The Whole Animal

by Corinna Chong

A refreshingly original debut collection of short stories that grapple with the self-alienation and self-discovery that make us human.

For fans of Souvankham Thammavongsa, Lynn Coady, and Lisa Moore comes a striking debut collection of short stories that explore bodies both human and our fascination with their strange effluences, growths, and protrusions, and the dangerous ways we play with their power to inflict harm on ourselves and on others.   flawed characters wrestle with the complexities of relationships with partners, parents, children, and friends as they struggle to find identity, belonging, and autonomy. Bodies are divided, often elusive, even grotesque. In “Porcelain Legs,” a pre-teen fixes on the long, thick hair growing from her mother’s eyelid. In “Wolf-Boy Saturday,” a linguist grasps for connection with a young boy whose negligent upbringing has left him unable to speak. In “Butter Buns,” a college student sees his mother in a new light when she takes up body-building.   With strange
juxtapositions, beguiling dark humour, and lurid imagery, The Whole Animal illuminates the everyday experiences of loneliness and loss, of self-alienation and self-discovery, that make us human. 

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Adult, Literary Fiction, Canada

Unknown Binding

About the author

I am a writer and avid reader based in Kelowna, BC. My first novel, Belinda's Rings, was published in 2013. The Whole Animal, my debut collection of short stories, was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2023. ​Visit my website here.

Reviews

[Dona's Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the author Corinna Chong, publishers ECW Press Audio, and as always NetGalley, for an advance audio copy of THE WHOLE ANIMAL.

Upon listening to this collection a second time, I realize why I was lost the first time through.

This collection takes a strange form. It is not simply a collection of stand alone short fiction pieces divided by number and title. Granted, some of them are indeed this. Some of them are short fiction pieces divided by number and title that link to the next two or three others by shared theme or character. And some of them are standalone numbered titled short fiction pieces that are a little longer and are themselves subdivided into numbered sections. There doesn't seem to be a common theme or topic among these stories any more specific than "animals," which do make an appearance (sometimes shortlived, but often tortured; here is my big fat TW for animal cruelty) in each story. About the only defining characteristic of note that struck me is the total lack of narrative structure in any of the stories.

I read somewhere that this neglect of plot and narrative is the contemporary lit fic form de jour and I can't say I enjoy it. Perhaps it's meant to reflect the predominant societal ennui with which contemporary humankind finds themselves afflicted, but I still hate it. Life is painful and pointless, but fiction doesn't have to be.

Giving this collection an extra star because the form is clever, even if I don't think it makes good reading.

Rating: 🫏🫏 / 5 whole animals
Recommend? Not this time
Finished: May 23 2023 and May 26 2023

*May 23 2023 I need to listen again, my impression of these stories is too opaque.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

The narration matched up perfectly for the short stories in this book! I really enjoyed all of them and found myself wishing there was more story quite often! I felt like right when I started getting comfortable with the characters and setting, it would end and a new one would begin. I’m sure it was done this way on purpose, I just felt like some were only half a story and finished right when I was fully invested and wanted more. If you like reading short stories that are well written and touch on heavy subjects, you should check out this audiobook!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A standout debut collection of short stories! I may have to rethink my anti-short story stance because I've been reading so many great ones this year and The whole animal is among them with its poignant writing and relatable characters!

Usually I tend to find just one or two stories interesting in these sorts of collections but each one was both incredibly interesting and compelling and a few I was even sad to see end (definitely the mark of any good story in my opinion!).

My favorite story was "Kids in Kindergarten," about a woman dealing with a miscarriage and the societal taboos of feeling able to share your pain while also being supportive/happy for friends who are expecting/enjoying motherhood.

Great on audio too narrated by Laura Miyata. Corinna Chong is definitely a new Canadian author to watch and I'm excited for her upcoming novel, Bad land. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could have devoured double of this!

The closest parallel I can draw is 'Salt Slow' by Julia Armfield, yet, as self-reflective as it might be, 'The Whole Animal' by Corinna Chong really defies comparison.

With an inviting, moreish style, Chong interrogates the inter-relatedness of living forms and where they find their edges (on that note - what a cover!).

It's staggering, the way the author populates this collection with discrete characters each with as robust and echoing a voice as the next.

Further to this, Chong engenders the confined space of each short story with a miraculous kind of tension. There's a tugging and a counter-force between characters and the situations in which they find themselves. And this is so pleasing: it propels the reader through each episode and into the next, fixing and fusing the collection as an entity, which becomes, itself, the titular 'whole'; the 'animal' is the collection as a unified body of work.

And more: Laura Miyata's vigorous and nimble vocal performance in the audiobook quickens the off-centre characters constructed by Chong. Miyata's narration eased my inhabitancy of each of these; she's a vocal talent I'll be looking out for in the future, and I'm going straight away to locate a copy of Chong's novel, 'Belinda's Rings'!

'The Whole Animal' audiobook is released in the UK at the end of the month by the Canadian Indie publisher EWC. One to watch, and I'll certainly be anticipating more of their releases.

Deep thanks to EWC Press Audio for the opportunity to review the audiobook format of 'The Whole Animal' via NetGalley.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

|| THE WHOLE ANIMAL ||
#gifted/@arsenalpulp
✍🏻
A wonderfully bizarre collection of stories!

Vibes of listlessness, strangeness, and dark humor flows through this collection exploring bodies both human and animal. Filled with flawed characters struggling with complex relationships. I fell in love with Chang's writing style right away, so vividly detailed and unique, I couldnt look away! Blurbed by some of my favorite short fiction writers I knew this one would be a winner! Out next month!

For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong

[papersewnthoughts · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Whole Animal is another collection of shorter stories, telling about 
different aspects of life, human bodies, and complexities of relationships.
Stories about neglected children, seeing one's parents in a new light, and strange fascinations with simple things like hair are only a few of the topics, the author works with.

All in all, it was a really well-written book and the light in which the stories shine is unique. The author has a strange and fascinating way of telling stories and building her characters. I loved her unique writing style a lot and definitely would check out other stuff of hers.

Yet, once again this tells me that as strange and grotesque as these stories were, a trait I love so much in storytelling, I can't connect with too many differences. Were these stories longer and different books I'd probably have a better understanding and would've been able to properly connect to each story. Yet, the moment I felt like I understood it, the next plot was already starting, which seemed to pull me out of the book each time and left me trying to insert myself into the new plot once again.

For people who are fans of collections of stories, this one might just be up their alley though. Elusive, grotesque, and full of dark humor and lurid imaginary - The Whole Animal is as weird as it sounds but I think, this is exactly the charm in it.

[Rachel]

Being vegan, I was super excited to start reading this because of the animal theme. The stories were very complex. I enjoyed them at face value and then loved digging deeper trying to interpret them. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was great.
Thanks to #NetGallery and ECW Press Audio for an audio copy.

[Courtney Dixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author describes sex so grossly. There are people who will enjoy the introspective nature of the characters but it is not for me.

[Regina Yoder · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite stories were “Kids in Kindergarten”, “Butter Buns”, “Love Cream Heat”, but I enjoyed most if not all of them. The right balance of relatable and weird. I like how the stories were connected by her spooky animal similes.

[Hannah Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I loved so many of the short stories in this book I equally did not enjoy a few which made it hard to keep reading at a few moments. The writing was overall very good but some of the stories lacked depth for me.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7/5

[Kalen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this as an ebook. With that I found some of the stories ended abruptly. I enjoyed listening to them but some of the endings had me thinking well what happens next.

[Katy Manley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about how shitty people can be. And people can be really, really shitty.

[Beckiezra · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s hard to judge a collection of short stories, none of them wowed me but it wasn’t a bad way to spend a couple hours and if this was for a book club I might enjoy thinking about some of them more deeply. I do have issues with the audiobook format which rounded the score down to a 2. I have been a harsh judge of books this week, maybe it’s just an attitude problem from me…

The same narrator reads everything (which tends to be first person POV I think which adds to the confusion/monotony) with the only separation between stories being the title of the next story which often is hard to recognize as something different that the rest of the talking. The stories don’t tend to have a lot of beginning or end to say “hey, these are different characters or this is wrapping up” so I’d find myself thinking the pregnant person was the sister of the previous story, or there was some connection between the stories but it was not clear to me. Especially when the gender of the narrator changed it would’ve been nice to have a different voice reading.

So 3 for the stories that were meh, nothing stood out for me to remember and some of it was just weird and nonsensical to me (what’s with the bison eyes and vegan issues?), but they’re short stories, that’s kind of their thing. A 2 for the narrator doing very little to differentiate anything. A 1 for the production values that didn’t give me at least a long pause or more ideally music or something to indicate the start of a new story. Part of the issue may just be the 3x speed I was listening at, but come on, even a chime, help me know things are different despite the voice being the same.

[Cat Voleur · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very strange, and satisfying collection of stories that runs just off the beaten path. Each entry differs in content and themes, but they all share the same feeling of listlessness that tied them together. It made for an utterly singular reading experience.

The collection's variety was a strength, as well as a weakness. While I feel like there were stories in this collection for everyone, it also means there were a few stories in here that didn't work for me. They felt like low points for my read through, but I'm sure anyone sitting down with this collection would have different favorites.

Speaking of favorites.

If I had to pick just a single favorite from the collection, it would probably be 'Zora in the Whirl', which I found very poignant. 'Old Wives' would be a very close second for how it is able to perfectly capture the sense of history in a dynamic between two characters over the course of a very simple action and just a couple pages.

'Porcelain Legs' got right under my skin emotionally. 'Butter Buns' dealt with serious themes in the background while the focus was often on sillier things in the foreground. Kevin Bombardo had a couple lines of ATLAS SHRUGGED criticism that almost made it worth it to have read ATLAS SHRUGGED for the way I snorted.

I feel like I could talk about any of these stories though, because even with the ones I liked less had these little gems in them. There wasn't a single entry in this collection that didn't come with a little something to offer.

[R.W. Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great collection. These stories often teeter towards the edge of the absurd (a woman turning silver, a wolf boy, an almost mythic three-legged cat) but always carry stones in their pockets, grounded in the struggles of their characters. There are moments like songs, with one character’s chorus of “When do we stop regretting the people we once were?” and another’s repetition of the phrase “Butter Buns,” partly to mock his mother, but also betraying maybe his own attraction to the muscle man on the poster. And lines of truth like slivers we can’t pull out: “She said the ones whose mothers didn’t really want them were always the best behaved.”

The characters here are up against the space between themselves and others, struggling to understand, but never quite communicating: a son confused by his weight-lifting mother’s poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger; a woman hired to communicate with a feral child; a teenage girl horrified by the hair growing from her mother’s eyebrow but refusing to tell her.

In “Old Wives,” a couple find insects in various museums and the character wonders “What was the point … in seeking out each and every species of beetle, naming it, finding its niche, then killing and displaying it, inert, behind a pane of glass?” Chong’s stories are the antithesis. Her characters can’t pin each other down. Their stories, too, refuse to be contained within the covers of this book, all these lovely, complicated, consuming, worlds that stay with you after the reading is done.

[Elena L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories that explores the human and animal body.

Each story manages to show the affliction(s) of contemporary society, whose intimacies are figuratively and literally exposed. These are relatable and flawed characters, with subtle and weird obsession - Chong makes use of them to offer a refreshing take on imperfect relationships and heavy subjects.

The uncanny elements and poignant prose that flows with ease add dynamism to this collection.
Brutal at times, with stories erupting into empty and reflective endings, I wish they had a less abrupt closure and more could have been revealed (I guess this is what makes short stories 'interesting'?). Chong balances melancholic vibes with dark humor and pop culture references.

While this collection feels lukewarm and too opaque overall, there are stories for everyone's taste - from quirky to visceral to full of listlessness, this is a case in which the reader reads one story at a time and each story stands on its own. THE WHOLE ANIMAL is recommended for those who enjoy a peculiar short story collections with not-very-logical vibes.

[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Arsenal Pulp Press . All opinions are my own ]

[Larissa Goulart · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
When I read this book's description I was really intrigued. A collection of short stories that explores the body sounded interesting. I was even more interested in I read that one of the stories was about a linguistics professor (like me). But, in the end I couldn't see the theme of 'human and animal body' as a throughline across the stories in this book. In some stories like the one about the girl and the guinea pig you can clearly see the "animal body", but in some stories like the last one you can't see a connection - is the physical presence of a body description enough to say it address human bodies?

I think this book only improves as it progresses, the best short story is certainly the last one about a failed date and how your view in life changes once you find "the right one". While I was excited to read a story about a linguistics professor, this one is a bit superficial and it seems a bit unfinished for me. There are a couple of stories that I wish I could know more about the characters (what happened to them before this event? how did this unfold?) but I guess this shows how interesting the characters are.

[Dezirah Remington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Audio for the audio-ARC

This is a visceral and satisfying #BiteSizedBook of short stories. Ranging from quirky and sometimes odd to sweet and thought provoking, the stories manage to cover a range of topics and themes while still feeling cohesive. Every story manages to find some combination of dark humor that create unforgettable scenes. Once I started to play this collection I couldn’t stop, and even went back a few times, because I was so thrown the first time (in a good way). The character development is impressive in such short stories, and while plot dominates, I found myself going back to the characters over and over.

Chong weaves experiences of Canadian’s of Asian heritage throughout a number of the stories, but it is not the overall thread. Instead the tread seems to be the connection we find and lose with people, and the intricacies of bodies. Bodies lived in, bodies consumed, bodies killed…

I highly recommend this collection in either the written or the audio format.

[Glenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book since her book launch but taken my time reading it. I like to do that with collections of short stories, reading one or two at the most from a book at a time, kind of like a palette cleanser between novels. I just finished the final story this morning.
I love the quirky unapologetic slant Corinna puts into each of her stories, the way she exposes her character's flaws and explores our inner thoughts that are often not very nice. For example, in the story Kevin Bombardo, she repeats several times, "When do we stop regretting the people we once were?"
I'm not sure how it would be to just sit and read all these stories back to back, if they would still have the same impact or not, or if I might have launched into each one too armed in advance for what was coming. By spacing them between other short stories and novels, every story felt fresh and pulled me in and wouldn't let me go until the final word.
Highly recommend this collection for anyone who loves a great short story.

[prescribed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each story in this collection reads with the complexity and surprise of a novel. I couldn't stop. And each ending offered a satisfaction I don't often get. I don't mean that it tied things up, or concluded in a way I felt I could step away from-- instead, the story opened up and had me thinking back over the story with more thoughtfulness and insight. Usually, I find endings either awkward or forgettable, but somehow Chong twists every expectation that you thought you had, and has you consider something brand new and yet, you realize, also there since the beginning. Added to that, there are so many vivid images in these stories that are so perfectly described that they're printed forever in my brain: the bison faces, the milk chute, the guinea pig, a cotton wad in a boy's fist, a girl spitting into dust. And the characters are each so vivid and flawed. They act out in surprising and yet recognizable ways that are sometimes uncomfortably close to home.

[Ocean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and ECW Press Audio, Bespeak Audio Editions for providing me with this audiobook!

I don't read a lot of short story collections, I find it hard to get in and out of stories so quickly but I thought this format would give me a different approach and it worked, probably thank's to a fantastic narration job done by Laura Miyata.
In spite of some varying themes and settings, the main focus remains a sometimes uncomfortable exploration of bodies and the loneliness of the human condition. It reminded me of Han Kang without the magical realism element. The writing is also very precise and the characters strong and discrete.
Although I'm sure that it was a choice by the author, I sometimes was surprised to realise that we'd moved on to the next story. It felt disconcerting and occasionally disappointing.

Overall really good!

[Hilary]

Chong has a microscopic writing style that shines in short story form. It’s the small details in THE WHOLE ANIMAL, the subtle shifts in tone, movement, dialogue; every object has meaning. A couple’s stint into veganism reveals rifts in their relationship. A trapped earwig hints at an underlying violence. A mixed-race Chinese girl’s fixation on a black hair growing on her mother’s face ties in with her own insecurity about her Asian-ness. Souvankham Thammavongsa’s praise is on the cover of this book, and I actually was reminded of Thammavongsa’s own collection HOW TO PRONOUNCE KNIFE! I enjoyed some stories more than others; ultimately, a few left me feeling as if I hadn’t yet been able to cross the bridge to its meaning.

Thanks Arsenal Pulp Press for the gifted copy!

[Yona · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 39%

I’ve read plenty of literary fiction before, and this is not where it’s at. For me, these stories had a pervading feeling of emptiness that I don’t think was the intent. Each character was very samey: detached, awkward, petty, and passive. I read 5 of the 13 stories and each one ended with an unsatisfying clunk. (And I’m bewildered by a review I saw praising this!) Some of that could have been the audiobook narrator’s delivery, but I think it had more to do with narrative structure. Each of these stories definitely has a theme and some interesting images, but I couldn’t tell you the point or the viewpoint character’s internal resolution for any of them.

[Jaylene Telford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story collection that is visceral, unsettling, and quirky at times. This reminded me of Mark Had don’s The Pier and The Strange Things We Become by Eric LaRocca. The overall book is plot heavy, but the characters are well rounded—not always an easy task with short stories!

The audiobook is well done, however I think this is a book that would be better read. And can we talk about the cover? It really is perfect for the content of the book.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC audiobook.

[Olivia Weldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, the stories in this anthology left me empty at times once they finished, and that seems to be the point of them. These are truly snapshots into people’s lives, and in the majority of cases there is no happy or sad ending, you just leave off not knowing. I appreciated the various viewpoints provided throughout the anthology, glimpses into childhood, trauma, life, death. I don’t know if any of these stories will necessarily stick with me, but some of them certainly gave me pause after reading. Overall, this is a short anthology that I would recommend.

[Emily Perkovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was hard to rate. I did enjoy every single story despite their being varying in theme and style. Because the book is title The Whole Animal, I kept expecting there to be something that tied together all the disparities. I don’t necessarily mind that there was not, but with these being very fragmented vignettes, I think I would have appreciated their brevity more had they been interwoven here and there. Thank you to Arsenal Pulp Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Ryn (Crafty_Bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Whole Animal is Corinna Chong’s debut collection of short stories. It delivers vignettes of characters dealing with discomfort within themselves, with their world, or with where they are in their life. While these characters were forced to face difficulties, they were also coming to terms with what it means to be whole. A beautiful collection with wonderful narration by Laura Miyata.
Thank you NetGalley and Bespeak Audio for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Ken Mullock · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the book's cover and description I was expecting its stories to be dark, twisted, and repulsive. Instead, this book felt more like "Chicken Soup for the Soul". Although the stories evoked small amounts of emotion while reading, they weren't memorable and felt quite boring. Perhaps my expectations were too high or simply missed the mark of what this book was supposed to be. I appreciate Chong's messages and intentions with this book, however, and will be exploring more of her work.

[Chris Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid and very readable, if somewhat stock, short stories. The connections drawn to wrap up some of them can read as a little forced. But there’s something here that would cause me to pause, while browsing in a book store, on future work by this author.