Animal People

WINNER, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards – People’s Choice Award

SHORTLISTED, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards – Christina Stead Prize

SHORTLISTED, Nita B. Kibble Award

LONGLISTED, Miles Franklin Literary Award

Acclaimed novelist Charlotte Wood takes a character from her bestselling book, The Children, and turns her unflinching gaze on him and his world in Animal People.

Set in Sydney over a single day, Animal People traces a watershed day in the life of Stephen-aimless, unhappy, unfulfilled-and without a clue as to how to make his life better.

His dead-end job, his demanding family, his oppressive feelings for Fiona and the pitiless city itself . . . the great weight of it all threatens to come crashing down on him. The day will bring untold surprises and disasters, but will also show him-perhaps too late-that only love can set him free.

Sharply observed, hilarious, tender and heartbreaking, Animal People is a portrait of urban life, a meditation on the conflicted nature of human-animal relationships, and a masterpiece of storytelling.

‘Consistently inventive and tightly crafted’ – Sydney Morning Herald

‘A compelling and ultimately moving novel that cements Wood’s place as one of the most intelligent and compassionate novelists in Australia.’ – The Age