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Animal Lovers
Four months of marriage and I'd been displaced by another species.When Stuart married Marie, who saved his life, he didn't expect her to leave him to protest the badger cull. Stuart can care about badgers too - if it means getting his wife back. But out in the woods animal instincts are stirring. Stuart's about to enter a world of sexy witches, militant vegans and gun-toting farmers in this dark comedy about nature and love.
- GenresFiction
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 15, 2018
13 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Rob Palk
1 book10 followersRob Palk wrote his first book while recovering from a nearly fatal illness and the collapse of his marriage. This book was written in London, Burgundy and Haifa but the author now lives in Leicester with several other writers and a cat.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 2, 2018
Toward the beginning of April, I read Joe Dunthorne’s The Adulterants (I reviewed it here). It’s about an insecure writer’s growing paranoia over his wife’s fidelity. I ended April with Rob Palk’s Animal Lovers (yes, I’m a month late in posting this review. If you want my “hot off the press” thoughts on each book I read I suggest you follow me on Twitter). It’s about an insecure writer’s obsessive desire to get back together with his estranged wife.
Joe Dunthorne’s Ray and Rob Palk’s Stuart could be the same person. They are both directionless men – neither have made much of a success from their writing – whose identities are entirely wrapped up in their relationship with their wives. Having read both books, coincidentally, a few weeks apart, I can’t help but wonder if the sad-sack man, deluded, obsessed, paranoid and self-destructive is a new trend in fiction, a symptom of patriarchy in decline and the empowerment of women? That’s not to say that either Palk or Dunthorne are shilling for the Men Rights Activist movement, their men aren’t “incels” or “toxic”, neither are they a critique on feminism. But they are sad and forlorn and pathetic. They are men who invariably make the wrong choices, which pave the way for their decline. This makes them frustrating, tear your hair out characters, but what’s terrific about both novels is that Dunthorne and Palk know this and to varying degrees use humour, witty dialogue and a well-drawn cast of secondary characters to smooth out the more depressing aspects. As a result, we don’t hate either Ray or Stuart.
Palk though is the meaner of the two authors. Whereas Dunthorne provides Ray with a happy ending of sorts, Stuart doesn’t get the same relief. Justifiably he has to pay for his uncontrollable obsessions, his inability to let go of his wife when it’s clear that she has moved on to greener pastures. Even when Stuart is with Kerry – easily my favourite person in the novel – professing his love you know that thoughts about Marie, his ex-wife, are lingering away in his subconscious. This is a story about a man who never truly comprehends what it means to love a person, who for all his protestations about being a good man, not quick to anger, views his wife as property that’s been stolen rather than a woman who, whether rightly or wrongly, decides that she can’t be married to Stuart anymore.
What’s both sad and frustrating, but brilliantly achieved by Palk, is that Stuart is an observant man, who can appreciate the contradictions and insanity of the 21st Century but is unable to apply that sharp intellect onto his situation. When it comes to marriage and love and, I suppose, badgers, out of control passion drowns out common sense.
Joe Dunthorne’s Ray and Rob Palk’s Stuart could be the same person. They are both directionless men – neither have made much of a success from their writing – whose identities are entirely wrapped up in their relationship with their wives. Having read both books, coincidentally, a few weeks apart, I can’t help but wonder if the sad-sack man, deluded, obsessed, paranoid and self-destructive is a new trend in fiction, a symptom of patriarchy in decline and the empowerment of women? That’s not to say that either Palk or Dunthorne are shilling for the Men Rights Activist movement, their men aren’t “incels” or “toxic”, neither are they a critique on feminism. But they are sad and forlorn and pathetic. They are men who invariably make the wrong choices, which pave the way for their decline. This makes them frustrating, tear your hair out characters, but what’s terrific about both novels is that Dunthorne and Palk know this and to varying degrees use humour, witty dialogue and a well-drawn cast of secondary characters to smooth out the more depressing aspects. As a result, we don’t hate either Ray or Stuart.
Palk though is the meaner of the two authors. Whereas Dunthorne provides Ray with a happy ending of sorts, Stuart doesn’t get the same relief. Justifiably he has to pay for his uncontrollable obsessions, his inability to let go of his wife when it’s clear that she has moved on to greener pastures. Even when Stuart is with Kerry – easily my favourite person in the novel – professing his love you know that thoughts about Marie, his ex-wife, are lingering away in his subconscious. This is a story about a man who never truly comprehends what it means to love a person, who for all his protestations about being a good man, not quick to anger, views his wife as property that’s been stolen rather than a woman who, whether rightly or wrongly, decides that she can’t be married to Stuart anymore.
What’s both sad and frustrating, but brilliantly achieved by Palk, is that Stuart is an observant man, who can appreciate the contradictions and insanity of the 21st Century but is unable to apply that sharp intellect onto his situation. When it comes to marriage and love and, I suppose, badgers, out of control passion drowns out common sense.
February 6, 2018
Animal Lovers was sent to me by Sandstone Press as part of an Instagram promotion.
Animal Lovers starts with the breakdown of Stuart and Marie’s 4-month long marriage, with Marie announcing she can’t stay married to him as she believes she has to save the badgers.
Marie has decided to become part of a group of activists who are against a badger cull and who camp out in woods protecting the badgers. She has also become very fond of another protestor, Henry. Stuart decides to save his marriage he has to care about the badgers too in order to get his wife back.
Described as “Bitterly Funny” (I wish they wouldn’t do that), there are moments of humour, but don’t expect to be rolling around on the floor. This was a slow burner for me – it took me a while to get into. We learn about Stuart’s near death experience in great detail (which is the bit I "enjoyed" most) and the fact that his health is still bad and get introduced to other characters, including protestors (who are all a bit of a caricature) and the sad a lonely men Stuart shares a flat with.
Overall I’d say this was an enjoyable read – the short chapters keep it snappy and fast moving.
Animal Lovers starts with the breakdown of Stuart and Marie’s 4-month long marriage, with Marie announcing she can’t stay married to him as she believes she has to save the badgers.
Marie has decided to become part of a group of activists who are against a badger cull and who camp out in woods protecting the badgers. She has also become very fond of another protestor, Henry. Stuart decides to save his marriage he has to care about the badgers too in order to get his wife back.
Described as “Bitterly Funny” (I wish they wouldn’t do that), there are moments of humour, but don’t expect to be rolling around on the floor. This was a slow burner for me – it took me a while to get into. We learn about Stuart’s near death experience in great detail (which is the bit I "enjoyed" most) and the fact that his health is still bad and get introduced to other characters, including protestors (who are all a bit of a caricature) and the sad a lonely men Stuart shares a flat with.
Overall I’d say this was an enjoyable read – the short chapters keep it snappy and fast moving.
February 26, 2018
Animal Lovers achieves a lot of rare and difficult things for a novel. Self-deprecating without being smug about it, funny and flippant without looking away or breaking the tension, difficult to read emotionally but very readable in terms of prose, a central character who is easy to identify with even at his most dislikable (which is very), and an ambiguous, messy ending that still leaves you with a sense of satisfaction and closure. Most of all, it's a break-up novel where, without her own issues and complexities being swept under the rug, the ex-wife still comes off far better than the narrator. This does not happen often.
February 8, 2018
I was lucky enough to be given an early copy of this book. It's not my usual choice of book at all really, I am most often drawn to modern crime thrillers or the classics. But I have to say I was hooked from the first page.
The first thing that struck me were the amusing (and very original) phrases used by the author when describing Stuart's thought processes. These continue throughout the book and some of them really did make me laugh out loud. I warmed to Stuart straightaway, he was funny and seemed very laid back and a genuinely nice person, understandably bewildered by Marie, his new wife's, determination to do what she felt was right at the time, with or without her husband. I found Marie pretty annoying to be honest through most of the book and she was portrayed, I think, as a person who had a very short attention span when it came to people or projects and would more often than not drop these like a stone when she became distracted by the next exciting endeavour. Although Stuart reminds us on several occasions what a good person Marie is, she continued to grate on me until almost the end of the book when I did start to feel sorry for her. For a reader to be so entranced or agitated by someone in a book is a credit to the writer and I felt the descriptions of all of the characters in Animal Lovers were really well written, although I did find one or two of them a little unreal. Having said that, I have never been involved with a group of soft core sabateurs so for all I know the author's depiction of them could be spot on.
One thing I personally couldn't cope with initially was the flipping back and forth from the present to the past, a thing I always find confusing either in a book or a TV drama or film, probably because I am a person with a very little brain and also maybe a bit OCD as I do seem to cope better with books, dramas and life in general in chronological order! So that is just me I think. I also struggled a bit to work out which character was saying what when there was a lot of dialogue going on, the conversations are pretty full on, as is the whole book really but this isn't a criticism of the writing, just an observation that for a person like myself who is often curled up reading something much slower in pace, it would have been good to have a reminder here and then of who was speaking.
All in all, I would say this one of the best books I have read recently, I honestly couldn't put it down and really wanted to find out what would happen next. Most of the time I was smiling or laughing to myself while reading it. I audibly gasped and got upset when reading about Stuart's illness as the writer's description of those events was so good (for want of a better word). And I had a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat by the end of the last chapter.
Quite an achievement for a first novel in my opinion and I hope it won't be too long before I am reading more of Rob Palk's work.
The first thing that struck me were the amusing (and very original) phrases used by the author when describing Stuart's thought processes. These continue throughout the book and some of them really did make me laugh out loud. I warmed to Stuart straightaway, he was funny and seemed very laid back and a genuinely nice person, understandably bewildered by Marie, his new wife's, determination to do what she felt was right at the time, with or without her husband. I found Marie pretty annoying to be honest through most of the book and she was portrayed, I think, as a person who had a very short attention span when it came to people or projects and would more often than not drop these like a stone when she became distracted by the next exciting endeavour. Although Stuart reminds us on several occasions what a good person Marie is, she continued to grate on me until almost the end of the book when I did start to feel sorry for her. For a reader to be so entranced or agitated by someone in a book is a credit to the writer and I felt the descriptions of all of the characters in Animal Lovers were really well written, although I did find one or two of them a little unreal. Having said that, I have never been involved with a group of soft core sabateurs so for all I know the author's depiction of them could be spot on.
One thing I personally couldn't cope with initially was the flipping back and forth from the present to the past, a thing I always find confusing either in a book or a TV drama or film, probably because I am a person with a very little brain and also maybe a bit OCD as I do seem to cope better with books, dramas and life in general in chronological order! So that is just me I think. I also struggled a bit to work out which character was saying what when there was a lot of dialogue going on, the conversations are pretty full on, as is the whole book really but this isn't a criticism of the writing, just an observation that for a person like myself who is often curled up reading something much slower in pace, it would have been good to have a reminder here and then of who was speaking.
All in all, I would say this one of the best books I have read recently, I honestly couldn't put it down and really wanted to find out what would happen next. Most of the time I was smiling or laughing to myself while reading it. I audibly gasped and got upset when reading about Stuart's illness as the writer's description of those events was so good (for want of a better word). And I had a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat by the end of the last chapter.
Quite an achievement for a first novel in my opinion and I hope it won't be too long before I am reading more of Rob Palk's work.
February 25, 2018
Badger culls, near death experiences and divorce wouldn’t be the usual keywords associated with a pick-you-up comedy, but this beautifully written debut novel works despite - or maybe because of- that.
The descriptions are evocative and worth time re-reading- consider: ‘it was metallic, un-natural, steel-lined, as though she were talking through a thermos’, ‘a lot of the colour had gone from his face, which still left him russet-hewed by everyday standards, but for him was pallid and grey’.
Perfect reading for badger lovers and haters alike, this analysis of relationships in 21st century Britain will mostly have you smiling with occasional heart-in-mouth moments.
The descriptions are evocative and worth time re-reading- consider: ‘it was metallic, un-natural, steel-lined, as though she were talking through a thermos’, ‘a lot of the colour had gone from his face, which still left him russet-hewed by everyday standards, but for him was pallid and grey’.
Perfect reading for badger lovers and haters alike, this analysis of relationships in 21st century Britain will mostly have you smiling with occasional heart-in-mouth moments.
February 9, 2018
Even if Rob Palk wasn't a good friend of mine, I'd feel duty bound to say that Animal Lovers is a terrific book — entertaining, insightful and beautifully written. There's unlikely to be a funnier or more moving badger-based divorce comedy any time this century. You should read it.
March 1, 2018
An excellent debut. Darkly funny and bristling with well crafted barbs at modern life, Animal Lovers is also an insightful take on the pitfalls of masculine dignity.
As the story follows Stuart through the collapse of his marriage and his doomed attempts to win back his wife it draws satire and sympathy from a man trying desperately to balance out his wish to be a thoroughly modern, understanding chap with more primal desires; dominance, control and a failed act of desperate machismo.
Oh and he nearly dies.
And there’s badgers.
Will be looking out for more from Mr Palk
As the story follows Stuart through the collapse of his marriage and his doomed attempts to win back his wife it draws satire and sympathy from a man trying desperately to balance out his wish to be a thoroughly modern, understanding chap with more primal desires; dominance, control and a failed act of desperate machismo.
Oh and he nearly dies.
And there’s badgers.
Will be looking out for more from Mr Palk
November 5, 2020
Stuart marries Marie after a serious illness but she leaves four months after their honeymoon to protest against the badger cull. Stuart refuses to admit it’s over and tries to win her back by taking an interest in the badgers but already Marie and Henry have bonded over their shared love of badgers.
This is far from my normal read but I felt like taking myself out of my comfort zone. This book contains some great witty dialogue and great characters to support that. Although I was pulling my hair out at the bitterness (edging on pathetic) of main character Stuart it wouldn't have been the same without it. I think it's safe to say Stuart's life isn't easy but he's very much aware of that.
I'd reccomend to anyone with a ridiculous sense of humour, lovers of badgers and anyone looking to read a book with witches and nazis in the same sentence.
This is far from my normal read but I felt like taking myself out of my comfort zone. This book contains some great witty dialogue and great characters to support that. Although I was pulling my hair out at the bitterness (edging on pathetic) of main character Stuart it wouldn't have been the same without it. I think it's safe to say Stuart's life isn't easy but he's very much aware of that.
I'd reccomend to anyone with a ridiculous sense of humour, lovers of badgers and anyone looking to read a book with witches and nazis in the same sentence.
July 11, 2021
This book was both a page turner and very frustrating. I found it frustrating because I found the central character and his attitude infuriating. But something about it drew me in and made me want to know more.
I finished it last night and after sleeping on it feel that it is a very intelligent look at loss, longing and the madness that accompanies that.
People aren't perfect and the protagonist here is anything but. Did I want to know this man personally? No. But did I find his journey through a period of person turmoil interesting and believable? Yes. The supporting characters are very well drawn and I was immersed in the world.
There's truth in this novel but it's not easy dealing with it.
I finished it last night and after sleeping on it feel that it is a very intelligent look at loss, longing and the madness that accompanies that.
People aren't perfect and the protagonist here is anything but. Did I want to know this man personally? No. But did I find his journey through a period of person turmoil interesting and believable? Yes. The supporting characters are very well drawn and I was immersed in the world.
There's truth in this novel but it's not easy dealing with it.
March 5, 2021
So disappointed with this book. Started quite strong and engaging although I found it very over written. It almost felt like it was written by a creative writing class. It was sometimes a chore to slog through all the unnecessary waffle to get to the point. This novel has a great premise but was totally lost about half way through when it just became rather dull and over long. I really wanted to enjoy this but it was a bit boring and not very engaging. I found from about half way through I just skimmed through to find out what happened in the end. Which apparently wasn’t much. Such a shame as the story really is a good idea but the delivery was unfortunately just a bit boring.
June 13, 2018
This is a bit of a mixed review...
I have to say that this book is very well written, and full of dry humour. It was also recently shortlisted for the Leicester Book of the Year Prize 2018; deservedly so.
But for me personally, although I could appreciate the quality of the writing and the uniqueness of the storyline, I couldn't connect with the main character. Partly because I don't enjoy books where the MC spends a lot of time musing on life - I'm a reader who needs action and I didn't get quite enough in this book.
If you love dry humour and badgers, you'll probably love this.
I have to say that this book is very well written, and full of dry humour. It was also recently shortlisted for the Leicester Book of the Year Prize 2018; deservedly so.
But for me personally, although I could appreciate the quality of the writing and the uniqueness of the storyline, I couldn't connect with the main character. Partly because I don't enjoy books where the MC spends a lot of time musing on life - I'm a reader who needs action and I didn't get quite enough in this book.
If you love dry humour and badgers, you'll probably love this.
April 21, 2018
Not my usual genre but I really enjoyed this book. I found all the characters really interesting and enjoyed their interactions. Rob Palk's writing is quick and punch and manages to pull Stuart up from what could be a sad and desperate character to one you find yourself deeply invested in and liking a lot!
February 27, 2020
I finished this but wanted to like it more than I did. The premise is good, and there are some genuinely funny and touching moments, but ultimately I got bogged down with the main characters overwhelmingly depressing inner dialogue. I was excepting a light funny read, but in places it felt very academic and predictable.
October 15, 2022
This book is not what you think. It's not a romcom, it's not just another "30something man is rediscovering himself and here's a G2 article about wild swimming"
This is actually a tale of love and illness and outrage
this book is all funny, dramatic, and poignant in all the right places
This is actually a tale of love and illness and outrage
this book is all funny, dramatic, and poignant in all the right places
odio-jarocho-aka-nope
June 7, 2019Nope
March 14, 2022
Palk is one of our funniest, sharpest writers, and this novel, drawn from his own medical and marital disasters is a delight, turning on a sixpence from hilarious to heartbreaking.
January 29, 2023
‘Bitterly funny’?!
Where was the funny part?
Disappointing because my husband normally chooses great books for but this was terrible! 😏
Where was the funny part?
Disappointing because my husband normally chooses great books for but this was terrible! 😏
February 4, 2023
Big fan of men floundering about without direction humorously.
July 21, 2023
Thought this one was sweet. Mellow. A good afternoon book.
September 10, 2023
Edit. OK, I've finally plumped for some stars :)
Just can't decide on a star rating (hateful things), so I'm leaving it blank at the moment. Rob is a delight to follow on that thing that was once quite a good place to hang out, so follow him!
There was stuff I really liked about this book, and most of that (I guess) was drawn from the author's personal experience of serious illness. I admired how Stuart stubbornly persisted with his plans despite his health issues, and the descriptions of how he coped with reduced eyesight were amusing and touching (and relatable). There was certainly plenty of dry wit and self-effacing humour, and the publisher's blurb describes Stuart as 'hapless', which is about right.
I wasn't especially taken with Stuart's relentless pursuit of his wife. Although he had my sympathies for a while, it wore off long before Stuart gave up , and I started to feel sorry for Marie. Marie is very much a cipher (is that the right word?). I don't feel we got to know anything about her that felt real, which was a shame. I liked Kerry, and I liked that Stuart - befuddled and hopeless as he was - seemed to realise that he didn't deserve her.
The poor badgers weren't important to Stuart, so I wouldn't go into this book for deep insights into badger culling. Personally, I side with Marie on this. There were some interesting secondary characters, but the plot twist sort of came out of left field, and I just didn't get the ending at all really - which is why I had so much trouble with a star rating, I think. Might be a me thing.
Having said all that, I didn't stop reading, there was a lot of lively writing, some sweetness and compassion, and although I didn't find it 'bitterly funny', I did find it sadly comic in places. I'm going to be looking out for Rob's next book because I think he has more to give.
Just can't decide on a star rating (hateful things), so I'm leaving it blank at the moment. Rob is a delight to follow on that thing that was once quite a good place to hang out, so follow him!
There was stuff I really liked about this book, and most of that (I guess) was drawn from the author's personal experience of serious illness. I admired how Stuart stubbornly persisted with his plans despite his health issues, and the descriptions of how he coped with reduced eyesight were amusing and touching (and relatable). There was certainly plenty of dry wit and self-effacing humour, and the publisher's blurb describes Stuart as 'hapless', which is about right.
I wasn't especially taken with Stuart's relentless pursuit of his wife. Although he had my sympathies for a while, it wore off long before Stuart gave up , and I started to feel sorry for Marie. Marie is very much a cipher (is that the right word?). I don't feel we got to know anything about her that felt real, which was a shame. I liked Kerry, and I liked that Stuart - befuddled and hopeless as he was - seemed to realise that he didn't deserve her.
The poor badgers weren't important to Stuart, so I wouldn't go into this book for deep insights into badger culling. Personally, I side with Marie on this. There were some interesting secondary characters, but the plot twist sort of came out of left field, and I just didn't get the ending at all really - which is why I had so much trouble with a star rating, I think. Might be a me thing.
Having said all that, I didn't stop reading, there was a lot of lively writing, some sweetness and compassion, and although I didn't find it 'bitterly funny', I did find it sadly comic in places. I'm going to be looking out for Rob's next book because I think he has more to give.
May 20, 2023
Funny, a little sad in spots, and you'll want to know at every point what happens next. Palk's Twitter page, where I learned of the book's existence, is a thing of wonder.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews