This isn’t chick-lit. I knew it wouldn’t be when I read the first page. The first passage is such a punch in the throat. I knew I’d be in for a wild ride. Animals is the book all women past the age of 25 should read. Most stories that are centered around a female protag, she’s usually very young and experiencing many things for the first time.
But what happens when you’ve got a lot of nicks on your bedpost and all of that experience turns into bad habits? What happens when she finally loses herself?
Emma Jane Unsworth has given us an answer, dear world.
This book touches the fabric of adulthood and needles the fuck out it. We all like to pretend that we have our shit together in our late 20s but do we really?
Laura has a toxic friend named Tyler who might as well be her soul mate. They get into all kinds of trouble but Laura has found the man of her dreams who wants her to ditch her party life. By society’s standards, Laura and Tyler are too old for the shit that they get into but I think it’s refreshing to read about older girls living it up and not conforming to the expectations of femininity.
Love, marriage, and kids shouldn’t be the end all of our lives. Neither three are the shining beacons of success.
Unsworth’s writing is blunt, vulgar, honest, and confident. Animals is just hilariously brilliant in its truth telling about the thoughts we women have.
I don’t really know how to label this book. It could be literary but I feel like it doesn’t beat around the bush enough to fit that niche. It’s definitely not a romance nor a drama. It doesn’t fit anywhere. Unsworth has carved her own path and I can’t wait to pick up more of her books.
I would love to see this as a movie or a TV show.
What I didn’t like about this book is sometimes things got too chaotic and Laura is a bit of an unreliable narrator. When she blacks out, the reader blacks out with her. When things are happening to fast for her, the reader feels just as disoriented. Now that’s not necessarily bad. I really felt like I was in Laura’s head but I did get lost as bit. It can become a bit redundant in the middle portion of the book.
The ending was by far the best thing about this story. Laura really has personal growth throughout the book and it really shows on the last page. I think it’s debatable that Tyler had a bit of a change too.
TLDR: If you like reading about unconventional women doing drugs, being sweaty and watching people taking alcohol up the ass then this is the book for you.
Also I’ve read a couple of books that I haven’t written reviews for just yet. Hopefully I will get around to them. I’m currently reading Sweetbitter.
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