A review by squidbag
The Animals by Christian Kiefer

4.0

Brutally honest and straightforward and encapsulated in terms of philosophy by its construction and relentless progression toward its final events and lines, this book is not fun by any stretch, but it is really meaty and emotional without being melodramatic. The author has decided not to use the formal convention of quotation marks or any other traditional punctuation in order to indicate dialogue, and this serves to flatten all of the emotion that might be normally contained in certain interactions. I found this to be a big help, due to where this story goes. Some ambiguous animal rights thinking here; not everyone will be okay with their treatment or individual fates. The book is messy, like life, with the past intruding upon the present, and it works.