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Hidden Animals
In this collection of poems and short stories, fantastical creatures stand for all that is deeply hidden inside the human heart. Birds of all kinds live together mysteriously inside a country manor, a nobleman’s careless life is disturbed by an unexpected intruder, a monk travels a dying world in search of a god of chaos, and being the ruler of a fairy court is not all it’s made out to be. The Birds, symbolising hope, faith and sometimes fatality, the Beasts that, in their various forms, embody the allure of danger and of all that is primal, and the Spirits, which have their subtle ways of influencing all action, come together into one Hidden Animal, which is nothing but the part of human nature that always remains mysterious and unexplained.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 29, 2013
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About the author
Anca Rotar
3 books15 followersAnca Rotar is a Romanian-born writer of poetry and fiction. She was driven to writing by her love of stories and verse, as well as by an ever-increasing fascination with mysteries and the unknown. Her biggest complaint is that there are too many interesting things in the world and hardly enough time to discover them all.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 14, 2017
I enjoyed the book! Original ideas, fantastic imaginary and great writing style. Being a debut book, I'd say it has a lot of potential. The poems in the book are mostly free verse poems, but it seems to me that the author has not yet decided which kind of poetry suits her better. Although I must confess that verses are not my best reading option for the time being...
The best part I liked about the book was the short stories. I loved how they were surprising and artistic, the writing style especially was the best feature and, intertwined with the ideas and the plot, they were great! Although they are varied in subject, they all reflect portions of the human nature, with all which is seen and unseen. I'd wish these mysterious tales about birds, beasts and spirit, the three parts which compound the book, were a bit longer, because I felt like I'd like to know more... about the places, the characters, the thickening plot. The thing with most short stories is that there is not enough material to know everything and to love the characters... it's a relationship which takes time to develop.
All in all, I liked the philosophical speech within the pages about human nature and life, in general, and the fact that it also touches the time factor, in all three dimensions (as in past, present and future) with a story that goes back to the 1890s, the present of imagining the answer and the futuristic version of a world of millions of years after turning the Old Earth into a desert (among others). Like I already said, the stories have dissimilar subjects, as has the poetry, but it makes an unusual and intriguing mix of metaphorical statements.
The best part I liked about the book was the short stories. I loved how they were surprising and artistic, the writing style especially was the best feature and, intertwined with the ideas and the plot, they were great! Although they are varied in subject, they all reflect portions of the human nature, with all which is seen and unseen. I'd wish these mysterious tales about birds, beasts and spirit, the three parts which compound the book, were a bit longer, because I felt like I'd like to know more... about the places, the characters, the thickening plot. The thing with most short stories is that there is not enough material to know everything and to love the characters... it's a relationship which takes time to develop.
All in all, I liked the philosophical speech within the pages about human nature and life, in general, and the fact that it also touches the time factor, in all three dimensions (as in past, present and future) with a story that goes back to the 1890s, the present of imagining the answer and the futuristic version of a world of millions of years after turning the Old Earth into a desert (among others). Like I already said, the stories have dissimilar subjects, as has the poetry, but it makes an unusual and intriguing mix of metaphorical statements.
August 7, 2014
*This Book Was Given To Me By The Author In Exchange For An Honest Review*
Anca’s collection of poems and short stories the book is divided in three sections, The Birds, The Beasts and The Spirits. The poems have taken me back to school English lit classes... Where I sat and pondered what the heck they mean. It's been a long time since I've read poetry, so it's been a bit hard to grasp the meaning on first reading. They do make you think tho, and after all that's the point is it not??
My favorite short story was The White Wolf (I love Shifter/ werewolf stories) but this tale is really reticent of the past stories rather than the present fiction stories of humans who can take form of wolves. You are whisked into a world of Count's and European settings, along with Vienna...
I also liked the Gryphon story, and I would at times quite like to be the girl in that tale ( sorry but a room with a neverending supply of books is Heaven to most book addicts like me)
Anca obviously has a passion for her writing, it is vivid, full of imagination.
I think this is a book that you need to read again and again to get the full meaning of the poems and the short stories.
This is a debut book, and I would like to see how Anca's writing and imagination develops a story into a full book, All the short stories have the potential to be developed into vivid and imaginative plots.
Thanks for allowing me to review this book for NerdGirl, its been a refreshing change to read poetry, the last Poetry book I read being William Morris, A Present 8 years ago for my 40th birthday.
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official.
For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng ***
Anca’s collection of poems and short stories the book is divided in three sections, The Birds, The Beasts and The Spirits. The poems have taken me back to school English lit classes... Where I sat and pondered what the heck they mean. It's been a long time since I've read poetry, so it's been a bit hard to grasp the meaning on first reading. They do make you think tho, and after all that's the point is it not??
My favorite short story was The White Wolf (I love Shifter/ werewolf stories) but this tale is really reticent of the past stories rather than the present fiction stories of humans who can take form of wolves. You are whisked into a world of Count's and European settings, along with Vienna...
I also liked the Gryphon story, and I would at times quite like to be the girl in that tale ( sorry but a room with a neverending supply of books is Heaven to most book addicts like me)
Anca obviously has a passion for her writing, it is vivid, full of imagination.
I think this is a book that you need to read again and again to get the full meaning of the poems and the short stories.
This is a debut book, and I would like to see how Anca's writing and imagination develops a story into a full book, All the short stories have the potential to be developed into vivid and imaginative plots.
Thanks for allowing me to review this book for NerdGirl, its been a refreshing change to read poetry, the last Poetry book I read being William Morris, A Present 8 years ago for my 40th birthday.
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official.
For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng ***
August 7, 2014
In her book, Hidden Animals, Anca Rotar has created her own world, which is a good thing. It is what every writer ought to do. In her message to the reader, she writes:
"you are what is always hidden,
and you are what is always bathed in light."
Those two lines are not only memorable, as poetry, like many in this collection of short stories and verse, they are to be mulled over, and to be returned to again. What is hidden in the tales and poems is eventually revealed, in magical ways, the strange animals and birds are uncaged. I liked the way what is called the real world and the world of dark folk tale and myth collide in the tales and poems. The Blue Room, for example, begins with a young couple in a pub, and it seems at first as if it is going to be a realistic tale about their relationship, then they are drawn by someone they know to a manor house where an old woman has a room full of exotic birds, who enjoy listening to classical music. In another tale, a monk travels through a landscape that is like one in a surrealistic painting, in another, a young woman turns into a white wolf, and in another the statue of a gryphon moves. A woman in one tale reveals herself to be an angel. Anca Rotar writes well in prose and in verse. In her book, she invites the reader to share her search for the truth of things. On her way, she tells us that she has not found the answer she was seeking for, not yet, but delights us with her gift to tell stories. Her world of strange, dark fairy tale and myth is well worth exploring.
"you are what is always hidden,
and you are what is always bathed in light."
Those two lines are not only memorable, as poetry, like many in this collection of short stories and verse, they are to be mulled over, and to be returned to again. What is hidden in the tales and poems is eventually revealed, in magical ways, the strange animals and birds are uncaged. I liked the way what is called the real world and the world of dark folk tale and myth collide in the tales and poems. The Blue Room, for example, begins with a young couple in a pub, and it seems at first as if it is going to be a realistic tale about their relationship, then they are drawn by someone they know to a manor house where an old woman has a room full of exotic birds, who enjoy listening to classical music. In another tale, a monk travels through a landscape that is like one in a surrealistic painting, in another, a young woman turns into a white wolf, and in another the statue of a gryphon moves. A woman in one tale reveals herself to be an angel. Anca Rotar writes well in prose and in verse. In her book, she invites the reader to share her search for the truth of things. On her way, she tells us that she has not found the answer she was seeking for, not yet, but delights us with her gift to tell stories. Her world of strange, dark fairy tale and myth is well worth exploring.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews