The Memory of Animals Synopsis
From the Costa-Winning, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Unsettled Ground: a gripping, haunting novel about memory, love and survival, for readers of Never Let me Go and Leave the World Behind
Neffy is a young woman running away from grief and guilt, and the one big mistake that has derailed her career. When she answers the call to volunteer in a controlled vaccine trial, it offers her a way to pay off her many debts and, perhaps, to make up for the past.
But when the London streets below her window fall silent, and all external communications cease, only Neffy and four other volunteers remain in the unit. With food running out, and a growing sense that the strangers she is with may be holding back secrets, Neffy has questions that no one can answer. Does safety lie inside or beyond the unit? And who, or what is out there?
While she weighs up her choices, she is introduced to a pioneering and controversial technology which allows her to revisit memories from her life before: a childhood divided between her enigmatic mother and her father in his small hotel in Greece. Intoxicated by the freedom of the past and the chance to reunite with those she loves, she increasingly turns away from her perilous present.
But in this new world where survival rests on the bonds between strangers, is she jeopardising any chance of a future? The Memory of Animals is a taut and emotionally charged novel about freedom and captivity, survival and sacrifice and whether you can save anyone before you save yourself.
'Another literary page-turner ... Compulsive and thoroughly convincing. Terrific!' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures 'Haunting and unsettling, moving and thoughtful, with horror lurking at the edges, this is a subtle, elegant novel. Claire Fuller is a huge talent' Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780241614822 |
| Publication date: |
20th April 2023 |
| Author: |
Claire Fuller |
| Publisher: |
Fig Tree an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
306 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction
|
| Other Genres: |
|
Claire Fuller Press Reviews
Claire Fuller is such an interesting and original writer and she has produced another literary page-turner ... Compulsive and thoroughly convincing. Terrific! - Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures
Haunting and unsettling, moving and thoughtful, with horror lurking at the edges, this is a subtle, elegant novel. Claire Fuller is a huge talent - Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane
Wonderful, sorrowful, haunting, tender, elegiac - Barney Norris, author of The Undercurrent
Claire Fuller is a fascinating writer, and The Memory of Animals is further evidence of her powers. Her story is one of survival, but her subject is humanity itself. With immense skill, she shines a light on the dark heart of our existence - the beauty and brutality of human behaviour. This is an unforgettable novel - Kathleen MacMahon, author of Nothing But Blue Sky
Stunning ... A page-turning, topical, edge-of-your-seat story that resonates with the reader on an emotional level, and leaves them thinking about it for a long time afterwards - Louise Morrish, author of Operation Moonlight
The way she writes (with empathy but never sentimentality) moves my heart - Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie
Claire Fuller strikes the perfect balance between beauty and melancholy - Clare Mackintosh, author of Hostage
Claire Fuller is my favourite story-teller. I read The Memory of Animals in one sitting, swept up by the thriller-like pace and the sheer joy of reading a great story. Yet, in the book's aftermath, I was haunted by Neffy's fumbling humanity in the face of loss and fear, and how courage isn't always obvious - even to those who find it. Fuller's books come in at the eyes, but they settle right behind the heart. - Melanie Finn, author of The Hare
Full of jeopardy and strangeness but also laced with Fuller's trademark generosity and compassion. A startling and satisfying book - Julie Myerson, author of Nonfiction
Fuller excels in examining the everyday moments at the heart of a life ... A memorable meditation on how the human struggle to survive in captivity is not so different than that of our animal kin - Kirkus
A story you'll both recognize from our collective recent past, and a thrilling departure from our reality - Good Housekeeping USA, The Best Books of 2023 so far
About Claire Fuller
Claire Fuller is the author of four novels. Her most recent, Unsettled Ground, won the Costa Novel Award 2021 and was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her first, Our Endless Numbered Days won the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize, her second, Swimming Lessons was shortlisted for the Encore prize, and her third, Bitter Orange was on the International Dublin Literary Award longlist. Her books have been translated into more than 20 languages. Claire also writes flash fiction and short stories. Many have been published, and she has won the BBC Opening Lines short story competition, and the Royal Academy / Pin Drop prize.
Claire Fuller is our Putting Authors in the Picture feature for May 2019. Click here to read more about her author journey on our blog.
More About Claire Fuller
