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crossinthepnw's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Animals...are they really so different from you or me? Of course not, but I think humans tend to forget that, and how every living creature on this planet is connected. Freeman's: Animals is a wonderful anthology of essays about the beings we share this planet with, including works from Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe and Kali Fajardo-Anstine (a couple of my favorite authors). These essays made me think, cry, and celebrate the existence of all of our companions on Earth.
I will say, I definitely judged the book by its cover because the cat is out of focus, but after reading all of the works it makes sense to me now; animals are so seemingly ordinary and can be easy to overlook, even though we are so intimately connected to them. To paraphrase from the Introduction, we shouldn't be so scared of what animals can do to us, but rather what we have done to them.
Even if you don't consider yourself an "animal" person, give this one a read. There is enough philosophy, history, poetry, and story-telling that everyone will find something they enjoy, and something that will make them think.
I will say, I definitely judged the book by its cover because the cat is out of focus, but after reading all of the works it makes sense to me now; animals are so seemingly ordinary and can be easy to overlook, even though we are so intimately connected to them. To paraphrase from the Introduction, we shouldn't be so scared of what animals can do to us, but rather what we have done to them.
Even if you don't consider yourself an "animal" person, give this one a read. There is enough philosophy, history, poetry, and story-telling that everyone will find something they enjoy, and something that will make them think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexism, Body shaming, Infidelity, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Body horror
tourmaline_and_tomes's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Freeman's Animals, the latest installment in the Freeman's literary anthology series, is an incredible collection of modern stories, essays, poems, and musings on the intersection of humans and the animals that exist in the peripheries of our lives.
The collection spans topics, countries, and perspectives. The authors take us from the starving dogs of covid-affected India (About the Dogs by Anuradha Roy), to a difficult calving on a storm-drenched Welsh farm (Cow by Cynan Jones), a philosophical history of humanity's approach to animals (The Masks of Animals by Olga Tokarczuk), to a man musing on his resemblence to an extinct bird (Love Song of the Moa by Martín Espada), to a American expat experiencing (and taking part in) consumption and environmental destruction at its most horrifying and lavish in a French castle (On Jawless Fish by Tess Gunty). I have only barely scratched the surface of the 23 pieces contained in this anthology.
Each piece has something to tell us about the animals which are inextricably intertwined in our lives: whether it is how we horribly mistreat and exploit them; how we rely on them for protection and companionship; how we mourn the loss of so much biodiversity in the last few years alone; or how we tend to forget that we are animals ourselves and, when the veil is pulled back, we are confronted with the very base nature of our animal selves even though we try so hard to separate ourselves from the rest of the animal kingdom.
While not something I would have naturally picked up in the bookstore, I'm glad I gavea chance to this paradigm shifting collection. It should be required reading.
I appreciate greatly the opportunity to read this and to be provided a copy by participating in a read along thanks to the publisher, Grove Atlantic, and Tandem Global Collective, in exchange for my participation and review.
The collection spans topics, countries, and perspectives. The authors take us from the starving dogs of covid-affected India (About the Dogs by Anuradha Roy), to a difficult calving on a storm-drenched Welsh farm (Cow by Cynan Jones), a philosophical history of humanity's approach to animals (The Masks of Animals by Olga Tokarczuk), to a man musing on his resemblence to an extinct bird (Love Song of the Moa by Martín Espada), to a American expat experiencing (and taking part in) consumption and environmental destruction at its most horrifying and lavish in a French castle (On Jawless Fish by Tess Gunty). I have only barely scratched the surface of the 23 pieces contained in this anthology.
Each piece has something to tell us about the animals which are inextricably intertwined in our lives: whether it is how we horribly mistreat and exploit them; how we rely on them for protection and companionship; how we mourn the loss of so much biodiversity in the last few years alone; or how we tend to forget that we are animals ourselves and, when the veil is pulled back, we are confronted with the very base nature of our animal selves even though we try so hard to separate ourselves from the rest of the animal kingdom.
While not something I would have naturally picked up in the bookstore, I'm glad I gavea chance to this paradigm shifting collection. It should be required reading.
I appreciate greatly the opportunity to read this and to be provided a copy by participating in a read along thanks to the publisher, Grove Atlantic, and Tandem Global Collective, in exchange for my participation and review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
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