Animals - Eight Studies for Experts

Eva Menasse, Simon Pare

ISBN 10: 1803092629 / ISBN 13: 9781803092621

Published by Seagull Books London Ltd, GB, 2024

About this Item

A collection of unique, profound, and witty stories that relate animals' peculiarities to human attitudes.Animals is a collection of short stories in which each story takes a peculiar item about animals that appears, like fables, to shine a spotlight on different aspects of human behavior-like caterpillars digging their own graves, sharks in need of artificial respiration, ducks that keep an eye out for hungry predators even in their sleep. It is a treat to watch Eva Menasse spin these observations into scenes of people battling their everyday anxieties and doubts. An old tyrant realizes that he is unable to prevent his wife's worsening dementia from erasing his own past as it erases hers. A mother who tries to protect a Muslim child from hostile accusations finds that her own boundaries between good and evil begin to blur. A woman realizes how starkly her father's traumatic past has shaped her quirky habits and deepest fears. Combining biting wit, mystery, and melancholy, these tales are the work of a masterful storyteller.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781803092621

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Animals - Eight Studies for Experts
• Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1803092629
• ISBN 13: 9781803092621
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

A collection of unique, profound, and witty stories that relate animals’ peculiarities to human attitudes.

Animals is a collection of short stories in which each story takes a peculiar item about animals that appears, like fables, to shine a spotlight on different aspects of human behavior—like caterpillars digging their own graves, sharks in need of artificial respiration, ducks that keep an eye out for hungry predators even in their sleep. It is a treat to watch Eva Menasse spin these observations into scenes of people battling their everyday anxieties and doubts. An old tyrant realizes that he is unable to prevent his wife’s worsening dementia from erasing his own past as it erases hers. A mother who tries to protect a Muslim child from hostile accusations finds that her own boundaries between good and evil begin to blur. A woman realizes how starkly her father’s traumatic past has shaped her quirky habits and deepest fears. Combining biting wit, mystery, and melancholy, these tales are the work of a masterful storyteller.

About the Authors

Eva Menasse is the prizewinning author of short stories, essays, and three novels, including Vienna, which was published in Anthea Bell’s English translation in 2006.

Simon Pare is a translator from French and German living near Zurich.