Short Stories

Filthy Animals

Filthy Animals

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-20 07:18:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Brandon Taylor
  • ISBN：0525538917
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Summary

A group portrait of young adults enmeshed in desire and violence， a hotly charged， deeply satisfying new work of fiction from the author of Booker Prize finalist Real Life

In the series of linked stories at the heart of Filthy Animals， set among young creatives in the American Midwest， a young man treads delicate emotional waters as he navigates a series of sexually fraught encounters with two dancers in an open relationship， forcing him to weigh his vulnerabilities against his loneliness。 In other stories， a young woman battles with the cancers draining her body and her family; menacing undercurrents among a group of teenagers explode in violence on a winter night; a little girl tears through a house like a tornado， driving her babysitter to the brink; and couples feel out the jagged edges of connection， comfort， and cruelty。

One of the breakout literary stars of 2020， Brandon Taylor has been hailed by Roxane Gay as "a writer who wields his craft in absolutely unforgettable ways。" With Filthy Animals he renews and expands on the promise made in Real Life， training his precise and unsentimental gaze on the tensions among friends and family， lovers and others。 Psychologically taut and quietly devastating， Filthy Animals is a tender portrait of the fierce longing for intimacy， the lingering presence of pain， and the desire for love in a world that seems， more often than not， to withhold it。

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Reviews

Joanna ，

I don’t usually like short story collections， but I enjoyed this one。 Possibly it’s because half the stories were linked in an almost continuous narrative。 I definitely will read more of Taylor’s work after this。I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley。

Jimena ，

Absolutely extraordinary！

Jenni ，

I didn't connect with this quite as much as I did Real Life， but also it's Brandon Taylor so I still loved it。 This felt a lot grittier in terms of depictions of sex， relationships， depression， and trauma， so if those parts of Real Life were not your jam I'm not sure this collection will work for you。 I particularly enjoyed the interconnected short stories， as they put me back into the grad school bubble Taylor captured so well in Real Life and I was fascinated by the explorations of lust and co I didn't connect with this quite as much as I did Real Life， but also it's Brandon Taylor so I still loved it。 This felt a lot grittier in terms of depictions of sex， relationships， depression， and trauma， so if those parts of Real Life were not your jam I'm not sure this collection will work for you。 I particularly enjoyed the interconnected short stories， as they put me back into the grad school bubble Taylor captured so well in Real Life and I was fascinated by the explorations of lust and companionship。 I also enjoyed the story "Anne of Cleaves，" as that struck me as the most unique out of the collection。Thank you to Brandon Taylor and Riverhead （Penguin Random House） for providing me with a free early copy of this work through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 Filthy Animals comes out on June 22。 。。。more

Karen D ，

This was a novella interspersed with short stories， addressing sexuality， mortality， mental health， vocation， and so much more。 I loved his earlier book Real Life so was really excited to get an early copy of this！ The primary story tells of Lionel， who survived a suicide attempt a year earlier， and meets dancers Charles and Sophie at a party， and ends up in a complicated position in their open relationship。 I'm glad this was the novella， because it took me a little bit to get into the story， an This was a novella interspersed with short stories， addressing sexuality， mortality， mental health， vocation， and so much more。 I loved his earlier book Real Life so was really excited to get an early copy of this！ The primary story tells of Lionel， who survived a suicide attempt a year earlier， and meets dancers Charles and Sophie at a party， and ends up in a complicated position in their open relationship。 I'm glad this was the novella， because it took me a little bit to get into the story， and I really liked how each installment delved into the story and even brought out perspectives of minor characters。 I think my favorite short story was Anne of Cleves， because I loved the main character and her process of self-discovery and growth。 Also as a huge fan of the Tudor era， I enjoyed how they connected personalities to Henry VIII's wives。 As with any collection of short stories， this was sometimes hard to get momentum。 But Brandon Taylor is a great writer， and he brings these characters and stories to life。 。。。more

Lilly Shewan ，

3。5 maybe closer to a 4 i can’t tell if i’m being harsh。 this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it definitely disappointed me that i didn’t like it more， esp considering how much i adore the ground that RL walks on。 the stories are very similar and i had a hard time wanting to pick it back up。 i do think some will love love it

Nelson Campbell ，

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Caroline David ，

Wow。 Brandon Taylor's ability to convey such emotions through short stories is incredible。 The entire book kept together quite well。 Wow。 Brandon Taylor's ability to convey such emotions through short stories is incredible。 The entire book kept together quite well。 。。。more

Drea ，

Man， can Brandon Taylor write！ His ability to describe discomfort and disquiet is masterful。 I wish this would have been either all connected or one long（er） novella even。。。I didn’t quite fall into the groove of what the author was trying to do with this group of short stories。 I wanted more。 Love his writing and am so appreciative and in awe of his talented writing。 What a gift。 Thank you to Riverhead for a copy of this book。 I’m grateful。

Kathleen Gray ，

This set of interconnected stories is best read as a novel not as a collection。 Lionel， a young man struggling with his identity and his mental health meets Charles and Sophie at a dinner party。 Everyone else revolves around these three。 It's an interesting conceit。 Taylor has once again tackled race， sex， death， academia and love in a way that engages。 If I have a complaint it's that there isn't a beating heart here but rather a more distant look at a group of young（ish） people in Wisconsin。 Th This set of interconnected stories is best read as a novel not as a collection。 Lionel， a young man struggling with his identity and his mental health meets Charles and Sophie at a dinner party。 Everyone else revolves around these three。 It's an interesting conceit。 Taylor has once again tackled race， sex， death， academia and love in a way that engages。 If I have a complaint it's that there isn't a beating heart here but rather a more distant look at a group of young（ish） people in Wisconsin。 That's not to say that you won't feel for some of the characters but that the emotional is meted out。 Thanks to the publisher for the ARC。 Taylor's fans will be pleased as will those who enjoy literary fiction。 。。。more

Kristina ，

After reading and being blown away by Brandon Taylor's Real Life， I was ready for whatever he wrote next。 Filthy Animals is a collection of short stories that has a mix of recurring and unique characters。 The overriding theme throughout these stories is loneliness， when one is alone or among others， and the pull of wanting to be understood。 My favorite stories in the collection are the ones that feature the same group of individuals。 The main character of note is Lionel， a graduate student in ma After reading and being blown away by Brandon Taylor's Real Life， I was ready for whatever he wrote next。 Filthy Animals is a collection of short stories that has a mix of recurring and unique characters。 The overriding theme throughout these stories is loneliness， when one is alone or among others， and the pull of wanting to be understood。 My favorite stories in the collection are the ones that feature the same group of individuals。 The main character of note is Lionel， a graduate student in mathematics， who has just been discharged from the hospital。 In the opening story "Potluck" he reluctantly attends a party by a former classmate， where he feels deeply uncomfortable among others。 At this party he meets Charles and his girlfriend Sofie。 The relationship between these three characters are highlighted in over half of the stories， so we get to know them better。 Charles and Sofie are both dancers， and they struggle with deciding what they want to do with their life considering the diminishing opportunities as they age in their profession。 Lionel is definitely reminiscent to me of Wallace， the main character in Taylor's Real Life。 He's very observant and deeply vulnerable。 Taylor's descriptions of what is is like to live with depression and anxiety are deeply resonant。 The other stories in this collection were a bit of a mixed bag for me。 My favorite of them was probably "Anne of Cleves"， which continues to highlight Taylor's talent at writing interesting conversations where so much （and nothing） are said。 If you enjoyed Taylor's previous book and writings， you will absolutely appreciate what he has done with this collection and I will continue to recommend his writings to everyone I know。Thank you to NetGalley and Riverhead for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review。 。。。more

Jenny Benson ，

This is an interesting collection of short stories， some of which are a connecting， linear story。 & this is my second book of Brandon Taylor！ I absolutely fell in love with his last novel， Real Life， and so when I saw him post that this was his next piece of fiction， I immediately emailed the publisher for an ARC。 Sooo thank you so much for this early reading copy！ Taylor definitely has a way with words which comes across in this collection of stories。 The way he places words together seems effo This is an interesting collection of short stories， some of which are a connecting， linear story。 & this is my second book of Brandon Taylor！ I absolutely fell in love with his last novel， Real Life， and so when I saw him post that this was his next piece of fiction， I immediately emailed the publisher for an ARC。 Sooo thank you so much for this early reading copy！ Taylor definitely has a way with words which comes across in this collection of stories。 The way he places words together seems effortless and is easy to read， but evokes a lot of meaning at the same time。 The way his commentary allows us to see parts of humans is my favourite thing about the way he writes。“What he wants is not to maim himself but rather to pry open the world， bone it， remove the ugly hardness of it all， the way one might take the spine from a deer or a fish or some other animal snared。”There were some stories I really liked and others I didn’t connect with as much， which comes hand in hand with story collections。 However， there wasn’t a time I didn’t enjoy reading because of the melodic， beautiful way in which Taylor writes。 “Dying meant you had lived。”I’d definitely recommend picking this up hand in hand with Real Life， or if you’re looking to read more queer stories， orrrr if you love literary fiction， or if you want to read more non fiction by POC， or if you love short story collections！ 。。。more

Aleksandra Będzińska ，

wait。。 i just finished reading taylor's story in the kink anthology and if this is an elongated version of that - i shall be pronounced deceased from excitement VERY soon wait。。 i just finished reading taylor's story in the kink anthology and if this is an elongated version of that - i shall be pronounced deceased from excitement VERY soon 。。。more

Jennifer M。 ，

Overall， I felt kinda meh about this book。 Not necessarily bad， but not particularly memorable either。 Giving it 2。5/5 Stars。

Tessa Palfrey ，

This was an excellent read！ I have not read Real Life yet， so my only prior read of Brandon Taylor's was his short story in the collection Kink。I wasn't expecting stories in Filthy Animals to be related to each other， and while I did like it- I do wonder if the way it was structured was optimal。 The stories that focused on Lionel/Charles/Sophie seemed like they could have been a novella， and I wonder if I would have liked it better presented that way？ I suppose you'd lose a little bit of the Eas This was an excellent read！ I have not read Real Life yet， so my only prior read of Brandon Taylor's was his short story in the collection Kink。I wasn't expecting stories in Filthy Animals to be related to each other， and while I did like it- I do wonder if the way it was structured was optimal。 The stories that focused on Lionel/Charles/Sophie seemed like they could have been a novella， and I wonder if I would have liked it better presented that way？ I suppose you'd lose a little bit of the Easter egg effect （I freaking love Easter eggs） in the rest of the stories， as they were sprinkled within the stories of these three。 I maybe didn't like the choice of structure because the Lionel/Charles/Sophie arc reminded me so much of Taylor's story in the collection Kink- which I liked better。 That story had so much crackling energy to it， and it read like a movie。 These three didn't live up to that story， in my opinion， though I definitely appreciated the mental health line of Lionel's arc。 There was some really strong writing there。 The stories that weren't focused on Lionel/Charles/Sophie （which ARE good stories， nothing in this book isn't good） are amazing， so every time I got back to those three， I wanted to get back out to see where else we were going。 The writing throughout is amazing， but "Mass"， "What Made Them Made You"， and the story "Filthy Animals" were the three stories I liked the very best。 As in I wanted to throw the book across the room they were so good。I always like to include at least one outstanding quote， and here's my pick for this book:"When she was younger and sleeping upstairs， Grace had sometimes felt a pressure on her chest or on her shoulders， holding her down， doing nothing else but that， pressing her against the bed until she was perfectly flat。 She had tried to scream， to holler for someone to come and help her， but the weight on her chest had prevented it。 She’d lie there all night， frozen， stuck inside her body， unable to do anything to get free。 When she told Big Davis about it， he said， What made them made you， didn’t it？ They don’t mean you no harm。 As if some common origin could negate terror of the unknown。 Because we were all made of the same fearsome stuff， nothing in the world could scare you if you looked it in the eye and saw the part of it that was yourself。 It was nonsensical in the way that only wisdom could be， Grace thought。 Old men and their little stories。"Thank you to Riverhead and NetGalley for the review copy！ 。。。more

Jonathan Carter ，

RTC

matthew ，

A master of the short story。 One of our finest writers: uncompromising， unflinching， succinct， elegant， perceptive。 This will leave you raw

Thomas ，

get hype， its amazing

Nia Forrester ，

In this series of shorts， focused on a group of interrelated young people， most of them striving graduate students， Brandon Taylor explores familiar themes of his: loneliness， belonging， family and a sense of home。 All his characters yearn for something， sometimes painfully， and few fulfill that longing by getting what they want。 And when they do， it often doesn't satisfy their need。 This collection， like his debut novel is beautiful and poignant， and at times uncomfortable。 An impactful reading In this series of shorts， focused on a group of interrelated young people， most of them striving graduate students， Brandon Taylor explores familiar themes of his: loneliness， belonging， family and a sense of home。 All his characters yearn for something， sometimes painfully， and few fulfill that longing by getting what they want。 And when they do， it often doesn't satisfy their need。 This collection， like his debut novel is beautiful and poignant， and at times uncomfortable。 An impactful reading experience。 Recommended for readers of literary and outsider fiction。 。。。more

Zoe ，

I really， really liked Real Life so I was very excited to get my hands on an arc of this book。 And these stories。。。goddamn。 You get repeated characters and motifs throughout， and they feel very cohesive， even the layout of them。 Once I started reading a story I couldn't put it down， and I found myself dreaming of the landscapes that they held。 I will be pushing this collection on everyone when it comes out and eagerly anticipating whatever Taylor puts out in the future。 I really， really liked Real Life so I was very excited to get my hands on an arc of this book。 And these stories。。。goddamn。 You get repeated characters and motifs throughout， and they feel very cohesive， even the layout of them。 Once I started reading a story I couldn't put it down， and I found myself dreaming of the landscapes that they held。 I will be pushing this collection on everyone when it comes out and eagerly anticipating whatever Taylor puts out in the future。 。。。more

Ryan ，

After Brandon Taylor’s brilliant debut， Real Life， last year， FILTHY ANIMALS is a tremendous follow-up。 This collection of short stories are woven together with themes of identity and pain。 A thread through many of the stories are the characters of Lionel， Charles， and Sophie， who meet at a potluck at the beginning of the book。Taylor has the ability to write about lives， almost in real time， over hours or days， and taking the mundane aspects of life and transforming them into something meaningfu After Brandon Taylor’s brilliant debut， Real Life， last year， FILTHY ANIMALS is a tremendous follow-up。 This collection of short stories are woven together with themes of identity and pain。 A thread through many of the stories are the characters of Lionel， Charles， and Sophie， who meet at a potluck at the beginning of the book。Taylor has the ability to write about lives， almost in real time， over hours or days， and taking the mundane aspects of life and transforming them into something meaningful。 His prose is excellent。 For me， reading his books in a fully immersive experience， it’s almost as if I’m living it。The book explores themes of identity， relationships， pain。 Several of the characters are ballet dancers with pain and skill centered in their body。 This makes the book much more visceral。 Some of the characters deal with trauma like abuse， or self-harm， or a cancer diagnosis。 Many of the stories deal with complicated relationships that are non-traditional or at least not widely portrayed in fiction。 I loved that this book captures moments in the lives of these characters like a snapshot， brief， ephemeral。 At the same time， full characters and whole worlds are developed with an ease that astounds me。 I can’t recommend this book enough。 Mark your calendars for the publication date of June 22 in the US。▪️⚠️ Abuse， Self Harm， Cancer 。。。more

BookOfCinz ，

Booker Prize Longlist author Brandon Taylor comes to us in 2021 with a collection of short stories called FILTHY ANIMALS。 The stories in this collection are interconnected so you get different perspectives on what is happening。 In some ways it works but overall， it made the collection felt so same。 When I think of a collection of short stories it means different distinct stories in one go。 I think I was not prepared to read about one character in one story and then hear about them in another。 In Booker Prize Longlist author Brandon Taylor comes to us in 2021 with a collection of short stories called FILTHY ANIMALS。 The stories in this collection are interconnected so you get different perspectives on what is happening。 In some ways it works but overall， it made the collection felt so same。 When I think of a collection of short stories it means different distinct stories in one go。 I think I was not prepared to read about one character in one story and then hear about them in another。 In some ways it made the collection feel bit underwhelming and boring in some instances。 I felt the first story was strong and a great opener， I did enjoy the story called MASS I thought Taylor really captured sibling dynamic。 This collection did not do it for me at all- I felt the author should have just done a full story or a novella or just write 11 distinct story。 Yeah…。 This did not work。 。。。more

Vincent Scarpa ，

"The world had not seemed dangerous to him until that moment。 That was the blessing of certain childhoods。 The illusion of your invincibility。 Your safety。 Some people didn't know the danger they were in until years later， looking back。 That was a kind of blessing， too， in a way。 The ignorance of your own peril。" — "Flesh"These are a terrific set of stories; exquisitely written and structured， remarkably wise， and deeply moving。 "The world had not seemed dangerous to him until that moment。 That was the blessing of certain childhoods。 The illusion of your invincibility。 Your safety。 Some people didn't know the danger they were in until years later， looking back。 That was a kind of blessing， too， in a way。 The ignorance of your own peril。" — "Flesh"These are a terrific set of stories; exquisitely written and structured， remarkably wise， and deeply moving。 。。。more

willowdog ，

This wonderful collection of Taylor's interrelated short stories follows their flawed characters as they look at what life holds for them as they are leaving the scholastic environment of the university in Madison: the dancers pursuing little to no jobs in dance companies， the archivist studying esoteric research and subjects， the gay math scholars who has attempted suicide， the factory worker coming to terms with her lesbianism。 All of the stories have an underlining LGBT theme。 Taylor frames h This wonderful collection of Taylor's interrelated short stories follows their flawed characters as they look at what life holds for them as they are leaving the scholastic environment of the university in Madison: the dancers pursuing little to no jobs in dance companies， the archivist studying esoteric research and subjects， the gay math scholars who has attempted suicide， the factory worker coming to terms with her lesbianism。 All of the stories have an underlining LGBT theme。 Taylor frames his millennials against the backdrop of race， sexuality， brutality， and family。 The dialogue is sharp， witing， questioning， and cruel。 The highlights of the collection are the stories of Lionel， Charlie， and Sophia who examine their 'woke' attitude toward sexuality， bisexuality， and freedom。 One great line from one of the stories: "We never are who we once were。"Thanks to Edelweiss/Above the Treeline for this free ebook in exchange for an unbiased review。 。。。more

Tyra ，

This was solid。 There were times where I found myself struggling a bit to connect to the characters， but overall I liked Taylor's mastery of language。 A good short story collection！ This was solid。 There were times where I found myself struggling a bit to connect to the characters， but overall I liked Taylor's mastery of language。 A good short story collection！ 。。。more

Kim McGee ，

A series of vignettes which feature young adults navigating the murky waters of relationships， careers and health。 The main players in this book are Charles and Sophie （both dancers） who toy with fragile Lionel using sex and emotional manipulation to forge a strange threesome。 The stories are all about control over your life， a search for intimacy and failure of the characters to truly connect in a deep way。 They explore all types of emotional relationships。 Readers of NORMAL PEOPLE and similar A series of vignettes which feature young adults navigating the murky waters of relationships， careers and health。 The main players in this book are Charles and Sophie （both dancers） who toy with fragile Lionel using sex and emotional manipulation to forge a strange threesome。 The stories are all about control over your life， a search for intimacy and failure of the characters to truly connect in a deep way。 They explore all types of emotional relationships。 Readers of NORMAL PEOPLE and similar books will find much to explore here。 My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy。 。。。more

Nick Bishop ，

I was so so excited when I was approved to read this ARC from NetGalley。 I loved Taylor's debut novel Real Life that was published last year。 Taylor has quickly become one of my favorite new LGBTQ+ authors。Filthy Animals is a collection of interlinked short stories， with an independent non-interlinked short story in between each linked story。 I was a really unique structure， which reminded me a lot of Bryan Washington's Lot。I really enjoyed the interlinked nature of these stories。 I generally do I was so so excited when I was approved to read this ARC from NetGalley。 I loved Taylor's debut novel Real Life that was published last year。 Taylor has quickly become one of my favorite new LGBTQ+ authors。Filthy Animals is a collection of interlinked short stories， with an independent non-interlinked short story in between each linked story。 I was a really unique structure， which reminded me a lot of Bryan Washington's Lot。I really enjoyed the interlinked nature of these stories。 I generally do not enjoy short story collections as much as novels。 However， interlinking these stories really made a difference for me。 My only critique of this book is that is felt very similar to Taylor's first novel - Real Life。 Many of the characters felt the same and I didn't feel a true variety in the type of characters portrayed。 I highly recommend this as Taylor is such a talented emerging LGBTQ+ author。 Thank you to Riverhead and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Kieran Sangha ，

Taylor’s writing is so precise， so delicate and yet so sharp that I want to drink every sentence up。 His collection of short stories brilliantly capture the intersection where desire and violence meet and the games of modern relationships。The interconnected stories with Lionel， Charles and Sophie were the strongest for me though some of the stand alone ones I really enjoyed too。 Sometimes I felt some of the characters felt similar to others but it still doesn’t deter away from how well written t Taylor’s writing is so precise， so delicate and yet so sharp that I want to drink every sentence up。 His collection of short stories brilliantly capture the intersection where desire and violence meet and the games of modern relationships。The interconnected stories with Lionel， Charles and Sophie were the strongest for me though some of the stand alone ones I really enjoyed too。 Sometimes I felt some of the characters felt similar to others but it still doesn’t deter away from how well written the collection is。Brandon Taylor is truly one of the best American writers right now。 I SAID WHAT I SAID。 。。。more

Nerdette Podcast ，

This is a gorgeous collection！

Britt Hart ，

Brandon Taylor is a force。 I liked this story collection so much， however， the stories about Lionel， Sophie， and Charles could’ve been a novel themselves。 I feel the would read more like a book of stories had so many of the characters not been mixed in。 I would also love to see the story about Milton and Nolan expanded into a novel。 Great writing and a quick read。

Becky ，

3。5 from me。 Seemed to fall into the Real Life world really well but didn't flow the whole way through。 3。5 from me。 Seemed to fall into the Real Life world really well but didn't flow the whole way through。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Filthy Animals

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Filthy Animals&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Filthy Animals&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0