Ferocious Animals

by Luke Johnson

Ferocious Animals will remind you of who and what we are beneath all the cool digital animals, burning with ferocity for a mouthful of life’s flesh.The thirteen stories in Luke Johnson’s debut collection do not shy away from life’s brutalities. Nor do they overlook those moments of genuine intimacy, humour and revelation that imbue the tragic with purpose and with pathos. Set in regional Australia in an era before mobile phones and the internet, these stories will remind you of who and what we are beneath all the cool digital animals, burning with ferocity for a mouthful of life’s flesh.‘These stories are compelling and memorable, every single one of them.’ —Debra Adelaide‘A set of stories that...never lose sight of what matters the complexity of human nature.‘ —Anthony Macris‘I love the emotional heart at the centre of Ferocious Animals. It is a book of great energy and tenderness.’ —Tony Birch‘Reading Ferocious Animals made me want to walk out into the street and cry on the shoulders of strangers.’ —Luke Carman‘At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Johnson wields the narrative with the steadiest of hands.’ —Julia Prendergast‘Johnson lucidly, deftly, offers a few narrative breadcrumbs, until there is nothing to do but to finish each story at all costs and then to wish that this book would not end.’ —Roanna Gonsalves

Genres: Short Stories

127 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2021

Reviews

[lucinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ferocious Animals is Australian author Luke Johnson’s debut collection of 13 short stories, described as being ‘set in regional Australia in an era before mobile phones and the internet’. Growing up in Australia, so many of Johnson’s stories held a particular resonance and truthful familiarity in characterisation, setting and tone. His stories are steeped in the quiet profundity of everyday life and in narrowing in on such raw, real characters and relationship dynamics, there is an excellent build of tension so steady and well-executed that when a brutal or tender revelation is made at the end of the story, you might have been so rooted in the immediacy and power of his writing that you almost miss it.

Some stories struck a deep chord with me in their explorations of grief, memory, masculinity and childhood (The Names of Dead Horses, The Conditional Past and When You Fuck With A Fowler were my particular favourites). Some others were hard to stomach in their callousness and at times off-putting characterisations and language. Some of these stories won’t sit well with every reader, but I think Johnson is aware of and accepting of this, and I admire that his writing remains relatively uninhibited as he strives to depict people in their flawed reality, warts-and-all.

This collection reminds me of the beauty in recognition within literature; in being able to see & recognise familiar voices, experiences and characters. If you’re interested in exploring the short-story form / Australian writing, this book is an excellent place to start.

TWs: death, grief, some ableist language, domestic abuse

[Adelaide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ferocious Animals is meaty, raw and unabashedly honest. While each short story expertly crafted by Luke Johnson leaves you laughing or slack-jawed, they are seamlessly connected by a common idea—life is messy.

Johnson’s stories evoke nostalgic images—you can feel the crunch of gravel driveways underfoot, smell the stagnant puddles in the stormwater pits and hear the shrill yells of children playing out in the yard. Walloped by one short story, you can’t help but start the next, craving the stories of a by-gone Australia that still feel strangely close to home.

Luke Johnson’s debut collection, Ferocious Animals, has me thrilled to see what comes next from him.

[Lewis Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've known Luke since 2017, and in the time since he has operated as tutor, lecturer, mentor and guide to writing. In this, his first book, he demonstrates the knack, guile and skill that the very best short story writers possess. I won't lie, I smashed it out in one sitting because I was so entranced by the stories on offer. 'Ferocious Animals' encapsulates the Australian zeitgeist so so well, both in terms of its contemporaneous nature, and the halycon days of yesteryear. Each slice of life presented has gravity and weight, and you almost have to remind yourself that none of this really happened, so utterly gorgeous is the prose. Kudos to you Luke!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was intense. I only read one or two stories at a time because there’s only so much trauma I could take at once!