Animalia Paradoxa

by Henrietta Rose-Innes

A virus inflames a woman with mortal desire; a colonial naturalist seeks an impossible specimen; invisible violence stalks a safari and a man out walking enters into a strange shadow dance with a prizefighter. Ranging from taut human drama to phantasmagoria, these stories make rich and strange connections – between ancient and new, human and animal, Africa and Europe, reality and dream. Taken together, in prose of great precision and beauty, the stories in Animalia Paradoxa map the complexities of the human specimen, in all its troubling glory. This is fiction of the highest quality, from one of South Africa’s foremost novelists.

Genres: Short Stories

200 pages, Paperback

Published March 4, 2019

About the author

Henrietta Rose-Innes is a South African writer based in Cape Town. Her novel Nineveh was published by Random House Struik in 2011, following a short-story collection, Homing and two earlier novels: Shark's Egg and The Rock Alphabet.

In 2012, her short story 'Sanctuary' took second place in the BBC International Short Story Competition. Nineveh was shortlisted for the 2012 Sunday Times Fiction Prize and the M-Net Literary Award. In 2008, Henrietta won the Caine Prize for African Writing, for which she was shortlisted in 2007. Also in 2007, she was awarded the South African PEN Literary Award. Shark's Egg was shortlisted for the 2001 M-Net Book Prize.

Her short stories have appeared in various international publications, including Granta, AGNI and The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2011. A collection of short pieces, translated into German, was published in September 2008 as Dream Homes.

Reviews

[Samuel Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phenomenal, realist short fiction.

The best stories in the collection are genuine magic, in that Rose-Innes lays out the narrative one piece at a time showing exactly where and how each element occurs and yet, at the end, something hidden occurs behind the scenes that leaves the reader breathless.

[Orgeluse · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I have been sort of infatuated with the works of Henrietta Rose-Innes since I read her four novels last year I can only say that I loved most of her stories in this collection, too (4.5 stars in total).
Especially the stories "Sanctuary", "The Leopard Trap", "The Boulder" and "Animalia Paradoxa" reminded me of themes and motifs that are also present in her novels, e.g. the "wild / untamed" side of the human psyche and human societies being alienated from nature leaving individuals alone in their struggles to come to terms with being part of nature and thus drawing strength from nature.
The stories in total are so versatile that reading the collection does not become tedious at all!
The author has a way of creating a distinct atmosphere I like very much so I am looking forward to the publication of her latest novel (Stone Plants) hopefully this year!
The only story I did not really get is "Promenade" so if there is anybody out there who read it and to whom it made sense, I would be pleased about a hint :))).

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rose-Innes certainly has a way with words. In a collection of 12 mesmerizing short fictions--ten of which deal with assorted thorny challenges of day-to-day living in south Africa facing an assortment of Caucasian protagonists; and two which are delightful paranormal weird tales--she never fails to dazzle.

Highly recommended.

[Michael Martin]

Wonderful short stories - each one original and well-written.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars