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A review by book_concierge
We the Animals by Justin Torres
3.0
The opening line is: We wanted more. This is a coming-of-age story focused on three brothers growing up in upstate New York; it is narrated by the youngest boy. Their parents married as teenagers and struggle to make do. Paps is a frequently-out-of-work alcoholic. Ma toils long hours on the graveyard shift, and occasionally sinks into depression. Left largely to fend for themselves, the boys grow up as wild animals. In various scenes they are rambunctious, energetic, tender, seeking adventure, neglected, abused, hungry, confused and lonely. And always, they want more - food, attention, love, security.
Torres writes with a unique prose-poetry style that packs a powerful punch. Sentences and phrases tumble over one another as three boys at play will do – each demanding ALL your attention until the next comes along and does the same thing. It’s raw and compelling. There were times when I gasped aloud and times when I chuckled at the boys’ mischievous antics.
However … At about page 100 (of 125 pages) the novel takes a VERY dark turn. I felt completely sucker punched by the descriptions of the narrator’s awakening sexuality. The language is graphic and violent. The choppy, short sentences that moved the story forward for the first 100 pages were completely inadequate to explain what was happening in the characters’ lives. Having pictured the boys as somewhere between 8-12 years old, I’m suddenly confronted with scenes that must involve 15-17-year-olds (or I sure hope so, though even that is young). I felt completely disconnected from the story at that point and re-read the last 15 or so pages twice to ensure I hadn’t somehow missed something. Torres is clearly talented, but the hole he left in this work is a huge disappointment.
I give the book 3*** in recognition of the emotional impact, especially in the first 100 pages.
WARNING - readers averse to crude language or reading about homosexuality might want to avoid this book.
Torres writes with a unique prose-poetry style that packs a powerful punch. Sentences and phrases tumble over one another as three boys at play will do – each demanding ALL your attention until the next comes along and does the same thing. It’s raw and compelling. There were times when I gasped aloud and times when I chuckled at the boys’ mischievous antics.
However … At about page 100 (of 125 pages) the novel takes a VERY dark turn. I felt completely sucker punched by the descriptions of the narrator’s awakening sexuality. The language is graphic and violent. The choppy, short sentences that moved the story forward for the first 100 pages were completely inadequate to explain what was happening in the characters’ lives. Having pictured the boys as somewhere between 8-12 years old, I’m suddenly confronted with scenes that must involve 15-17-year-olds (or I sure hope so, though even that is young). I felt completely disconnected from the story at that point and re-read the last 15 or so pages twice to ensure I hadn’t somehow missed something. Torres is clearly talented, but the hole he left in this work is a huge disappointment.
I give the book 3*** in recognition of the emotional impact, especially in the first 100 pages.
WARNING - readers averse to crude language or reading about homosexuality might want to avoid this book.