters and I just didn’t have the energy or time to invest in reading to the end.

Wow. Dark, disturbing, but utterly compulsive reading. The descriptive passages of the Canyon were so claustrophobic and atmospheric I felt like I was right there.
A book to read quickly - brilliant. Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

Thoroughly fantastic read and gripping debut novel from Lisa Taddeo. Each page oozes with Taddeo's distinctive writing - looking forward to reading more of her work and seeing what she does next.

Three Women by the same author was one of my top reads of last year, so I was very excited to pick this one up! In retrospect, maybe I set my expectations too high. The writing style is just as raw and that’s what I enjoyed most.
I didn’t devour Animal though; in fact it took me three months to finish it, which is unheard of for me as a reader. Due to the subject matter though, no regrets! It’s a lot to take in, it’s an uncomfortable read and it’s about a character most people would have a hard time empathising with. You have to bear in mind the trauma that Joan has dealt with in her life, as it’s revealed throughout the book, and how that affects her approach and mindset, and that’s very rough.
I also found it hard to keep up with who she was referring to at times, as it jumped erratically from Vic to Big Sky to Alice to Eleanor to Lenore. I think I’ll need to reread this at some point but for now, not one I’m keen to jump into again.

I read Lisa Taddeo's non fiction Three Women and didn't 'get the hype' so was nervous going into this one. However this is really well written, intriguing and gritty fiction. Excellent.

I enjoyed this more than Three Women as I had a lot of issues with that book and the way it was marketed. Animal is a gut punch of a novel which deserves the inevitable comparisons with American Psycho. It did make me feel completely outraged about male violence and abuse of women, but overall I felt that Taddeo's desire to shock and pile on as many traumatic and graphic themes/scenes as possible was to the book's detriment. Her writing is superb - I'd love to see her write a more measured novel though I can't see that happening.

From what I've heard, this has been a pretty controversial one on Goodreads. Animal is difficult to sort into a single genre or sum up in a single sentence because it's completely unpredictable. The writing jumps around a lot, but I couldn't help think that it perfectly suited the story.

The synopsis immediately reminded me of the recently released Promising Young Woman movie with Carey Mulligan, but Animal proved to be a much darker and disturbing story. Joan's narration is consistently interesting throughout the entire book because you never really know how to feel about her. One page you'll relate to her and the next you'll be infuriated.

This book is not for the faint of heart and will really appeal to a certain group of readers. Animal has a very disturbing depiction of trauma and vengeance, and you'll need to read it at a slower pace to tackle the beast of a novel it is.

Having absolutely adored Three Women and its novelistic style, I couldn’t wait to read Animal, Taddeo’s first foray into fiction. In some ways, it didn’t disappoint; the gift for distilling heterosexual relations that Taddeo demonstrated throughout Three Women remains on display here. She writes sex between men and women better than most other writers working today, and Animal is full of memorable lines and aphorisms that were so pithy and well-observed that I immediately noted them down. However, I have only awarded it three stars, mainly because in my opinion the plot itself was lacking. Joan, the protagonist, prides herself on being ‘depraved’ but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before (in Suicide Blonde/ In the Cut/ Adelé etc). Overall, I would’ve loved Taddeo to put her aphorisms to better use, in an essay collection, for example. I will still seek out her next book but in comparison to Three Women (which famously took nearly a decade to research) this felt a bit of a rushed attempt to capitalise on its predecessor’s success.

A raw and visceral take on womanhood. Whilst this novel might run too extreme for some, if you are someone who is not afraid to look into the darker side of humanity you will find much here to praise. The inconvenient truth that shocking childhood experiences shape the adults we become is confronted head on. Taddeo’s almost violent prose challenges the reader to come on this breakneck journey.

Personally, this book wasn't for me but I could appreciate that it was well written. I was a big fan of Lisa Taddeo's book Three Women, but there was something about this book that meant I just didn't click with it. The writing was good but I didn't really ever feel connected to the main character and I found it a little confusing in the beginning.

Animal is a dark, raw, compelling story about a woman who is angry. She's a victim, one who has been treated with violence by men. She is filled with anger. When she witnesses something horrific, she flees to find Alice. The writing is remarkable here. Taddeo's words will affect you, make you feel. The story is dark, but real and thought-provoking. Highly recommended!

Thank you Netgalley for this copy of Animal. This is my first book by this author so I have no comparisons with Three Women.
It took me a long time to read this, I kept reading it inbetween other books as I didn’t have the desperate pull of needing to finish it. I almost didn’t finish at all but the main character Joan, is talking to someone throughout the book and I was curious to find out who that was.
The story is quite confusing as it jumps around between timelines and I would forget where I was, especially with leaving gaps inbetween, however the last chapter really brings the book together and makes you feel more connected to Joan and truly sympathise with everything she has been through.
It’s not one I would read again but it is one I have thought about since finishing.

Wow, what have I just read ?.!,
I don’t even know where to start as I’m still processing the book days after I’ve finished it.

I put off reading this for a while as I had heard such a mixed bag of reviews and I honestly didn’t know if I was going to love or hate but I’m definitely in team love .
Told in current time with flashbacks to her childhood , it’s the tale of a woman’s life following a traumatic past. . Not an easy read by any means with rape, suicide, drug abuse just being some of the hard hitting subjects covered. Joan is depraved and you will loathe her and like her at the same time . It’s dark and disturbing yet compelling and gripping and I was just wanting to pick it up at every spare minute .
It certainly leaves the reader with plenty of food for thought , who is the animal , the abuser or the abused ?…

They f*ck you up, your mum and dad.

I'm still processing this book; it's one that will stay with me. Through my fogged thoughts, I can say:

This is a disturbing, enraging, candid tale of one woman's life following a traumatic past.

It asks what happens to a child when they witness graphic violence, experience great loss, are sexually abused?

Rape, abuse, trauma, manipulation and lies feature heavily here. Taddeo focuses on the women of the story in particular, how they are pitted against each other, encouraged to hate and destroy each other, whilst the men are the ones using them, destroying them. In so doing, she asks us to examine that in society, too.

Who is the real animal here? Is it the abuser, the abused, or are we all animals in one way or another, all waiting to unleash the animal inside us? Is that animal side always a bad thing? Does society judge it as a fault in women and a strength in men?

For all its ugly content, this book is beautifully written in many ways. It is gripping, engaging, emotional. You want to know how this story unfolds, how it fits together. You want to know there is justice. And is there?

I am still digesting this book, but know that it kept me up at night, and maybe that's all you need to hear.

Probably you have never read a story like Joan’s before, it is a brutal, honest account of being a woman and a survivor. Simply brilliant, enjoy reading this most interesting book of 2021.

Hot, ramped up and very very disturbing but omg is it sooo good. I loved it and just felt I had to keep on reading it to know what happens. I thought the main character was a love to hate type character and just found moments of pure brilliance.

Loved this book. Dark, disturbing and compelling, it had similar themes to Lisa Taddeo's previous book around women's sexuality and their relationships with men.