The God Of Animals
Published on 12. April 2007
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-297-85186-8 (ISBN)
Description
When her older sister runs away to marry a rodeo cowboy, Alice Winston is left to bear the brunt of her family's troubles-a depressed, bed-ridden mother, a reticent, overworked father, and a rundown horse ranch. Faced with the hottest summer in fifteen years and a pile of bills, the Winstons are forced to board the pampered horses of rich neighbors, and Alice must confront the power and security that class and wealth provide. As the summer unfolds, her family and their well-being become intertwined with the lives of their clients, her father pins his hopes on a gorgeous but unrideable horse, and Alice begins a dangerous friendship. Drawn into an adult world of secrets, hard truths, and even harder consequences, Alice experiences her first kiss, her first beer, and her first infatuation. But when the rain comes and brings the summer to an end, Alice's choices lead to a devastating betrayal and a shocking, violent series of events that will forever change her family's world.
Reviews / Votes
"Aryn Kyle's The God of Animals is a moving, beautifully crafted novel about families, horses, love, death, class in America, and serious weather. Narrated by a twelve-year-old girl, it contains a full adult measure of betrayal and desire and complex joy, and has a terrifying momentum by the end. It's a wonderful book." -- Maile Meloy, author Liars and Saints and A Family "No novel in recent memory has captured the West so well. Kyle is an absolute discovery, her book a perfect read." Andrew Sean Greer, author of The Confessions of Max Tivoli -- Andrew Sean Greer '[an] astonishingly assured debut...powerfully understated [and] ruefully funnny.' VOGUE (USA) 'If The Horse Whisperer showed us how it can be, The God of Animals shows how it more usually is. This is a powerful tale, very gently told.' -- Lesley Mason THEBOOKBAG.CO.UK "An atmospheric, intense debut." GLASGOW HERALD " .. a first novel that's so strong, startling, and moving, that it's a thoroughbred from the first page." -- Caroline Leavitt THE BOSTON GLOBE "Readers whose daughters yearn for horses when they're reaching puberty might do well to give those daughters this thoughtful, heartsick book." -- Carolyn See THE WASHINGTON POST "A memorable novel gracefully compares and contrast the vast landscapes of the human condition ..." -- Carol Memmott USA TODAY "Kyle has a gift of creating character, for making even the most minor players in Alice's drama come alive on the page... Aryn Kyle's debut delivers all the fun of the books about horses that you loved as a kid - but with the added weight and seriousness of a novel for grown-ups." -- Francine Prose PEOPLE MAGAZINEMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Orion Publishing Co
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
500 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-297-85186-8 (9780297851868)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Aryn Kyle graduated from the University of Montana writing program. Her work has been featured in The Georgia Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Best American Voices 2005, and Ploughshares. Born in Illinois, Kyle spent most of her childhood in Grand Junction, Colorado, and now lives in Missoula, Montana.