The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel Award-winning author of Unsettled Ground

Reviews

@Ashleesbookshelf

A brilliant literary and accessible read that questions the ethics of human freedom and the effect of the choices we all make. This book really surprised me. The Memory of Animals is a superb apocalyptic pandemic novel with a little bit of science fiction which allows the main character Neffy to "revisit" her memories of her family growing up.

V. Halliday

This fascinating cross-genre pandemic-based novel was conceivedbefore we experienced the health crisis of 2019 & 2020, but at a more devastating level (despite what we all witnessed on the news media). The inclusion of periodic letters by Neffy to "H" depict her relationship with the octopus she cared for while working as an aquarist pre-pandemic. And, of course, when you put a group of young adults together in a closed setting with relatively little to occupy them, sexual tension is inevitable, with far-reaching consequences. She is aware of the future for younger Neffy while she's revisiting, an experience she finds emotionally challenging, exhausting, yet utterly addictive.

Shirl Davis

The details of the sickness were given in such fine amounts that leave you wanting more. Heartily recommended.

Add to this mix an invention called the Revisitor, a device that enables Neffy to return to her family and relationship memories as though consciously present in the past without the capacity to alter events. Abandoned by the staff and other volunteers who never took part in the trial, the remaining group stays safe in the clinic when the UK population is decimated by the spreading virus. The story was her story and the outside world was revealed in snippes as only she saw it.

Right off the first scene we jump into the action. A highly recommended read for people who love human stories and thinking "how would I react in that situation?