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| Animal's People | 
 enlarge | Author: Indra Sinha
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £11.99
Buy Used: £0.95
You Save: £11.04 (92%)
New (27) Collectible (4) from £1.70
Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 22208
Media: Paperback
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0743259203
EAN: 9780743259200
ASIN: 0743259203
Publication Date: March 5, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Touch your humanity February 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Don't expect an easy read - enjoy the fact that it takes you to a place you'd never hope to inhabit...be realistic about the fact you don't want to be in his body, but revel in the fact that Animal really takes you there and hopefully touches a humanity that's in us all - I wasn't expecting it, so be shirty and cynical, but want to know what his story is! Very good story telling! If you don't appreciate it - you're 'bit silly...' As a hard core feminist I've never enjoyed the 'c' word so much in print - forget the 'ohh bad language' reviews - it's nothing but liberating. I don't think that's what's really shocking. I wanted a happy ending AND I got it, but I'm not sure it's so true...still I was moved to look at the Bhopal website and write a question. Might do it again week after week! Just to irritate them!
You cannot remain untouched by Animal February 12, 2008
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
The central character, who is also the narrator of this story, is the force which gives the novel its incredible emotional power. Animal, so named because his twisted back forces him must walk on all fours, was the victim of a toxic gas leak from a foreign-owned company in the Indian town of Khaufpur. Animal is crass, obsessed with sex and self-interested enough to slip drugs into a love rival's drinks. Despite this he is an earthy, funny, self-aware and thoroughly likeable character and a brutally honest narrator.
It is perhaps not possible for someone who has not lived through such horrors to truly understand what it must be like for those who have, but getting to know Animal allows us to come as close as we are likely to get. Animal's dealings with the foreign `doctress' Elli also give us a window of understanding that opens onto the chasm that divides most readers from Animal's world, not just because we have not experienced the kind of atrocity he has, but because we are affluent and privileged.
This is a book about cynical exploitation by big business of the situation in less affluent countries. It is about the corruption that hampers the fight for justice and compensation for the victims and it is about the lack of any true understanding by outsiders of the real plight of those who live in `the kingdom of the poor'. It is also a book which brings all this alive in a very visceral way. Noone could be left untouched after reading this novel.
 Very Moving February 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Animal's People deservedly made it onto the Man Booker shortlist in 2007. It is not just a humane and entertaining novel about a very serious industrial disaster (the Bhopal gas disaster) but it is also angry, and touching at the same time.
There are some flaws pointed out by other reviewers as well, odd syntax, too much swearing, a certain inconsistency in tone - although it must be said that keeping up Animal's distinctive voice for over 350 pages is a major feat in itself, one might forgive the occasional lapses. There are passages of real beauty despite the main setting being a series of slums.
I love the wry humour and banter between friends, the increasing dementia of Ma Franci and Animal's continued love for her as the only mother he knows. But the American doctor Elli did not come alive for me. She is the weakest character in the book..
Also Animal's lustfulness earlier on in the book was so repetitive, it became tedious and annoying. It was as if the author was not sure where the plot was going.
Indra Sinha is at his best when he is portraying the world of damaged people (Animal, of course and also Ma Franci and Pundit Somraj).
You cannot remain untouched by Animal February 8, 2008
37 out of 39 found this review helpful
The central character, who is also the narrator of this story, is the force which gives the novel its incredible emotional power. Animal, so named because his twisted back forces him must walk on all fours, was the victim of a toxic gas leak from a foreign-owned company in the Indian town of Khaufpur. Animal is crass, obsessed with sex and self-interested enough to slip drugs into a love rival's drinks. Despite this he is an earthy, funny, self-aware and thoroughly likeable character and a brutally honest narrator.
It is perhaps not possible for someone who has not lived through such horrors to truly understand what it must be like for those who have, but getting to know Animal allows us to come as close as we are likely to get. Animal's dealings with the foreign `doctress' Elli also give us a window of understanding that opens onto the chasm that divides most readers from Animal's world, not just because we have not experienced the kind of atrocity he has, but because we are affluent and privileged.
This is a book about cynical exploitation by big business of the situation in less affluent countries. It is about the corruption that hampers the fight for justice and compensation for the victims and it is about the lack of any true understanding by outsiders of the real plight of those who live in `the kingdom of the poor'. It is also a book which brings all this alive in a very visceral way. Noone could be left untouched after reading this novel.
Original and well written, with a few minor flaws February 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is one of those stories that grows on the reader, the second half being stronger than the first. It's set in a fictional Indian city where a Bhopal-like chemical factory accident killed and maimed thousands of inhabitants. The narrator is 'Animal', a young man crippled and orphaned by the disaster, who walks on all fours and lives in abject poverty. The story is concerned with the continuing struggle of the still-suffering cityfolk for compensation from the American company that owned the factory.
The story is written in Animal's distinctive 'voice', including phrases of Hindi and French (usually translated), missprounced English, and frequent swearing. It took quite a while to get used to and at first I found it rather annoying and pretentious, and the swearing unneccessary and gratuitous, but this feeling lessened as the story progressed and I got more involved with the characters and situations. There's also a tendancy for the verb to be put at the end of the sentence. Very annoying, it's. What I mean, see?
The characters are strong and interesting, particularly Animal. The American doctor, Elli Barber, I found a bit unbelievable at times - she speaks perfect Hindi, just happens to have been married to one of the Company's cheif lawyers, raises all the money for her clinic herself... I preferred the other characters, who seemed more 'real' to me.
The writing is engaging and, towards the end, very gripping. There are some weaker sections but its unusual style keeps it entertaining. It depicts one of the most vivid pictures of India that I have ever read, particularly that of its poorest inhabitants. The style of writing is brutally honest and doesn't pull punches, and manages to convey the deprivation of the slum dwellers without becoming pitying or condescending.
Some elements of the story are slightly bizarre, almost magic realist, and I wasn't sure whether this should be attributed to Animal's 'madness' or if they should be taken as factual. For example, his frequent conversations with spirits and his ability to understand foreign languages and read thoughts - it was unclear if these were rationally explainable as him hallucinating and being particularly perceptive, or were supposed to actually be some sort of remarkable abilities.
There is a surprising and moving ending - I'm not entirely sure whether I liked it or not, but I won't say any more here. Despite some of my niggles, I did enjoy it and thought it was an original and generally well written book.
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