Animal's People

by Indra Sinha

"I used to be human once. So I'm told. I don't remember it myself, but people who knew me when I was small say I walked on two feet, just like a human being..."

Ever since he can remember, Animal has gone on all fours, his back twisted beyond repair by the catastrophic events of "that night" when a burning fog of poison smoke from the local factory blazed out over the town of Khaufpur, and the Apocalypse visited his slums. Now just turned seventeen and well schooled in street work, he lives by his wits, spending his days jamisponding (spying) on town officials and looking after the elderly nun who raised him, Ma Franci. His nights are spent fantasizing about Nisha, the girlfriend of the local resistance leader, and wondering what it must be like to get laid.

When Elli Barber, a young American doctor, arrives in Khaufpur to open a free clinic for the still suffering townsfolk -- only to find herself struggling to convince them that she isn't there to do the dirty work of the Kampani -- Animal gets caught up in a web of intrigues, scams, and plots with the unabashed aim of turning events to his own advantage.

Profane, piercingly honest, and scathingly funny, Animal's People illuminates a dark world shot through with flashes of joy and lunacy. A stunning tale of an unforgettable character, it is an unflinching look at what it means to be human: the wounds that never heal and a spirit that will not be quenched.

Genres: Fiction, India, Historical Fiction, Indian Literature, Contemporary, School, Literary Fiction

374 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Indra Sinha (born in 1950 in Colaba, which is part of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra, India) is a British writer of English and Indian descent. Formerly a copywriter for Collett Dickenson Pearce & Partners, Sinha has the distinction of having been voted one of the top ten British copywriters of all time.

Indra Sinha's books, in addition to his translations of ancient Sanskrit texts into English, include a non-fiction memoir of the pre-internet generation (Cybergypsies), and novels based on the case of K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra (The Death of Mr. Love), and the Bhopal disaster (Animal's People). Animal's People, his most recent book, was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize and a regional winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.

Sinha is the son of an Indian naval officer and an English writer. He was educated at Mayo College, Ajmer, Rajasthan in India; Oakham School, Rutland, England and Pembroke College, Cambridge in England, where he studied English literature. After living in England for four decades, he and his wife currently live in southern France. They have three adult children.

Reviews

[Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't worry if you begin this book and want to put it down soon away. If you do, you will be quite justified since the topic of the Bhopal disaster in Khaufpur in 1984 is incredibly horrifying. You meet the main character (whose spine is so twisted as a result of the "Kampani" that he must go around on all fours) and you are immediately unsure that you want to take the Inferno-like trek through his hometown, where so much devastation and woe is omnipresent. If you decide to put it away, oh well, too bad. But...: you are just incredibly foolish! Stick with it and soon, what becomes harrowing & almost too too much becomes a TRUE must for lovers of TRUE literature. Animal is a truly special individual; a modern yet unRomantic Quasimodo living far far away. This is a wake up call, a character study, a plead for the end of global ignorance. Animal talks of his people with such tenderheartedness that when his anger is manifested... you simply know that the writer concocted the perfect protagonist: a pariah in a sea of pariahs. Intense poverty, it seems, is the perfect atmosphere to show what humanity lacks, as well as what its truly made up of.

[Debbie W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to Google, the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, caused by a gas leak at the Union Carbide India Ltd. pesticide plant, is the world's worst industrial disaster. Almost 600,000 people were exposed to the highly toxic gas which claimed at least 3787 lives and affected the health of hundreds of thousands more for years to come.

Indra Sinha has taken this tragedy to write a fictional account of its aftermath. Animal, our main character, recounts the people and incidents relating to him during his nineteenth year while living in Khaufpur (think Bhopal), the fictional city in this book. Because of the factory fire's ill effects, Animal's body was misshapen shortly after birth, reducing him to walk on all fours. If you can get past Animal's profanity and unique form of communicating (and I hope you do), then this story will endear you to him, his "people" and his situation. I found him to be quite likable! His feelings and thoughts run the gamut of being angry, tender, confused, heartbroken, fearful, even unwittingly funny, but never wallowing in self-pity.

The ending was gratifying to this reader! I appreciated Sinha's translations throughout the book, as well as the inclusion of a Khaufpuri glossary.

This story will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommend!

[jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Animal is a teenage boy who, as a consequence of the bhopal disaster of 1984, which is here thinly fictionalized maybe for legal reasons, is bent at the bottom of his spine and thus forced to walk on all fours. on the day of the disaster his parents dropped baby Animal in front of a convent of french nuns, almost certainly before going to their death, and it is one of these nuns, Ma Franci, who raised him. Animal developed his deformity when he was no longer a baby, so his early years were normal and an object of much regret for him, who does not remember them except through Ma Franci’s stories.

i feel i can do little justice to the intense poetry of this book. Animal, who refuses to be called by any other name or, for that matter, act in any other way (as least until he meets the people who constitute the main characters of the story), is both profoundly dejected and much in touch with the wry tenderness of life through an indefatigable, irresistible, tremendous sense of discovery and laughter. this book, so sodden with tragedy and despair, is also extremely funny. the language is probably the most obscene i've ever read but it's also really childish and joyful, Animal's flaunting of life while diving deep into its delights (just like he did as a kid, in artificial ponds chock full of poison).

according to the author's blurb, indra sinha has been working for years to raise funds for the victims of the bhopal disaster (looks like the american company that's responsible for it, Union Carbide, doesn't believe in reparation or even just cleaning up). i imagine this man as he ruminates how to write a novel about this horrible tragedy and comes up with this, and it strikes me as genius.

the language of the novel is, to me, one of its main attraction. a native hindi speaker, Animal "writes" the book by tape-recording his story in english for a journalist who asked him to do so. he also knows french (or some version of it) thanks for Ma Franci, who only understands and speaks french and, in the craziness of her old age, thinks that all other languages are unintelligible sounds people use because they are brutes. the resulting language is for the most part really lovely english, but the generous detours into crazy transliterations of Animal's perception of english words he doesn't know, french, and hindi, make the writing exhilarating (there is a glossary at the end but after a bit i felt i got the hindi just fine, even though, obviously, i don't know a word of it).

speaking about the novel's bitter critique of american and corporate callousness and first world's indifference to the plight of the poor on whose back it builds its wealth is stating the obvious. you feel this must have been sinha's original intent, at which he succeeds perfectly. but this novel plays way beyond its political scope. it's love story, coming of age, meditation on the body, exploration of the doomed sexuality of the disabled, fairy tale about the large soul of the poor and blistering indictment of the rich and powerful who keep them so by deception and betrayal, political reflection on revolution, and, ultimately, a traditionally plotted story of reversals and errors with a {blank} ending.

i love many things about this book, and a number of long scenes and narrative threads are truly priceless, but let me mention here just one. the city of bhopal is renamed khaufpur (i wouldn't be surprised if there were a play on words here). sinha describes the khaufpuri poor as united beyond religion, which is saying something given the history of india. muslims and hindus mingle seamlessly in the slums of khaufpur because their enemies are outside – in the "kampani" that ruined their lives and the corrupt indian politicians who are colluding with it. when an american doctor comes into town to open a free clinic for the damaged poor of khaufpur, though, this dream-turned-reality doesn't quite work. the poor of khaufpur find it impossible to accept the help of the american woman.

the reason for this may seem obvious – why trust americans? but what struck me is the way in which sinha represents the delicate interaction of people of vastly different cultures and, also, power quotient. offering, and getting the other to accept, help does not end with the simple act of offering. it requires an active cultural and political engagement that involves the whole being of the offerer, especially when the offerer is assimilated by the one who needs help with the perpetrator. you hear all the time in this first world of ours about "solutions" for the problems of the third world (i'm just going to mention the war in afghanistan and our intent to bring democracy -- thank goodness the word "freedom" has been dropped by the american diplomatic language -- to this country). in reality, nothing good will happen before we realize that we don't know the other. when we think we do, we dehumanize and objectify them, we actively do violence to them.

the resistance of the citizens of khaufpur may not be entirely realistic but it speaks of a need for intercultural translations that is the conditio sine qua non of cooperation.

the other day some of my friends lost their cool at obama's bow to the emperor of japan. it seemed to them an unthinkable act of submission (what, we are bowing to the japanese?!) AND the recognition/sanctioning of an antiquate and oppressive hierarchical system. but, really, who is obama to dictate the way the japanese see themselves? no one, as he clearly understood. this, i think, is the question that sinha asks himself throughout this book: who are we to claim we understand the needs of others?

in case i’m giving the impression that this is a sentimental and earnest book, well, no, it isn’t. it’s as irreverent as they come, and hilarious, and not one serious moment happens that is not quickly demolished by Animal’s (or someone else’s) sharp-as-a-blade cynical, hardscrabble realism.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know the button for five stars, labelled 'amazing". This is probably one of the few books that deserves it. The blurb doesn't say the half of it; the Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical, may God piss in their soup) debacle left hundreds of thousands maimed and killed...and far more born deformed...without restitution, since the victims (being unable to work) can't afford the quality of lawyers that are available to American multinational corporate ogres.
The hero of this story is one such: a rascally, spectacularly lecherous, beggar-boy who has to scutter about on all fours. Not a recipe for anything but pity and/or disgust. you might suppose? You'd be wrong. It's a rag-bag of every emotion, from laughter to anger, and all the stops in between.
Get this book. it's just amazing on every level.

Incidentally, reading the rest of the comments, it's also amazing how the book polarizes opinions. There can't be many that attain a middling average because of a plethora of five-star ratings, and a similar number of one-stars!

Incidentally two: Dow Chemical, who so cleverly 'bought' Union Carbide after the event, enabling them to do the Pontius Pilate trick, are now sponsors of the London Olympics. We're always told that Americans don't 'get' irony. This surely is tragic irony on a scale hitherto undreamed-of. A company responsible for the crippling of a generation, sponsoring an event dedicated to the beautifully-bodied super fit? If you wrote it as the plot for a book, publishers would say it's a bit far-fetched!

[Nancy Werking Poling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that takes away all the self-confidence I have as a writer: eloquently written with a powerful narrator and an environmental issue that demands attention. American businesses have exported factories that would probably not be permitted here in our country. This story draws inspiration from a real event: the leak of a poisonous gas at the Bhopal, India, plant of Union Carbide. It is considered by some to be the worst industrial accident ever, killing at least 4,000.

In a similar, fictional event, Animal, a young man whose parents were both killed in an explosion, was left with a twisted back. He can only get around on all fours. While he thinks of himself as non-human, he challenges the reader to consider what it means to be human. At the same time we can't help but consider the consequences of our environmental lethargy.

An important book for those concerned about environmental issues.

[LG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animal is an unforgettable narrator. Foul-mouthed and unapologetic, he is nonetheless capable of lines that make you burst out laughing: “Is it kind to remind a blind man that he could once see? The priests who whisper magic in the ears of corpses, they’re not saying, ‘Cheer up, you used to be alive.’ No one leans down and tenderly reassures the turd lying in the dust, ‘You still resemble the kebab you once were … ’”

He might have been “a beautiful little boy” before “that night,” but the Apocalypse literally twisted Animal for life, and his rage is unquenchable. People like Ma Franci, Nisha, “doctress” Elli of the new clinic, and even the jarnalis who asks for his story treat him with compassion, but the angry young man lives alone in the ruined shell of the poisoned factory abandoned by the Kampani. Animal has no more use for humanity.

Or so he wants you to think. Writing in the Guardian after this novel made the 2007 Booker shortlist, author Indra Sinha described a relationship with Animal: “I was appalled by his language, was certain it would lose me readers, but one cannot censor one’s characters.… That is exactly how I heard him speak.” Sinha went on to create a full-fledged website for Khaufpur, though now defunct, which brought the fictional town to life. Book and site also sparked, briefly, renewed interest in the victims of India’s real industrial holocaust, the 1984 Union Carbide toxic-gas leak in Bhopal.

By giving Animal his unfaltering voice, and by paying tribute to the people of Khaufpur in the book’s title, the author treats such victims with dignity. He portrays them without the sentimentality or guilt that we privileged readers could well succumb to – an achievement that calls to mind Masuji Ibuse’s clear-eyed Black Rain. As Sinha wrote, this novel “is about people struggling to lead ordinary lives in the shadow of catastrophe.” That’s what makes it such a profoundly moving human story. For that, it deserved the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, which it won in 2008.

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 1 out of 5]

Profane is right. More than right. Disgustingly profane, totally gross, any word or phrase you can think of that will turn your stomach the way the first two chapters did mine.

At least I think that is how far I managed to read before slamming it in profane disgust.

DNF. And I wish I had DNF'd earlier than I did.

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onvan : Animal's People - Nevisande : Indra Sinha - ISBN : 743259203 - ISBN13 : 9780743259200 - Dar 374 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2007

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A very well written, memorable, interesting, smart, sometimes bawdy, entertaining novel based on the Bhopal, India, gas leakage tragedy in 1984. The story is told by ‘Animal’, a 20 year old Indian man who has a spinal deformity, due to the gas explosion. He walks on his hands and feet. He was orphaned as a baby and brought up by a French nun, ‘Ma Francis’. The story is set around 2004.

‘Animal’ talks about those closest to him. Jafar, a political activist who is continuing the fight for justice against the company responsible for the factory explosion. Ma Francis, his ‘mother’, and her devotion to him and the poor people in his district. ‘Animal’ is in love with Nisha, a young woman who taught ‘Animal’ to read. When a young American doctor, Eli Barber, arrives and sets up a free clinic for the still suffering people, she thought people would flock to her clinic for help. However, the people are suspicious and believe she is a representative of the ‘company’ (that they believe is responsible for the gas leakage tragedy).

The novel provides an interesting insight into the Indian attitude and way of life. An impressively told story that is honest and an entertaining read. ‘Animal’ is quite a character, who has a wicked sense of humour, plotting and scheming in order to make events happen to his advantage.

Here are a couple of quotes that highlight the author’s sense of irreverence:

‘You’re well enough looked after now’ says Farouk. ‘We are your friends. Don’t we care about you? All this bitterness, it’s in your own mind. To be accepted as a human being, you must behave like one. The more human you act, the more human you’ll be.’ He spoils the effect of this decent speech by adding with a smirk, ‘Four-foot cunt’.

‘At the end of time when God judges us humans, I just hope He remembers to judge Himself as well.’

Highly recommended.

Shortlisted for the 2007 Booker Prize. Listed in the 2018 edition of Boxall’s ‘1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.’

[Ubik 2.0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Alla fine l’unico modo per affrontare una tragedia è riderci sopra”
Nell’accingermi alla lettura di questo libro, acquistato tanto tempo fa per motivi dimenticati, ero piuttosto prevenuto a causa della trama (la storia di un ragazzino orfano e accattone di Bhopal, reso deforme dall’esposizione ai gas tossici del tristemente noto incidente della Union Carbide, che nel 1984 causò migliaia di morti*); una trama di cui la presentazione e i risvolti di copertina accentuano fortemente l’aspetto tragico e disperato (“i bambini dell’Apocalisse”!)

Con sollievo ho potuto ben presto constatare che Indra Sinha, affronta questo evento drammatico infondendo nel suo stile e nella voce narrante di “Animal” una forte dose di autoironia che ne smussa gli accenti più dolorosi ed imprime al romanzo un’andatura brillante ed a tratti quasi scanzonata, al punto di rendere la mostruosità acquisita dal protagonista un motivo di orgogliosa singolarità ed un espediente per sviluppare abilità ed astuzie atte a compensare l’handicap fisico e a campare di rendita, circondato dalla bonaria accettazione degli abitanti del quartiere.

Detto questo, non si può non rilevare che il racconto, nella sua lunga e discretamente prolissa parte centrale, non prende quota, si fa ripetitivo, artefatto e poco ispirato fino a un finale dolciastro e rappacificante che alcuni hanno definito “bollywoodiano”. Non sono un profondo conoscitore del cinema indiano made in Bombay, ma la definizione mi pare azzeccata individuando in quel mix di melodramma e colorato folklore locale la cifra appropriata per identificare un romanzo tutto sommato leggibile ma privo dello spessore di altre opere di autori indo pakistani come Amitav Ghosh o Nadeem Aslam.

*(i nomi della località e della fabbrica sono modificati, ma è lampante il riferimento ai fatti di Bhopal).

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt like I was being re-told a the same thread-bare story. Much of what was beautiful about this book felt unoriginal. Oh, look, the crippled narrator is falling in love with an idealistic girl. I bet you $5 he can't have her, but is too noble to do anything else about it, and then is resigned--cheerfully so--about her relationship to another man. What, no bet? Oops.

I bet he rages against his fate and then gratefully accepts it. C'mon, bet me a measly $5. Hosw about $2?

I bet our heart strings get tugged when somene old and loyal dies. $1? Sheesh, you're no fun.

I mean, that type of situation, worn out though it is, could have been interesting in a more skilled writer's hands. I think I was bored by the cardboard nobility and virtue everywhere in the book. The book portrayed different types of these virtues and stressed how morality isn't absolute--trust me, I felt that hammer against my skull often enough--but there was nothing human about any of them. Nor animal, really.

Didn't Rushdie, Grass, Marquez do it better? Fresher? My God, you want a more intense metaphor about the the animal nature in humanity, about the fearful flexibility of morality and virtue, one that's subtle and chilling, pick up Annie Proulx's short story "People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water." She succeded in a few pages what this author takes a full novel to fail at.

[Justine Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt that this book was trying, really trying, but in a good way. It was full of intense emotion and good narrative, although at some points during the reading process I struggled to catch the plot and what was actually happening. I normally don't read books like these, although I should, but this was on my module for Creative Writing. Despite a struggle to read, the writer has clear talent and at some delicate points orchestrates the twists and turns beautifully. Overall a good book, just hard to first get in to.

[iva° · Rating 3 out of 5]

inspirirana bhopalskom tragedijom (indija, 1984., iz tvornice pesticida iscurilo je 30 tona toksičnih kemikalija od čijih je posljedica umrlo nekoliko desetaka tisuća ljudi, a posljedice se osjećaju i danas - još uvijek se rađaju djeca s teškim fizičkim i mentalnim oštećenjima), narator je animal, dijete rođeno uoči nesreće zbog koje mu se iskrivljuje kičma do te mjere da mora hodati četveronoške. svoju priču kao mladić priča i snima na vrpcu, prvenstveno zbog love, ali tijekom čitanja uviđaš i njegovu potrebu za javnom ispovijesti i očitovanjem o svoj toj nepravdi.

iako kroz prvih nekoliko vrpci (knjiga nije podijeljena na poglavlja, nego na vrpce, "trake") nije sasvim jasno o čemu se tu radi, početak je kvrgav i pomalo nejasan, kako odmičeš sa čitanjem, upoznaješ animalov život u slamu grada khaufpura (=bhopal), časnu sestru koja je preuzela brigu o njemu, njegove prijatelje, amerikanku elli koja dolazi otvoriti kliniku i, općenito, njegov stav prema životu i prema ljudima odgovornima za tragediju. s obzirom da je neuk i dijete ulice, tako se i izražava i tako i misli pa je velik dio njegovih razmišljanja i komunikacije primitivan, grub i vulgaran... ovo nije "lijepa" literatura, nego relativno uspješan (knjiga je bila finalist bookera 2007. i dobitnik nagrade commonwealth 2008.) prikaz života jednog invalida, kolateralne žrtve, na ulicama indijskog slama.

indra sinha je dobar pisac, vrlo vješt s riječima, dijalozi (koji nose velik dio knjige) su realistični i gipki, a psihološki portreti jasni. ipak, voljela bih čitati još nešto njegovo a da nije ove tematike, da je usmjereno na nešto što nije seksom opsjednuti deformirani uličar velikoga srca.

[Elisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a difference between appreciating a book's literary merits and actively enjoying it. Animal's People is a fine example of that distinction in my opinion. Whilst I'm in agreement with the majority of reviewers that the way this book is written is absolutely extraordinary, I can't lie and say that I thoroughly enjoyed it because I didn't. I found it hard to follow in places, I thought it was slow getting going and I thought that the plot beneath the wonderful writing was a little thin. It's not a bad book by any means and I'm very glad that I read it because I'm always looking to diversify my reading habits; I simply don't believe that it gets the balance of exquisite prose and exciting plot quite right.

I think that most people will identify the writing and narration of Animal's People as it's most striking feature. Admittedly, not everyone is going to like the writing style because it's full of swearing, sex references and interspersions of different languages, but if none of that bothers you then this is a remarkable narrative. Animal has such a distinctive, unforgettable voice and it becomes impossible for you not to like him, even though some of the things he says and does are inappropriate (and that's putting it mildly). This book is very light on action for the first 150 pages or so, but I personally found that the writing was carrying me through where the plot failed to do so. Of course, you can only get so much enjoyment out of a book when by far your favourite thing about it is the way it's written, but for Sinha's writing style alone to have kept me flying through pages is quite special. If you enjoy challenging prose, unlikeable (questionably) narrators and dark humour then you'll probably absolutely adore this novel. It would probably also help if you speak multiple languages because, as a shamefully monolingual person, I struggled to follow the Hindi and French parts of this book. However, I still managed to enjoy it despite the language barrier so I suspect other people will too.

This novel's plot, on paper, sounded very interesting to me. I knew nothing of the Bhopal Disaster before I bought this book; this book and the university module I'm reading it for have been my sole educators on the topic. Although this book fictionalises the disaster, placing it in the fictional city of Khaufpur, and focuses on events many years after it happened, I was interested to learn more about it through Sinha's presentation of it. I was also interested to learn more about Animal's disability, the general after-effects of such a tragedy and the American response to it. The novel did give me all those things, but it was very slow about it. It took such a long time for the plot to get going and even after it did things seemed to rumble on at a very slow pace. I realise that the real-life response to the Bhopal Disaster has been extraordinarily slow and perhaps the book is reflecting that, but it's not very pleasant to read. As a result of the bad pacing, I was bored in parts no matter how much I liked the style or Animal as a character. When this book hit a plot point it was really, really good, it was just getting there. It's like a traffic jam - you're undoubtedly moving along, but there's so many starts and stops and it takes so long that you become bored.

As well as the pacing issues, I had some problems with the content of the plot too. There were a lot of love stories, which I wasn't expecting, and these seemed to drive the plot. Animal's jealousy of Zafar and love for Nisha seemed to determine his actions more than any anger at the establishment or desire to change his life. The whole plotline with Elli - white saviour American doctor who wants to change the world by healing the sick - was kind of unoriginal even though it did produce some of the best moments in the story. The twist involving Elli towards the end was, I thought, a little predictable too. There were undoubtedly some very interesting and exciting moments in this novel, but they're padded by a lot of less interesting moments.

I can definitely see why Animal's People has received such acclaim. It's a very well-written and clearly thought-out novel about one of the greatest tragedies of recent times. It has a wonderful narrator and Sinha illustrates the land and people of Khaufpur wonderfully through both his descriptions and his language choices. However, I didn't always enjoy it whilst I was reading it. In parts I found it boring and uninspiring and, as I spent a long time pointing out, it's dreadfully slow to start off with. Whilst it clearly has features that are worthy of literary merit, it also has flaws. Animal's People isn't exactly what I would call a fun read, but it's definitely a thought-provoking one.

[dely · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5
I had some problems with this book for the first 100 pages because I couldn't get into the language, but I'm glad I continued because around page 200 I was totally hooked by the story. Why was the language that difficult to get into it? Because the narrator is Animal, an illiterate cripple of Khaufpur, that tells us his story. He has a sharp tongue, he is cheeky, he says what he thinks. But then I understood that it's thanks to this language, with no restrains, that the reader really gets into the difficulties and the anger of people that are living an injustice since several years. Khaufpur doesn't exist, it's a fictional city, but the connections to Bhopal and the gas tragedy that occured in 1984 are very clear.
In Animal's People the story talks about the life after the disaster. Animal is already nearly 18 years old when he starts talking about his city and his life there. His parents died during the night of the explosion of the factory, he was a newborn and has been saved by French nuns; after some years his spine starts getting deformed till he is fully bowed and he has to walk on feet and hands. He begs to survive and he has no friends (except a couple of other beggars, a French nun he considers like a mother, and the people of the slum), till he meets Nisha and Zafar, two activists that help people who are ill because of the chemical disaster. The real story of the book starts here, because the part about Animal's youth is short.
The reader comes to know how those people live even 20 years after the explosion: there are still ill people because no one of the American factory did something to purify the land, decontaminate the factory or the water. People are ill or get ill also several years later, no one received a reimbursement, and the managers of the factory never go to the court hearings. In all this there is Zafar and his group of activists that do their best to help the people and fight for justice.

At the end of the book I wasn't only hooked by the story, but I also grew fond of the characters. I hoped with them and I suffered with them. Animal's language is irreverent and sharp, but because of his anger. The human part of Animal comes out a lot and he is the only one that isn't able to see and recognize it. It's because of this that he continues to call and consider himself an animal. It is a touching story though it can't be considered a masterpiece. All in all it's a book I would recommend but I also recommend to read Five Past Midnight in Bhopal: The Epic Story of the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster by Dominique Lapierre to have a detailed insight of the Bhopal disaster.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Animal's People is a clever book. As with his first novel, The Death of Mr Love, author Indra Sinha again strives to be the Indian answer to Nabokov with his sly double-meanings and quick wordplay. However, despite effectively tackling an important issue—the Bhopal chemical disaster of 1984—Animal's People is perhaps too clever for its own good. Unless you have expert knowledge of Urdu, Hindi and French in addition to English (I don't) subtleties will be missed. Additionally, as with Mr Love, the novel takes a bizarre turn in the third act and rushes to an unsatisfying ending that seems out of place with what's come before. Recommended, but certainly not everyone's cup of chai.

[Beth F · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard for me to get into. It was one of those books that I was content to read while I was physically holding the open book on my lap. But as soon as I put it down to go do something else, I felt no compulsion whatsoever to pick it up again. Something about the way the characters spoke reminded me of Yoda (it was very silly) and the author’s wordplay fell on deaf ears where I was concerned because I don’t speak French, Hindi OR Urdu. Even with the assistance of the glossary at the back of the book to help define many of the non-English words, I felt like I’d been left out of some clever joke (to make myself feel better I’m blaming it on the fact that I’m not a librarian, I didn’t major in literature, I’m not a teacher and I actually work in the financial industry so I’m basically a nonentity in the literary world and am not supposed to “get” clever books). Anyway, despite my difficulties with the writing style, I thought the story was okay and was definitely curious about what would happen in the end.

The narrator is Animal, a fictional young man who survived a tragedy that is mirrored after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in India from the mid 1980’s. As a result of his exposure to the poisonous gases released in that explosion, Animal’s spine was damaged so seriously that he is forced to walk on all fours (hence the nickname Animal). He lost both his parents in the accident and the one person he looks to as a parent is Ma Franci, an aging, French nun who herself is suffering from some mental deficiencies as a result of poison exposure.

Animal has spent much of his life in the streets of Khaufpur, India, running scams that have gotten him in trouble with the local authorities but that earn him enough of an income to buy food for himself and Ma Franci. But Animal’s life changes for the better when he meets Nisha, a young woman close to his age who doesn’t mistreat Animal because of his disability. He quickly falls in love with her. He also meets Zafar, who is a cross between a humanitarian and an activist. Zafar urges Animal to get involved with his work by helping local people and demanding someone take accountability for the factory explosion.

Life is shaken up for all the residents of Khaufpur when Elli Barber, an American doctor unexpectedly arrives in town and announces her intent to open a free clinic for sick people who can’t afford the fees charged by the government hospital. Unfortunately, Zafar believes that Dr. Barber is some sort of secret operative employed by the company that caused the tragedy and refuses to take responsibility and make amends to those who were harmed. He manages to convince the rest of the residents in the neighborhood of her suspected ill intent and warns them to stay away.

They boycott her clinic. Antics ensue. Can their differences ever be resolved? And so goes the plot.

To a big extent, Animal is the kind of character you can’t help but pity. He is constantly ostracized by his neighbors and even many of the people he considers “friends” taunt and torment him at inappropriate moments. However, by the end of the book, Animal makes some surprising decisions and stands up for himself in an honorable way and my opinion of him changed significantly by the end of the book once I realized that he had grown into a strong, intelligent young man. His character shows that the adaptability of human beings is amazing.

However, I should warn that if you are sensitive to hardcore swearing and reading about a young man’s obsessive desire to get laid for the first time, this might not be the book for you. Animal is a sexually vulgar character who swears freely and openly narrates his opinions about masturbation, climbing trees to spy on his nude, female friends and trying to cope with his seemingly constant struggle of getting unwanted erections in public places. Several of the characters engage in repeated conversations about the unusual size of Animal’s penis and how unfortunate it is that such a magnificent tool is attached to someone no woman would want to sleep with.

I didn’t think this was a fabulous book but neither did I hate it. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head who absolutely needs to rush out and read this book immediately but it was okay. If you like wordplay, reading about how people cope with impossible situations and don’t mind flipping back and forth between the story and the dictionary of Hindi/Urdu curse words in the back, you might want to give this one a shot.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a disappointment for me because although its background is the Bhopal disaster in India caused by Union Carbide, where hundreds of thousands either died or were affected by the leak of a toxic chemical gas cloud, this book takes place afterwards, the aftermath as seen through the eyes of Animal, who lost his parents and real identity as a result of the disaster. He also wound up deformed and the story takes place with him as an adolescent witnessing the struggle to get the company to pay some sort of indemnizacion to the surviving victims. This part of the story is somewhat shoved to the side though as the fight is as much about a horny teenager trying to catch a glimpse of "the Promised Land" between women's thighs and losing his virginity in unusual circumstances as a fight for justice delayed. That is, an old story in a different setting. There's no doubt that "The Company" should pay and that the East Indians were typical Third-World victims, collateral damage in an industrial accident, but that's not the story here, the story is about Animal's wish to get what's owed to him (and all the others) and have his life restored to him in some manner. It's only right and deserved but I would have liked a bit more on the disaster and less on his raging hormones; it weakened the impact for me in what was otherwise a good book.

[ΔΕΣΠΟΙΝΑ Ντρέκη · Rating 3 out of 5]

Δυστυχώς δεν μπόρεσα να το τελειώσω. Όχι γιατί δεν είναι ένα συγκλονιστικό βιβλίο, αλλά γιατί η δική μου η ψυχή είναι πολύ ευαίσθητη για να μπορέσει να αντέξει όλα αυτά που εξιστορεί ο πρωταγωνιστής, ξέροντας επιπλέον ότι είναι πραγματική ιστορία. Δεν το άντεξα. Συγγνώμη.

[joshua sorensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

a book that i like mostly in theory. struggles, for me at least, to blend the themes seamlessly into the narrative.

[Ajay · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you take a disaster of the proportion of Bhopal and set about writing a story about it, you expect it to be dark to say the least. The jacket cover of the book does nothing to bely this expectation. But once you get past the jacket cover of a rather forlorn looking boy, you are instantly captured by the magic that Indra Sinha weaves around the poor and dispossessed who have been affected by the awful tragedy that was Union Carbide and Bhopal. Here it is Kampani and Khaufpur. But the parallels are obvious.

Animal, yes he is called that - or rather Jaanwar in Hindi - is deformed by the noxious gases set out by the accident at the Kampani (read Union Carbide) and he walks on all fours. His back bent and “ass high up in the air”. Animal is proud. He insists on people calling him Animal/Jaanvar. Animal is taken care of by the Mad Nun, Ma Franci - again maddened by the gases of the Kampani - who speaks only French. He has a crush on Nisha,  daughter of the Voice of Khaufpur. But this girl has eyes only for the Zafar. Zafar is an activist fighting the Kampani for Justice. And in the midst of all this Elli - Doctress comes from Amrika to set up a clinic in Khaufpur for the sick, who have been long sick  since the tragedy. This sets forth a series of events involving doubt, suspicion, plotting; trust and the betrayal of that trust.
Animal's People is epic in its scale. As a tale of the dispossessed and the poor, it is devoid of sympathy or pity. It is a rather uplifting tale full of hope. And at the end of the book we feel good.
Indra Sinha weaves a feel good tale out of the tragedy of Bhopal. Which in itself seems almost incredible. But he has done it with aplomb.
The story is unique in its form and structure. Narrated by Animal as transcription of tape recordings, the language is sheer delight. Profanities and hindi vernacular spring out of the page to sheer delight.

Animal's people is a sheer delight. It is the Booker discovery of the year. It might have missed out on the prize but that does not take away any of its intrinsic merits. It is a delightful comedy of hope arising out of a great tragedy.
And as Animal himself puts it -
“I am animal fierce and free
In all world there is none like me''
 
In the end, in spite of everything thing, there is hope.
''All things pass but the poor remain. We are people of the apokalis. Tomorrow there will be more like us''
 
Animal's people is ultimately a tribute to the strength of the human spirit and the resilence of the poor. It is one of the funniest books that I have read in a long time and will stay with me forever. Animal is easily one of the most original characters in fiction in recent times.
Highly recommended!

[Vanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

V poslední době jsem nějak nebyla spokojená s žádnou knihou. Tím spíš pro mě byli Zvířetovi lidé zjevením na poušti, je to skutečně výborná kniha, i když její téma je značně depresivní.

Slyšeli jste někdy o “nehodě” v Bhópálu? O tom, jak v prosinci 1984 z chemičky, kterou si americká firma Union Carbid postavila v milionovém indickém městě, unikly desítky tun látek ohrožujících lidské zdraví, desítky tisíc lidí zabily, statisíce na ně doplatily svým zdravím, a ta nefunkční a zamořená továrna tam beze změny stojí DODNES? O tom, jak si Američané raději najali za drahé peníze právníky, podplatili indické soudce a úředníky a obětem přiznali nějaké to menší odškodnění, protože to všechno jim přišlo jednodušší, než ten svinčík po sobě prostě uklidit, takže tam lidé dodnes pijí kontaminovanou vodu a sem tam se narodí někdo s větším počtem údů či hlav? A indická vláda na to hledí zpod přimhouřených víček, lidé protestují, drží hladovky, sepisují petice a ono je to všechno stejně k ničemu? Tak o tom všem je tento vynikající román, jehož autor, Indra Sinha, ví o Bhópálu své a přes polovinu života se snaží šířit povědomí o těchto událostech a dosáhnout pomoci lidem, kteří s jejich důsledky žijí dodnes.

Sinha svůj příběh přenesl do fiktivního města Khaufpuru, z Union Carbid se stala Kampani, ale jinak vše více méně odpovídá skutečnosti. Autor původně sepisoval příběhy jednotlivců a rodin, které v důsledku katastrofy utrpěly rozmanité ztráty, aby se je nakonec rozhodl stmelit hlavní postavou Zvířete – dospívajícího mladíka, kterému se v raném dětství v důsledku působení chemikálií zkroutila páteř a je nucen běhat po čtyřech. Zvíře žije na ulici, z ruky do úst, všechno vidí, všechny zná, o všem nám vypráví. A tak se jeho prostřednictvím dozvídáme, jak to tehdy bylo, seznamujeme se s idealisty, kteří se pokoušejí dosáhnout omluvy, odškodnění a nápravy, pozvolna začínáme chápat, proč je v Khaufpuřanech tak hluboko zakořeněná nedůvěra ke komukoliv, kdo tvrdí, že jim chce pomoci a jak se jejich nevýslovná ztráta nakonec stává jedinou silou, která jim ještě zbývá. Zvíře svůj příběh namlouvá na kazety pro jakéhosi australského novináře, vlastním jadrným jazykem, vtipně, bouřlivě, popisuje tragédii téměř jako nějakou zajímavou historku, zatímco si v nitru hýčká své zmarněné naděje a bolesti. Sinhův jazyk je fantastický, a třebaže je na můj čtenářský vkus vyznění celé knihy možná až příliš měkkosrdcaté, jako člověk mu tleskám.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it just me or do most novels written by an Indian follow the same pattern. Do not get me wrong, I love these sort of works but I am sure that there is something called the ‘classic’ Indian novel. Usually this kind of book will either be 1) An Indian living in England and reveling in his own strangeness or 2) Some moment of Indian history – usually partition.

Animal’s People does indeed focus on one part of of history and that’s the 1984 Bhopal (here given a fictionalized name) disaster, where a chemical leak killed and scarred thousands of people. One running thread throughout the novel is about how corrupt politicians try to cover this disaster and not offer any financial aid.

What makes ‘Animal’s People’ different from the glut of political novels is that it is told through one of the most unique characters that inhabit contemporary fiction ; Animal.

Crippled on the night of the leak and under the care of a nun, Animal walks on all fours causing mischief and contemplating on his next sexual contest. He is vulgar and charming in equal measures and his worldview, though not warped, has the dirty innocence (if such a term exists) that one finds in teenage boys. He also has his own dialect of Hindustani, Pidgin English and French, which sort of corresponds with the way he sees life. For example he says ‘Jamesponding’ instead of ‘spying’, making his language a sort of update of the Nadstat dialect found in Anthony Burgess’ ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and it his use of language which gives the book a lot of flair.

Animal’s closest friend is the political activist Zafar, who is campaigning for compensation of his town’s people. Eventually later on in the book this reaches a climax and Aninal learns about himself and the importance of his role in the community. Maybe I did make it out to be a bit airy fairy but to reveal more of the novel will spoil everything.

At turns rude (the Holi scene is one of the best parts here) , philosophical,introspective and incredibly addictive ‘Animal’s People’ is indeed a must read.

[Demi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be one of the most harrowing and beautiful books I've ever read - not least due the fact that I read the majority whilst enjoying an oh-so-first-world spa day.

The tale follows Animal, adolescent victim of the Bhopal gas tragedy (places/ corporations all renamed), who has had to learn to adapt to life on all fours following a childhood illness caused by the tragedy. Conditions of his town are squalid, unemployment is rife due to injuries inflicted by the explosion, and people are poisoned for two decades afterwards from the chemical-ridden land and water that surrounds the factory. There is no relief for the characters of this book. Hindus and Muslims alike are forced to form a community to support each other and fight the (American, duh!) 'Kampani' responsible for the gas explosion.

Without waffling on and on this book is full of sadness and injustice and humanity and laughter and it makes me a little ashamed to be a citizen of a country that makes its money from the people written about here- or else millions like them. It's one that everyone should read. It's not light reading but it's worth it because I'm still thinking about it and I finished it days ago. And that's not even me started on the incredible writing...

[Deeksha Kapoor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just put down this book, and I’m left a little confused whether I liked it or not. It is the first time I am reading a fictional story set against the back drop of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in India. The author does a commendable job describing the life of the main protagonist - Animal - a survivor of the Bhopal gas tragedy; who is forced him move on all fours like an animal due to the poisonous affect on his body. The story is narrated through his eyes and you can very easily visualise the life around him.

However somewhere you feel the backdrop used is not justified. It definitely deals with a lot of issues - humouredly - whether it is the plight of the poor, or the problems and insecurities of people when facing an adversary they don’t know and the constant struggle between the lay man and powers that be. . It is an interesting read; however, something is missing in this book.

If you are a regular reader of books written by Indian authors then pick it up but I would not suggest this to someone who's trying to get initiated in the world of Indian fiction.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a very painful and moving story, not easy to read, but buoyed up with hope. It's the story of a young man who has grown up (or anyway, grown) in the shadow of a chemical factory disaster that has left him having to walk on all fours, so he's called 'Animal'. He's living in terrible poverty with people suffering from the poisonous fallout all around him, but he's surrounded by tough love and friendship. There is a lot of sex-related language and swearing - that seemed very realistic to me but some readers might not like it.

I loved the ending. I wasn't sure I would, but it didn't go the way I expected and I thought it worked really well.

[Mathis Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a lover of Indian fiction, this wasn't my cup of tea. A poor Indian boy running around the city on all fours with a boner isn't something I would like to read about. That said, I found the writing subpar and crass. I thought the conversations between the characters were silly and cartoonish. There were times when the story did not go anywhere or make any kind of sense. The vernacular had taken me a minute to get use to. However, I did finished it and felt accomplished. Ending wasn't spectacular. I wouldn't recommend it.

[Samra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book. Told from the perspective of one character who thinks of himself as an Animal and not a human being. The way he describes the lives of his people; the ones he loves despite having bouts of jealousy and resentment are totally human. His non self pitying attitude and ability to live in the worst of circumstances is inspiring. It felt a bit lengthy though.

[sisterimapoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Animal Sinha created a character that will stay with the reader for a long long time. He takes you by the hand and leads you through his world, seeing things through his eyes. His distinctive voice will infect your thoughts until you find yourself speaking in his tongue at unexpected moments.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense and beautiful book, based on the story of the Bhopal chemical disaster in India. Read it!