A Loving, Faithful Animal

by Josephine Rowe

"I found myself considering those rare things only books can do, feats outside the purview of film or fine art . . . Gorgeous." —Samantha Hunt, The New York Times Book Review

It is New Year’s Eve 1990, in a small town in southeast Australia. Ru’s father, Jack, one of thousands of Australians once conscripted to serve in the Vietnam War, has disappeared. This time Ru thinks he might be gone for good. As rumors spread of a huge black cat stalking the landscape beyond their door, the rest of the family is barely holding on. Ru’s sister, Lani, is throwing herself into sex, drugs, and dangerous company. Their mother, Evelyn, is escaping into memories of a more vibrant youth. And meanwhile there is Les, Jack’s inscrutable brother, who seems to move through their lives like a ghost, earning both trust and suspicion.

A Loving, Faithful Animal is an incandescent portrait of one family searching for what may yet be redeemable from the ruins of war. Tender, brutal, and heart–stopping in its beauty, this novel marks the arrival in the United States of Josephine Rowe, the winner of the 2016 Elizabeth Jolley Prize and one of Australia’s most extraordinary young writers.

Genres: Fiction, Australia, Historical Fiction, War, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Family Drama

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2016

About the author

Josephine Rowe is the author of three story collections and a novel, A Loving, Faithful Animal (UQP, 2016). She holds fellowships from the Wallace Stegner program at Stanford University and the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. She currently lives in Melbourne.

Reviews

[Ace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

To say that I enjoyed reading this book would not be the right terminology, but I did enjoy reading the writing as a separate entity from the story itself. A family saga you could call this, dating back from a troubled young father, (abusive and irresponsible, potentially due to PTSD or potentially because he was just a nasty drunk) trying to cope with reality after the traumas of the Vietnam war. The family members each get a chapter to lay down their life experience and some of it was so difficult to read, some of it simply life as we probably all know it. It's a dark dark view of this family's history and a little light at the end for a new generation. Not my favourite read of late, but an important one to remember about the horrible effects of war, especially when it's soldiers fighting against children, women and desperate men.

I grew up somewhere in this region so I could relate to the heat but I did have an issue with the pruning of vineyards where there are still green leaves on the vines. This is not my recollection of the very very browness of the vines, the stumps and soil of pruning season.

[Michael Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This started out like it was going to be just another portrait of a dysfunctional Australian family, told through the eyes of one of the children. Instead, Rowe smartly kicks things up a notch, by switching perspectives throughout the book, painting a much deeper and more nuanced portrait of some fascinating and damaged people. The majority of the book is set across a single day, before things telescope out in the later chapters - it's a neatly worked structure, that gives you both the small, meaningful details that Rowe mastered in Tarcutta Wake, Stories and a broader sweep of the family's relationships over time. Rowe is a gorgeous writer - lyrical without being overwrought and effortlessly readable. This novel easily fulfills the promise of her micro-fiction - she's a writer to watch in future.

[Zak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel about post-war PTSD and its effects on a family. There is something about the prose that grabbed me and said "Listen to me! This is not as simple a story as you think!" And indeed, it wasn't just the usual tale about domestic violence and abandonment but surprisingly about redemption and reasons why and guiding you to see the other side of things that you might not have expected.

[Mark Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

'His absence whipping the years out from underneath her, like that party trick with the tablecloth, the dishes clattering back not quite as they had been'

A brutal, dark read. Very nostalgic, focusing on a family unit in the early 90's in a small town in South-eastern Australia. The father: PTSD from from Vietnam War - abusive and intimidating, regularly leaving and returning. The mother: yearning for the beauty of her youth. The children: growing up amidst this familiarl turmoil.

The writing style is evocative and compelling, perfectly portraying the struggles faced by family and how trauma strains, tugs, disintegrates. The changes within childhood are highlighted deftly - ever so subtle, yet so impactful.

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous writing, utterly heartbreaking. The sentences gallop. They left me breathless. They left me so sad. There is a continuous sadness to the story, actually, almost unbearable, where each page is full of the pity of humanity. The story combines the very harsh with the very tender, the two of them balanced together exquisitely, and the two of them also in conflict with one another. Harsh and tender tough it out, sometimes in the same sentence.

The author never allows the sadness of events, the disappointments of her characters' lives, to slide into the cynical. She loves her characters deeply, and because of her love for them, their small tragic lives are imbued with dignity, with majesty.

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Loving, Faithful Animal, by Josephine Rowe, is a literary work of sparse, lyrical prose and evocative imagery. It is the story of the hard, mechanical facts of a family at war with itself. Jack has returned from the Vietnam War a broken man, his head 'a ghost trap'. He battles his internal demons by hitting out physically at his wife, Evelyn, and by periodically taking off, his long absences a feature of family life. The narrative is centred around one such desertion on New Year's Eve of 1990, stepping back in time through memories of different family members, and forward to when the children are grown. The story is narrated by different members of the family - Jack's vignettes are short and sharp, punchy, vivid snatches of conversation and ideas and memories that viscerally evoke his PTSD and the chaotic state of mind that is the result of his changed experience. Evelyn speaks of family violence, of the impotence of being unable to help her damaged husband, unable to escape his physical malice, the inertia of tolerating his behaviour. The older daughter, Lani, runs wild, disobeying her mother's restrictions and using her father's absences as an excuse for her own, as the younger daughter, Ru, tries to hold them all together. One of the most interesting characters is Les, Jack's brother, a permanent fixture in the family, a man who hacked off his own index fingers, ostensibly to avoid the war draft, although the subsequent explanation is even more disturbing and strange. The presentation of the novel - in fragments from the points of view of different characters - allows us to glimpse the same events from conflicting angles, and to examine the motivations of the characters both from their own reckoning, and from the distance of others' perceptions. This novel traverses the themes of guilt, betrayal, bitterness and sacrifice, of frustration and abandonment. Each of the characters is flawed and destructive, yet underneath the damage of each lies something hopeful and tender. The novel is luminous in its portrayal of a family beset by violence and silences, by harsh experiences and by the transformative legacy of war.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing like that will ever happen again, she's sure - not now; not here. How could it? This long reaching emptiness, grabbing right into you; nothing beautiful or unlikely could sneak up on you here. You'd see it coming, kicking up dust from miles away, and by the time it got here, it would already look spent, secondhand. Only the cruelty is astonishing, only the toxic boredom twisting imaginations just as the wind twists the cypress.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a special kind of crazy-brave to write a novel about domestic violence that makes the reader feel sympathy for the perpetrators, and it takes a remarkable level of skill to create one that I am interested in reading. But as I predicted when I read Josephine Rowe’s short story collection Tarcutta Wake (see my review) this debut novel fulfils the promise of arresting characterisation. A loving, faithful animal is a multifaceted dissection of dysfunctional family life with unexpected moments of humour and a keen perception of Australian larrikinism as it plays out among young people in Australian country life. It’s a very good novel indeed.

The novel begins at the approach of New Year 1992, in the wake of that great family festival, Christmas. Ev (Evelyn) insists on the annual ritual of de-Christmasing of the house lest leaving the decorations up bring bad luck. Her adolescent daughter Lani doesn’t think their luck could get any worse, but younger sister Ru (Ruby) isn’t complaining. In a novel which offers the perspective of all the members of this fractured, damaged family, it’s her point-of-view we hear first...

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2016/03/18/a-...

[Molly Harbage · Rating 5 out of 5]

5^n 😍

[Michael Canoeist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can you have 5-star writing with 1-star characters and plot? Aren't the characters and plot at least equally as important to the book as the prose style?

Yes, and that is why this is a 2-star review. Which makes me mad. Because this woman can really write!!

I read one of her stories, believe it was the title story of Tarcutta Wake, Stories, in whatever magazine it first appeared in. I had mixed reactions to the story, but I loved the narrative. It was impressionistic, but unlike so much that word covers, the chosen details were deadly accurate. I was there.

Never heard of Josephine Rowe before, and it turns out she is Australian, with some connections to the U.S. via the Iowa and Stegner writing programs. Not a good sign to this reader, for whom those programs seem to be factories turning out an awful lot of ersatz product. But this one is not.

So I ordered a copy of this unusual title (which fits its story in different ways), and I read it fast. You want to read her writing. It keeps pulling at you. And it's short, so it was not hard to read in three or four sittings. The material is harsh. The characters are failed humans. It is not happy reading; it was not even rewarding reading, and that is why I put the low rating on it.

But whenever Rowe exorcises her personal demons enough to move beyond autobiography (don't know that for a fact, just guessing from the two things I've read), she is going to do something fabulous. Fabulous.

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a masterful exploration of the legacy of war and the affects of PTSD on the families of the soldiers who come home, giving respect to both sides and the havoc it wreaks upon them. From a rhetorical perspective, this is an incredible meditation on the uses of point of view to greater explore the mechanisms of a dysfunctional and grieving family. Genuinely one of the most arresting pieces of literature that I have ever read, full stop. I am absolutely in awe of Josephine Rowe's writing.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slim novel packed with delicious prose, easy to lose yourself in and hard to leave behind.

[Gayle Slagle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved A Loving, Faithful Animal by Josephine Rowe. It is at times heartbreaking, at times uplifting, but always insightful and thought provoking. Rowe is a remarkable writer and I truly hope that her talent is recognized because she is simply too good to miss. A Loving, Faithful Animal tells the story of an Australian family and begins on New Year's Eve in 1990. To say the family is dysfunction would be an understatement, but Rowe presents each member of the family in such a way that the reader is able to see the why behind their actions. The book is a picture of a family which is trying to salvage what they can from the ruins of their lives and does so in a manner that is both brutal and tender. The book presents the viewpoints of all of the family members by having them present their thoughts and their feeling in alternating chapters, and shows both the good and the bad in each of them. The book is not scheduled to go on sale until September, but I urge all lovers of the beauty and the heartbreak of words to seek this one out. I think you will be thankful that you did.

[Chris Waterford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take all the petals off a rose (She loves me, she loves me not) and you are left with individual beautiful petals that smell divine but there is no longer a coherent whole. So it is with this book. The writing is great, in patches, and some scenes stay in the mind but I often followed a narrative thread and came to a frayed ending. What was that about??

[Ylenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really intrigued at first but this novel bored me so much in the end, I almost didn't want to finish it.
The first chapter was solid and a great start, but then it quickly got boring and tedious.

[Storm Remmenga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certain parts of this book felt like beautiful poetry and other parts were quite boring.

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - review up soooon

[Amra Pajalic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful novel about a fractured family. Rowe dips between the points of view of Jack, a Vietnam Vet who has abandoned his family. The mother Ev who was left broken and broken-hearted from her marriage and abandonment. Eldest daughter Lani whose teenage rebellion hides her pain. Youngest daughter Ru who is traumatised by her broken family. Their Uncle Les who is always alone, and yet never lonely. A poetic and haunting novel that had me in its grip and even as I turned to the last page, hasn't let me go yet.

[MisterHobgoblin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Loving, Faithful Animal is about the Vietnam war; how it impacted on one family and continues to have a direct impact on that family all these years later.

Brothers Jack and Les had different approaches to “winning” the birthday lottery and being conscripted to fight in Vietnam. Jack accepted, went off and came back a very different person. Les lopped off his index fingers so he would fail the medical. Jack has PTSD, Les has marginalised himself from society. Both are drifting rudderless.

The novel is divided into six sections, narrated by Jack, his wife Ev, his daughters Ru (twice) and Lani, and Les. Each offers a different, distinctive voice and e very different perspective on Jack and his disappearance to the fleshpots of South Melbourne. We see the incompatibility between a man who has been ruined by war; who is unfit to look after dependents; and a family that depends upon him.

With any multiple narration, much hinges on the voices of the narrators. I did not get along with Ru, who narrated in the second person. Second person narration is a difficult thing to sustain without sounding contrived, and I’m not quite sure it quite managed that feat. Given that Ru bookends the novel, holding the first and the last sections, this is a big problem. I enjoyed the other sections very much – particularly Les who was able to show a greater level of detachment from Jack’s situation than those Jack had lived with.

Collectively, this feels like six vignettes rather than a single novel. A novel would have a stronger narrative arc; this is more about separate perspectives on the same situation. It is no less worthwhile for that, but it does make this something of an exercise in putting the pieces of the puzzle together to create that single picture.

The result for the reader on doing so is a challenging thinkpiece about the morality of the state claiming a stake on the lives of its citizens. Why should the state be able to uproot private citizens and place them at risk of psychological or physical ruin? Why should families today have to pay the price for a government that chose to “steal” a previous generation? And then, there’s the question about whether it is right or sensible to take action to subvert a draft. All the time, posing these questions that were answered in the 1970s through the lens of 2017 values.

A Loving, Faithful Animal is not an easy read, but one that is worth the relatively short investment of time needed to do so.

[Margerywieder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elegant writing in this debut novel about an Australian family suffering the after-effects of the Vietnam war: a father with PTSD, his wife and two daughters. A two-day read. This author is one to watch.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this book is impressive, but clarity is sometimes lacking. Rowe’s use of the informal “you” in addressing Ruby made the story easy to jump into. However, coupled with chapters devoted to alternating family members, it created an additional layer to process. Each character’s section emphasized different aspects of the family’s shared story and all the sections came together well to make a whole. Readers who want the whole story spelled out will find problems with this format because there are several gaps left in the narrative. This book would appeal to fans of artful or raw fiction, especially those interested in reading about dysfunctional families.

Set in Australia, A Loving, Faithful Animal shares the stories of a members in a disjointed family dealing with issues. Sisters Ruby and Lani spend a good deal of time outside the home. Their father, a sometimes abusive, Vietnam Veteran lives there, but often leaves for indeterminate lengths of time. Sometimes bruised, when not tracking down her husband in seedy bars and motels, their mother prefers an escape that involves living in her memories. Lani’s promiscuous habits and other poor decision making mean young Ru is often fending for herself.

I received an advance reading copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author/publisher for participating in the giveaway.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my favorite BBC series is Peaky Blinders. After 2 seasons, I lamented that it was a great series if only I could understand a word they were saying. Then I found subtitles and I confirmed that it really was a great series. This is the way I felt reading A Loving, Faithful Animal . I had a feeling it was really good filled with poetic prose if only I could understand Australian slang.

The title suggests we will embark on a journey with a devoted Golden Retriever. Alas, no. This is about post traumatic stress after the Vietnam War and its impact on the returning soldier and his family. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the challenging dialogue and the frequent fragmented sentences to appreciate the poetic prose. I'm not one who gets crazy with fragmentation or missing quotation marks, but the fragmentation was too excessive. "Ru standing in the doorway, swamped in an over-sized-T-shirt nightie, hair's a rat's nest. "An octupus's walking stick." "The butter knife, the torn fly screen, the cluster of dorsal pearls on someone else's souvenir handbag." My mind, wandering. Unread books, piled in Goodreads. Pages skipped. Dissatisfied and distracted. Next book, awaiting.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Loving Faithful Animal is a heartbreaking look at a family both reaching for and pushing away until they exhaust their capacity to return to each other. Ru is a self-contained child,anxious but tough, whose hope for a family devoid of dramatics is always disappointed. Evelyn, her mother, turned away from conventional family life to marry the dangerous and charming Jack, a Viet Nam veteran who alternates between abuse and abandonment. Lani, Ru’s oldest sister, is herself caught up in wildly self-destructive behavior. Watching from the edges is Les, Jack’s brother, whose shadowy role in this family is a source of mistrust. The characters, haunted by regret and damaged by those they love, are allowed to tell their own stories in language that is sensual, sharp, and as devastating as a blow to the heart. Josephine Rowe is highly acclaimed in her native Australia, and this first novel to be published in the United States is a fine introduction to her lean and poetic writing.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel comprises six stories, starting in second person with Ruby, whom we come to realise is the younger daughter of the book’s central family. It then progresses through four stories told from different third person limited perspectives – Ruby’s mother Evelyn, her father Jack, her uncle and father’s brother Les or Tetch, and her sister Lani – before returning to Ruby’s second person voice to conclude. The story is one of a family broken by the father’s ongoing trauma (PTSD) following his Vietnam War experience. It’s a devastating story showing how such trauma can play out, resulting in domestic violence, dividing loyalties and causing splits in families. For my complete review, please see: https://whisperinggums.com/2016/11/06...

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book touched me in several ways. Her writing is so powerfully evocative that I relived emotions from my past, both as a child and an adult, that mirrored those of her characters. The particular experiences that engendered those emotions were not the same: she’s just that good, and what she is writing about is universal. Her imperfect and tormented characters are perfectly rendered so that you enter their individual worlds and you don’t think in terms of culpability or blame, you simply care about each one. I am astonished by the beauty of her prose, the depth and breadth achieved in 160 pages, and the fact that I knew the minute I finished it that I would never forget certain scenes and descriptions.

[Jane]

Josephine Rowe is a beautiful, beautiful writer. I fell in love with her work when I read Tarcutta Wake a few years back, and have been looking forward to a novel ever since. 'A loving, faithful animal' replicates the vignettey feel of 'Tarcutta Wake', and I like that - not a great deal happens in this story, but we get slivers and flickers of each person's understanding of what this family is and why it has become this way. I have a deep and seemingly unshifting bias against rural and semi-rural stories of Australian families, so the subject matter didn't do as much for me as it will for many, many, many other readers, but I unequivocally commend the writing. Gorgeous.

[Jennie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short read that feels more full than most 400 page novels. Set on New Year’s Eve of 1990, Australia, we get an insight into each member of a dysfunctional family with each chapter. The death of a family dog pushes war veteran Jack into another one of his disappearing acts, while the remaining family members try to carry on in life without him. This is such a beautiful, haunting and painfully raw novel about the physical and mental scars family can leave you with. Extremely literary and maybe not for everyone but is some of the best writing I’ve read in a while.

[makenna ༄ · Rating 5 out of 5]

would be wonderful to read if you're in a slump - a short book that is simply never boring at any point. introduced me to a place and state of mind i wasn't used to occupying, with the tumultuous feelings accompanying war and a broken family making for an emotional reading. takes place in australia, with a tangible kind of grime and misfortune (paired with the mystery shrouding death and feared creatures) that makes for an unbelievably stunning picture.

[Kerri Jones]

I'll be honest, I really don't enjoy this style of writing where the thoughts seem choppy and disjointed. I can see why this didn't end up making the short-list for the Miles Franklin award in 2017. I couldn't even finish it.

[Maybaby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found the writing style a bit of a struggle. Felt like there was no flow. Story interesting but it was a bit of work to get through due to the writing style.