On the first page of Animals, the protagonist, Laura, wakes up immobilised on a Saturday afternoon, having accidentally tied herself (by bangle and tights leg) to her bed. So begins a book in which about half of the chapters start with the aftermath of a night of partying, then work backwards through the mess. Laura is accompanied in her exploits by Tyler, her best friend, flatmate, and a person who would be the very definition of “enabler” if she didn’t transcend that category frequently and make the leap into “pusher”.
The friendship at the centre of this novel is a complex one. Tyler is clearly bad for Laura; they love each other, but Tyler is also jealous and judgemental, frequently attempting to undermine Laura’s relationship with her fiance, Jim. Unsworth works the reader’s frustrations over Laura’s dedication to Tyler mercilessly, often having Laura attempt to go home at a decent hour only to be cajoled by Tyler into another all-night binge. Around the twin stars of Laura and Tyler revolve family (including Laura’s cancer patient father), love interests (apart from Jim, Laura also develops a crush on an older man, and Tyler has divers flings), and a shared love of literature, most specifically Yeats.
For the most part, I very much enjoyed this book. I loved its visceral physicality. I liked line the author walked when it came to Laura and Tyler’s partying: she wasn’t judgemental about their choices, but at the same time made it clear that Tyler was at times bullying Laura into doing things that weren’t her choice, and didn’t match up with the idea of the life Laura wanted for herself. The writing was mostly solid, with the occasional slide into the overly dramatic (very occasional, and in context, mostly forgiveable). Tyler is given a backstory of childhood trauma, which is mostly hinted at during the bulk of the book and only made clear towards the end, and I felt that was unnecessary and weakened her character somewhat by attempting to explain away her behaviour. I would have preferred her to just be who she was.
I thought about adding a “coming-of-age” tag to this report, but really the characters are too old for it (late 20s/early 30s). Still, it does have that feel to it of a woman gradually realising what she wants from her life, while her friend is stuck in a more reactive cycle. This is an interesting novel whose subject-matter feels somehow unexplored, despite having superficial similarities to other books.
Trigger warnings: addiction, family violence, possible rape, threatened rape.