Rarely do I read a book without skimming the odd paragraph of superfluous detail. Even less frequently do I read a book that keeps me so engaged in the doctor's office that the receptionist has to call my name twice before I can tear myself away from its pages. But "We The Animals" defies all trends and norms.
Justin Torres has not written a plotted novel per se; the book comprises a series of vignettes, close-ups on moments in the lives of three brothers. These scenes contain heartbreaking violence, beauty, tenderness and wild, manic joy all at once. Written in spare, evocative language, "We The Animals" contains not a single superfluous word in its short 125 pages. Deeply poetic but free of frills, Torres' writing is an act of careful and exact construction that grabs hold of the reader and refuses to let go.
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