Back list review - Animal by Lisa Taddeo

Some books don’t just tell a story, they crawl under your skin and stay there. Animal is one of those. It follows Joan, a woman shaped by trauma, rage, and desire, as she flees to California searching for answers about her past. What unfolds is a haunting exploration of female pain, obsession, and survival. Taddeo doesn’t shy away from the ugliness, she strips everything back until what’s left feels raw and unnervingly real.

I loved the brutal honesty of Joan’s voice, how unflinching, unapologetic, and disturbingly self-aware she is. There’s a kind of beauty in her anger, in the way she refuses to be palatable or soft for anyone. It’s confronting at times, but that’s exactly what makes it so powerful. You don’t read Animal for comfort; you read it because it dares to say the quiet parts out loud.

Another one ticked off from my long backlist tbr shelf, and honestly, I can’t believe I waited this long. It’s dark, it’s fierce, and it leaves a mark… exactly the kind of book I love sinking into.

#qotd - Have you read Animal yet, or any of Lisa Taddeo’s work? What did you think of her writing style?

Happy reading,

C xx

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