Animal: A Novel Summary
Lisa Taddeo

Animal: A Novel Overview

In Lisa Taddeo's novel Animal, first person narrator Joan moves to California after her lover commits suicide in front of her. Knowing that her half sister, Alice, lives in California, Joan hopes that meeting her will ease her loneliness and sorrow. Throughout her time in California, Joan does get to know her half sister. Yet this relationship gradually challenges Joan to confront the buried traumas of her childhood past. Joan cannot grow beyond these experiences until she acknowledges and processes them. The novel explores themes including violence, grief, and love.