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Fauna
NOMINEE 2011 – Toronto Book Awards
When Edal Jones wakes to the sound of a mouse on the hardwood floor by her bed, she doesn’t quite know why she says softly, “Hello.” But then, a lot of things have stopped making sense for Edal. As a federal wildlife officer at Pearson International Airport she’s seen everything from goliath bird-eating tarantulas crammed in a briefcase to a California condor “folded up like a sports coat.” So why has the sight of juvenile star tortoises crushed and broken in a grandmother’s luggage suddenly made it impossible for her to go on?
That same morning, riding her bike in the empty downtown core, Edal spots a young homeless girl rescuing birds that have knocked themselves out against the glassy office towers. Edal tracks Lily through the city to Howell Auto Wreckers in Toronto’s east end and discovers a new world where the links between people and animals can heal rather than hurt.
Handsome wrecking-yard owner Guy Howell employs Stephen, a young soldier on medical release whose duties include veterinary as well as mechanical tasks. Guy is rehabilitating a weakened red-tailed hawk, while Stephen raises a litter of orphaned raccoons, and Lily comes and goes with her birds and her constant companion, a massive black dog named Billy. All the characters in Fauna are animal lovers in search of something that human cruelty has denied them. As the narrative develops, we learn more about each of them, until they begin to feel like our intimate friends. The circle expands to include a young veterinary technician mourning her lover’s death, then expands again with dramatic consequences for all concerned when a disturbed young man starts taking out his anger and sorrow on the coyotes that live in the Don Valley.
Gently, meditatively, this unique novel delivers a profoundly immersive experience. A new kind of urban writing, Fauna encourages us to look again at the margins and undercurrents of the cities we inhabit, and consider how we treat the other beings who call those spaces home. What’s more, the persuasive beauty of York’s writing, the tenderness of her approach to her characters, and the connections she draws between them invite us to look inward and re-evaluate both the human and the animal within.
When Edal Jones wakes to the sound of a mouse on the hardwood floor by her bed, she doesn’t quite know why she says softly, “Hello.” But then, a lot of things have stopped making sense for Edal. As a federal wildlife officer at Pearson International Airport she’s seen everything from goliath bird-eating tarantulas crammed in a briefcase to a California condor “folded up like a sports coat.” So why has the sight of juvenile star tortoises crushed and broken in a grandmother’s luggage suddenly made it impossible for her to go on?
That same morning, riding her bike in the empty downtown core, Edal spots a young homeless girl rescuing birds that have knocked themselves out against the glassy office towers. Edal tracks Lily through the city to Howell Auto Wreckers in Toronto’s east end and discovers a new world where the links between people and animals can heal rather than hurt.
Handsome wrecking-yard owner Guy Howell employs Stephen, a young soldier on medical release whose duties include veterinary as well as mechanical tasks. Guy is rehabilitating a weakened red-tailed hawk, while Stephen raises a litter of orphaned raccoons, and Lily comes and goes with her birds and her constant companion, a massive black dog named Billy. All the characters in Fauna are animal lovers in search of something that human cruelty has denied them. As the narrative develops, we learn more about each of them, until they begin to feel like our intimate friends. The circle expands to include a young veterinary technician mourning her lover’s death, then expands again with dramatic consequences for all concerned when a disturbed young man starts taking out his anger and sorrow on the coyotes that live in the Don Valley.
Gently, meditatively, this unique novel delivers a profoundly immersive experience. A new kind of urban writing, Fauna encourages us to look again at the margins and undercurrents of the cities we inhabit, and consider how we treat the other beings who call those spaces home. What’s more, the persuasive beauty of York’s writing, the tenderness of her approach to her characters, and the connections she draws between them invite us to look inward and re-evaluate both the human and the animal within.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
14 people are currently reading
1101 people want to read
About the author
Alissa York
14 books71 followersBorn in 1970, Alissa York has lived all over Canada and now makes her home in Toronto with her husband, writer/filmmaker Clive Holden.
York's award-winning short fiction has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies, and in the collection, Any Given Power, published by Arbeiter Ring Publishing in 1999. Her first novel, Mercy, published by Random House Canada in 2003, was a Canadian bestseller. Dutch, French and US editions have appeared since.
York's novel Effigy was published by Random House Canada in April, 2007, and was short-listed for the Giller Prize. International rights to the book have sold in Holland, Italy, France and the US.
York's award-winning short fiction has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies, and in the collection, Any Given Power, published by Arbeiter Ring Publishing in 1999. Her first novel, Mercy, published by Random House Canada in 2003, was a Canadian bestseller. Dutch, French and US editions have appeared since.
York's novel Effigy was published by Random House Canada in April, 2007, and was short-listed for the Giller Prize. International rights to the book have sold in Holland, Italy, France and the US.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
September 28, 2011
This novel finally made it onto my radar after reading this review on the Toronto WOTS blog http://ow.ly/6Hr0X (celebrating the book's nomination for a 2011 City of Toronto Book Award).
York is an accomplished author, who, as Vicki Ziegler points out in her review (well worth reading: http://ow.ly/6HreJ), handles multiple narrators and multiple POVs deftly.
The Toronto she creates is one that teems with all kinds of life - vegetable, animal and human. Her focus on humans with particularly strong connections to animals (both positive and negative) sets up her central metaphor of damage and healing, what we need to survive and how we can sometimes - but not always - manage to get what we need, including the help that will save us.
Can't say enough good things about this. The secret world of animals that persists in the Don Valley is a fascinating one, and her research was extensive. In some ways it reminded of Timothy Taylor's Stanley Park and in others of Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer. If you liked either of those books, pretty sure you'd like this one too.
York is an accomplished author, who, as Vicki Ziegler points out in her review (well worth reading: http://ow.ly/6HreJ), handles multiple narrators and multiple POVs deftly.
The Toronto she creates is one that teems with all kinds of life - vegetable, animal and human. Her focus on humans with particularly strong connections to animals (both positive and negative) sets up her central metaphor of damage and healing, what we need to survive and how we can sometimes - but not always - manage to get what we need, including the help that will save us.
Can't say enough good things about this. The secret world of animals that persists in the Don Valley is a fascinating one, and her research was extensive. In some ways it reminded of Timothy Taylor's Stanley Park and in others of Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer. If you liked either of those books, pretty sure you'd like this one too.
September 18, 2013
Can someone please enlighten me as to 1) why this book has gotten such high ratings and 2) what exactly was the point?
The characters were boring, there was no conflict, plot or driving force. Why, why, why????
The characters were boring, there was no conflict, plot or driving force. Why, why, why????
March 8, 2017
AY has managed to cram a lot of detail into this dense book of urban wilderness and the uneasy truce between species. Meandering through diverse points of view, including raccoons, coyote and even a bat, as well as the various traumatized individuals, it wasn't always easy to distinguish between them. The points that she makes are never really resolved, however and she fluctuates between too much detail and trailing off in unlikely scenarios.
In other words, as much as I wanted to embrace this book, it didn't hold me.
In other words, as much as I wanted to embrace this book, it didn't hold me.
February 17, 2011
I really enjoyed Fauna. It is the story of a small group of young people, diverse in their backgrounds, but united in their love for Toronto's urban wildlife. Stephen and Guy run an auto wrecking business, but behind the scenes care for and rehabilitate injured or abandoned animals. Lily and her dog Billy live in a tent in the river valley behind the garage. Lily rescues birds that have crashed into the glass buildings in downtown Toronto, burying those that do not survive and releasing those that recover. Kate is a vet tech, recovering from the death of her partner Lou Lou, and drawn by Lilys vulnerability and toughness. And Edal, on stress leave from her airport job as a federal wildlife officer, is haunted by her discoveries of smuggled animals. Meanwhile, another young man, Darius, is bent on ridding the valley of its wild creatures. The book is full of grittiness, but also tenderness - the characters for each other, and for the animals in their care. The characters, like the animals, have been injured or abandoned, and the parellels between them are strengthened by the occasional voices of wild creatures in telling the story. The book highlights the growing and often tragic encounters between humans and animals in urban environments, and is a call for sensitivity and accomodation as the two species increasiingly come into contact in our cities. I highly recommend this book for all readers, and feel it would be a great recommendation for young adults.
August 17, 2010
This book is stunning. Very original in terms of execution and style. Absorbing, imaginative. Two critiques: the characters reading to each other from The Jungle Book, etc., became tedious at times, and I questioned whether or not these particular characters would really do this. The other is that the ending is a bit tidy, but I sort of liked that in a way.
Read
July 29, 2011Early in his own reading of Fauna, a panelist with the National Post Afterword Reading Society referred to the urban wild settings in the book as "a kind of subconscious of the city". (http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/07/...) I latched on to that observation about one-third of the way through my own reading of Alissa York's fine novel. I found that characterization of Toronto's Don river, valley and ravines as the subconscious, the undercurrent and the foundation of this haunting urban wildlife love story gorgeously informed my Fauna experience. "Characterization" is probably a particularly apt word, as the urban wild settings are almost a collective character unto themselves. York sensitively and unforgettably weaves the presence of this character throughout a tale of damaged souls struggling to survive in a large city and in the world in general.
Fauna's characters, separate and with seemingly little in common initially, cross paths, converge and ultimately connect against a background that runs the gamut from the office towers of the city's intimidating financial district, to the sweeping roadways and busy streets, to the lush, labrynthine, simultaneously welcoming and sinister forests, bushes, creeks and ravines. York deftly handles multiple voices and perspectives, including those of a federal wildlife officer on stress leave, an auto wrecking company owner and self-taught wildlife rescuer and sanctuary manager, a homeless teenager and her faithful dog, a veterinarian specializing in animal rehabilitation, a young military veteran and a controversial blogger who might or might not be on a deadly mission. Each character is troubled in one form or another in the present, but can also trace many current tribulations and challenges to dark chapters and influences in their respective pasts. They gravitate to each other through their love of and connection to nature and animals. In one case, where that love and connection do not exist, the character hostile to nature is tragically isolated.
York's facility with balancing different voices and points of view extends beyond the human. The sections seen through the eyes of various urban wildlife are sufficiently convincing and germane to the story and its themes of personal and collective survival. This multi-layered approach is only occasionally an impediment to this otherwise engrossing novel when some of the switches are made a little too quickly, when you'd perhaps rather spend just a few more pages or even paragraphs with a specific character or situation.
Do I find this book resonates so much because the Toronto backdrop is literally so close to home? Perhaps, but I hope it would similarly strike a chord with any citizen sensitive to that same urban wild undercurrent in his or her own city.
Fauna's characters, separate and with seemingly little in common initially, cross paths, converge and ultimately connect against a background that runs the gamut from the office towers of the city's intimidating financial district, to the sweeping roadways and busy streets, to the lush, labrynthine, simultaneously welcoming and sinister forests, bushes, creeks and ravines. York deftly handles multiple voices and perspectives, including those of a federal wildlife officer on stress leave, an auto wrecking company owner and self-taught wildlife rescuer and sanctuary manager, a homeless teenager and her faithful dog, a veterinarian specializing in animal rehabilitation, a young military veteran and a controversial blogger who might or might not be on a deadly mission. Each character is troubled in one form or another in the present, but can also trace many current tribulations and challenges to dark chapters and influences in their respective pasts. They gravitate to each other through their love of and connection to nature and animals. In one case, where that love and connection do not exist, the character hostile to nature is tragically isolated.
York's facility with balancing different voices and points of view extends beyond the human. The sections seen through the eyes of various urban wildlife are sufficiently convincing and germane to the story and its themes of personal and collective survival. This multi-layered approach is only occasionally an impediment to this otherwise engrossing novel when some of the switches are made a little too quickly, when you'd perhaps rather spend just a few more pages or even paragraphs with a specific character or situation.
Do I find this book resonates so much because the Toronto backdrop is literally so close to home? Perhaps, but I hope it would similarly strike a chord with any citizen sensitive to that same urban wild undercurrent in his or her own city.
November 11, 2017
I wanted to give this one two stars as it started out slow and I wasn’t feeling very invested. But I have to admit the characters grew on me. I’m not sure how I feel about how it ended, I guess I was hoping for more of an ending? So three stars is maybe a bit generous but overall not too shabby.
December 16, 2013
"Fauna" is an unexpected treasure, not just because you do not anticipate a fine book about wildlife set in the heart of the huge city of Toronto, but also because Alissa York has written such an interesting web of human interaction to complement the focus on nature.
At the core of this novel are such characters as an injured red-tail hawk, a mother raccoon desperate to find food for its young and even a coyote near the Don River worried about the loss of its mate. York handles these creatures well in all cases, with sensitivity to their animal characteristics, an absence of sentimentality and an understanding of their ecological role. There is a credibility to her story, too, based on a clear recognition of the particularities of Toronto's geography, where the Don River valley truly does bring an atypical non-urban world far downtown to the central city.
York's human characters are also handled well, as the book unfolds a fascinating set of interactions that come to form around what used to be a tow truck and junkyard business and has now added a role as a rescue centre for wildlife. It turns out that this rescue role extends to its human participants as well -- though not all may in the end be possible to save.
York writes very well and ties this story skillfully to the wider body of literature that treats our relationship with animals -- from Kipling to Watership Down. My only hesitation is that York may have sketched in a few too many human characters. A somewhat tighter focus may have sharpened the author's environmental emphasis and deepened the emotional impact of the plot focus that comes to take centre stage.
Overall, though, this is a very strong book as well as an unexpected surprise!
At the core of this novel are such characters as an injured red-tail hawk, a mother raccoon desperate to find food for its young and even a coyote near the Don River worried about the loss of its mate. York handles these creatures well in all cases, with sensitivity to their animal characteristics, an absence of sentimentality and an understanding of their ecological role. There is a credibility to her story, too, based on a clear recognition of the particularities of Toronto's geography, where the Don River valley truly does bring an atypical non-urban world far downtown to the central city.
York's human characters are also handled well, as the book unfolds a fascinating set of interactions that come to form around what used to be a tow truck and junkyard business and has now added a role as a rescue centre for wildlife. It turns out that this rescue role extends to its human participants as well -- though not all may in the end be possible to save.
York writes very well and ties this story skillfully to the wider body of literature that treats our relationship with animals -- from Kipling to Watership Down. My only hesitation is that York may have sketched in a few too many human characters. A somewhat tighter focus may have sharpened the author's environmental emphasis and deepened the emotional impact of the plot focus that comes to take centre stage.
Overall, though, this is a very strong book as well as an unexpected surprise!
July 25, 2010
I've been a goodreads member for at least 4 years now, and in that time I've entered dozens and dozens of contests for free books, I remember being infuriated when a new goodreads friend won a contest within a few weeks of signing up!
That is, until I finally won this book, Fauna by Alissa York and completely gobbled it up.
York spins her yarn across the split that divides Toronto in two, mostly sticking to just east of the Don River and the inhabitants, human and mammal, and the interactions between them. With six main characters with intertwining stories, relationships and separate pasts, the book seems daunting but is a very smooth read. Not quick, but it can be if you refuse to put it down as I did! I got excited today, as I passed it in a bookstore, knowing the thrill the next reader will get when they get merely a chapter into the story.
Her narrative ties together nature and story-telling, the history of many animal-centric stories such as Watership Down, The Jungle Book and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe come to signify major changes in the story, enough to make you ache to re-read them too.
I'll definitely be picking up her previous works from now own. I'm just glad that the first goodreads contest I won seemed to be a book completely hand-picked, just for me.
That is, until I finally won this book, Fauna by Alissa York and completely gobbled it up.
York spins her yarn across the split that divides Toronto in two, mostly sticking to just east of the Don River and the inhabitants, human and mammal, and the interactions between them. With six main characters with intertwining stories, relationships and separate pasts, the book seems daunting but is a very smooth read. Not quick, but it can be if you refuse to put it down as I did! I got excited today, as I passed it in a bookstore, knowing the thrill the next reader will get when they get merely a chapter into the story.
Her narrative ties together nature and story-telling, the history of many animal-centric stories such as Watership Down, The Jungle Book and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe come to signify major changes in the story, enough to make you ache to re-read them too.
I'll definitely be picking up her previous works from now own. I'm just glad that the first goodreads contest I won seemed to be a book completely hand-picked, just for me.
Read
August 8, 2011i enjoyed Fauna, but would have enjoyed it better if the story had concentrated on one specific character more. this is a bit of a modern disease with fiction: too many characters taking central spot...the old deal with each one per chapter and then mingle their storylines technique. it gets a bit old. each one of these characters: Guy, Lily, Edal, Kate, Stephen, Darius deserves their own in-depth story. i would love to see spin off tales based on each of these characters.
i enjoyed the compassion for animals, the love of reading, the reminder of the childhood books that thrilled me, such as Watership Down and the Chronicles of Narnia. Edal's mother's obsession with collecting books. the beauty and terror of animals in the wild and in captivity. animals including human animals, the wild Lily...
having now read two of York's novels, i look forward to reading more of her work. her characters and the tones and atmospheres she evokes stay with me long after the book is done.
i enjoyed the compassion for animals, the love of reading, the reminder of the childhood books that thrilled me, such as Watership Down and the Chronicles of Narnia. Edal's mother's obsession with collecting books. the beauty and terror of animals in the wild and in captivity. animals including human animals, the wild Lily...
having now read two of York's novels, i look forward to reading more of her work. her characters and the tones and atmospheres she evokes stay with me long after the book is done.
August 5, 2011
I found it difficult to rate this book. I wanted it to be one of my favorites, but I couldn't leave it in that category. It is about a subject that is very close to my heart: the human relationship to (non-human) animals. It was wonderful to read about people who were trying to make the world a better place for animals, and it did my heart good to see there was a book like this out there.
The reason why I am so conflicted is because of the writing itself. There are many good elements of characterization, but it wasn't quite as emotional as I had expected. I was grateful that York didn't go into too much detail about animal cruelty, but I didn't feel the emotional response of the characters. Perhaps that was the point. They were trying to repress their feelings, but I'm still not sure. From my own experience with grief brought on by animal suffering, I'd say she didn't quite hit the mark.
The reason why I am so conflicted is because of the writing itself. There are many good elements of characterization, but it wasn't quite as emotional as I had expected. I was grateful that York didn't go into too much detail about animal cruelty, but I didn't feel the emotional response of the characters. Perhaps that was the point. They were trying to repress their feelings, but I'm still not sure. From my own experience with grief brought on by animal suffering, I'd say she didn't quite hit the mark.
September 19, 2010
I knew I was likely to love the content of this book before I even started reading - it's set in Toronto right where I used to live, and focuses on the intersections between the lives of people and urban animals, which I love. But this is also the first book I've read by Alissa York and now I can also say that style-wise, she's fantastic. Both her human and non-human characters show distinction and depth. She also has a great sense of when incredibly well-researched details about the everyday actions of her characters will add to the story, ranging from what it's like to operate a car crusher to what wildlife officers face during a search - or what a raccoon faces during a search for food. Just an all-around great book that's one of my new favourites.
July 25, 2012
I very much enjoyed this book, which is set in the area of Toronto where I used to live, and which interweaves the narratives of half-a-dozen human characters with stories of the animals who live around them. The antagonist's story is the least satisfying: on the spectrum established by the other characters, his history is the grimmest but also provides less insight into who he is and why he does what he does; the histories of the other characters are not necessarily fully sketched, but they add dimension and dynamism to the characters. The writing is lovely, and I especially enjoyed the interweaving of other novels about animals -- Watership Down, The Jungle Book -- into the storylines. If you like animals and rich Canadian storytelling, you'll like it too.
December 6, 2010
An enjoyable read, especially for those who know Toronto's East End intimately or who experience deep empathy for animal suffering. An eclectic circle of friends form under odd circumstances and encounters, though unlikely due to peoples tendency to favour familiarity, which Alissa York makes believable. As a person who still says hello to strangers on the street after living in Toronto for four years (despite others finding it odd or even startling), the friendships formed from unusual circumstance was heart warming.
March 3, 2020
This book went nowhere. Stephen says hi to a blonde girl. Red & Edal go clean out Edal's house. The coyote cop fixates on coyotes after we listen to a long story about his bad past, none of which really explains the coyote fixation. Our closure there is that he kills himself - kindly he does it somewhere our characters can find him and know what happened. Sex between raccoons is described more graphically than between the characters. Kate never talks to her parents but hey the angry homeless girl that blew up on her the other day is knocking on her door, so there's that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
January 11, 2011This is such a beautifully designed book. I'm just a couple of chapters in, but I'm intrigued. It makes me want to go back and read some of the books it references. It was also a wonderful gift from a dear friend.
April 16, 2018
A beautiful book with passages connecting it to several classics. I appreciated the standard punctuation, puzzlingly not found in other award winners my book club has discussed. As I saw it, the main theme was people bonding over a love of animals, something very relevant to my own life. Also touched on were the issues of hoarding disorder, wife and child abuse, parental pressures, homosexuality, and perhaps PTSD. With so many topics dealt with, none of them was delved into thoroughly, but the novel was able to provoke thought.
I enjoyed the hubcap icons that were used to separate sections and indicate which character the next section would be about. I imagined I could see a bird image on the graphic used for Lilly, but wasn’t sure I could see a definable form in any of the other dark patches.
I wasn’t sure what I was in for after the clichéd description-in-the-mirror opening. However, even for such a well-used technique there was originality and feeling to it, with the split in the mirror and thoughts.
There was a certain amount of predictability: the solution of putting a board in the bathtub for the skunk was what I wanted to tell Edal to do before she called in help; I was sure Darius was moving into a house with an abusive grandfather; I at least half expected Grandma to withhold a warning about the cougar; I was expecting Lily to catch up to Kate after Kate left and for them to start a relationship. (I was thinking it would be a romantic one, and I was left unsure if that would happen by the end). I figured Billy would get to test drive the doggie equipment. However, there is a certain satisfaction to guessing correctly what will happen, and there was enough going on to hold my interest.
It would have been nice to be let into some internal conflict for Edal regarding the breaking of animal regulations. Does she believe in the laws she (usually) upholds? Will she be fine with looking the other way with Guy’s crowd and carrying on with her job elsewhere? I suspect she’ll go that direction instead of lecturing and trying to change the ways of the auto-yard crowd.
I have mixed feelings about the number of quotes from and summarising of classics such as Watership Downs and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; was the author trying to gain notoriety by association? Or perhaps encourage readership of beloved classics? In any case, I found the long summary repetitive, having read the story to my children.
The blog debates were an interesting way of showing different viewpoints on animal control, and how people can twist the same basic facts. Those plus mention of the animal laws and Edal’s inaction regarding them caused me to wonder if all of the laws are sensible; should it be illegal for someone to help a dying doe deliver a faun, as I heard on the news one time? Why do we go to extremes to make domestic dogs and cats comfortable and have laws saying we have to let wild animals be left to totally fend for themselves? Why do we cry in horror if a human child is eaten by an animal but say we must let nature take its course where baby buffalos are involved? Does the wild baby suffer less being ripped apart alive than our own human young? Why do we think every child’s monster nightmare is how things are supposed to play out every day outside the safety of the walls we’ve put up to avoid being a part of nature?
While being horrified at the abuse Darius’s Grandfather doled out, I had to remember that it was normal in past times for that kind of corporal punishment to take place. In the eyes of the church and legal system he may not have been doing anything wrong, even with his treatment of his wife. I believer there are cultures today that still allow a husband to strike his wife? We wonder why she didn’t leave, but times were tough, she was isolated physically and mentally. Without today’s community support to escape such a “good provider” she was almost stuck there. Still, I was left feeling there should have been a way.
Letty’s hoarding problem made an interesting character background for Edal but I’m not sure the author made any kind of statement about it or brought insight into the issue. It was there as a thing her mother did that she came to realize was a problem. She stopped helping build shelves so as not to be a facilitator, and was relieved to be out of that living situation; but if we had seen Edal get counselling or some other proactive aid for her mother there could have been a social message about mental illness. Instead, she made use of it to access books she wanted, but insulted her mother for being like that, telling Guy in the end she was crazy; so there was a missed opportunity to reduce the stigma of mental illness and encourage positive action to deal with it.
The author brought a satisfying ending indicating Edal’s depression would be cured and she could move on. But does that send the wrong message that mental illness such as depression severe enough to cause weeks of stress leave can be cured without professional help? Is a found love brought about by a mutual love of animals strong enough to overcome that kind of problem or does it do a dis-service to those suffering with mental health issues?
Not pure fun like the popular fiction I prefer, but a worthwhile read for sure.
I enjoyed the hubcap icons that were used to separate sections and indicate which character the next section would be about. I imagined I could see a bird image on the graphic used for Lilly, but wasn’t sure I could see a definable form in any of the other dark patches.
I wasn’t sure what I was in for after the clichéd description-in-the-mirror opening. However, even for such a well-used technique there was originality and feeling to it, with the split in the mirror and thoughts.
There was a certain amount of predictability: the solution of putting a board in the bathtub for the skunk was what I wanted to tell Edal to do before she called in help; I was sure Darius was moving into a house with an abusive grandfather; I at least half expected Grandma to withhold a warning about the cougar; I was expecting Lily to catch up to Kate after Kate left and for them to start a relationship. (I was thinking it would be a romantic one, and I was left unsure if that would happen by the end). I figured Billy would get to test drive the doggie equipment. However, there is a certain satisfaction to guessing correctly what will happen, and there was enough going on to hold my interest.
It would have been nice to be let into some internal conflict for Edal regarding the breaking of animal regulations. Does she believe in the laws she (usually) upholds? Will she be fine with looking the other way with Guy’s crowd and carrying on with her job elsewhere? I suspect she’ll go that direction instead of lecturing and trying to change the ways of the auto-yard crowd.
I have mixed feelings about the number of quotes from and summarising of classics such as Watership Downs and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; was the author trying to gain notoriety by association? Or perhaps encourage readership of beloved classics? In any case, I found the long summary repetitive, having read the story to my children.
The blog debates were an interesting way of showing different viewpoints on animal control, and how people can twist the same basic facts. Those plus mention of the animal laws and Edal’s inaction regarding them caused me to wonder if all of the laws are sensible; should it be illegal for someone to help a dying doe deliver a faun, as I heard on the news one time? Why do we go to extremes to make domestic dogs and cats comfortable and have laws saying we have to let wild animals be left to totally fend for themselves? Why do we cry in horror if a human child is eaten by an animal but say we must let nature take its course where baby buffalos are involved? Does the wild baby suffer less being ripped apart alive than our own human young? Why do we think every child’s monster nightmare is how things are supposed to play out every day outside the safety of the walls we’ve put up to avoid being a part of nature?
While being horrified at the abuse Darius’s Grandfather doled out, I had to remember that it was normal in past times for that kind of corporal punishment to take place. In the eyes of the church and legal system he may not have been doing anything wrong, even with his treatment of his wife. I believer there are cultures today that still allow a husband to strike his wife? We wonder why she didn’t leave, but times were tough, she was isolated physically and mentally. Without today’s community support to escape such a “good provider” she was almost stuck there. Still, I was left feeling there should have been a way.
Letty’s hoarding problem made an interesting character background for Edal but I’m not sure the author made any kind of statement about it or brought insight into the issue. It was there as a thing her mother did that she came to realize was a problem. She stopped helping build shelves so as not to be a facilitator, and was relieved to be out of that living situation; but if we had seen Edal get counselling or some other proactive aid for her mother there could have been a social message about mental illness. Instead, she made use of it to access books she wanted, but insulted her mother for being like that, telling Guy in the end she was crazy; so there was a missed opportunity to reduce the stigma of mental illness and encourage positive action to deal with it.
The author brought a satisfying ending indicating Edal’s depression would be cured and she could move on. But does that send the wrong message that mental illness such as depression severe enough to cause weeks of stress leave can be cured without professional help? Is a found love brought about by a mutual love of animals strong enough to overcome that kind of problem or does it do a dis-service to those suffering with mental health issues?
Not pure fun like the popular fiction I prefer, but a worthwhile read for sure.
October 22, 2019
No point or plot to this story. Not enough depth to be classified as a character novel. Maybe I don't understand the point but what I know for certain is there is not one piece of action in this close to 400 page novel. Painful for me to read.
May 18, 2017
Had you asked me 50 pages in, I would have rated this 4.5 stars. Then about 200 pages in, I would have dropped it to 3. Now I have no choice but to rate it a hard 2.5, which is upsetting because it's truly written beautifully, with frequent references to beloved animal stories and eloquent prose. That being said, there are too many different plot lines and at the end of the day, nothing really happens.
The book is almost 400 pages long, and in that time, we meet 6 different human narrators, and a host of animal narrators who have their voices represented 3 - 4 pages at a time as well. The idea of incorporating the animal point of view is something I enjoyed, since the book centers on people and animals alike who find refuge at Guy's auto junk yard. The overall theme of the book could be summed up as salvation, but with all the plot lines and no actual plot, this theme slowly dissipates as the novel progresses. It's understood though that the author and the characters alike have a tender and deep appreciation of animals and wildlife, and I find this to be one of the books few redeeming factors.
Truly, I want to like this book more because it is very poetic and written very well. But the characters to me seem unbelievable. They're supposed to be 21 and younger and they read as middle aged. They've all known each other for a few weeks and in some cases a few days, and yet it feels as though months are going by in this book. Again it's suggested that everyone is gathering here for salvation, and even though we get an objective sense of what each character is running from, there is so little time to invest emotionally in any character because of the different plot lines that it's hard to appreciate WHY they need this haven in the first place.
There are hints of romantic relations coming together, and nothing develops. There is no real resolution here at all. You're dragged along for near 400 pages with these 6 people who you aren't emotionally invested in at all, and then all of sudden the book is done and literally nothing has transpired. We get brief glimpses into their pasts, and we see them eating dinner and reading books together in scenes so short that again, you can't even appreciate the family they have stitched together for themselves.
The best part of the book is the elaborate way the author describes the animals, and the respect that she (and the characters) have for them. In terms of nature writing, this was pretty good. In terms of a work of fiction (award winning fiction no less!) I was wholly disappointed.
The book is almost 400 pages long, and in that time, we meet 6 different human narrators, and a host of animal narrators who have their voices represented 3 - 4 pages at a time as well. The idea of incorporating the animal point of view is something I enjoyed, since the book centers on people and animals alike who find refuge at Guy's auto junk yard. The overall theme of the book could be summed up as salvation, but with all the plot lines and no actual plot, this theme slowly dissipates as the novel progresses. It's understood though that the author and the characters alike have a tender and deep appreciation of animals and wildlife, and I find this to be one of the books few redeeming factors.
Truly, I want to like this book more because it is very poetic and written very well. But the characters to me seem unbelievable. They're supposed to be 21 and younger and they read as middle aged. They've all known each other for a few weeks and in some cases a few days, and yet it feels as though months are going by in this book. Again it's suggested that everyone is gathering here for salvation, and even though we get an objective sense of what each character is running from, there is so little time to invest emotionally in any character because of the different plot lines that it's hard to appreciate WHY they need this haven in the first place.
There are hints of romantic relations coming together, and nothing develops. There is no real resolution here at all. You're dragged along for near 400 pages with these 6 people who you aren't emotionally invested in at all, and then all of sudden the book is done and literally nothing has transpired. We get brief glimpses into their pasts, and we see them eating dinner and reading books together in scenes so short that again, you can't even appreciate the family they have stitched together for themselves.
The best part of the book is the elaborate way the author describes the animals, and the respect that she (and the characters) have for them. In terms of nature writing, this was pretty good. In terms of a work of fiction (award winning fiction no less!) I was wholly disappointed.
February 27, 2021
A very different read about family and life.
Just a few pages into this book, I "almost" wanted to just put it down and move on to something else. I felt the story was doomed to to be a sad difficult read and did I really want to watch a family implode. I continued because it was going to be an interesting journey.
We make choices in our lives that end up being ok, great, more than great, sad , disasters and then a true Holocaust decision.
This young couple chose to make a decision that has no return. It was an excellent read and worth while going on the journey that they took, not an easy content read. The Characters were alive and true. Loved the family.
Just a few pages into this book, I "almost" wanted to just put it down and move on to something else. I felt the story was doomed to to be a sad difficult read and did I really want to watch a family implode. I continued because it was going to be an interesting journey.
We make choices in our lives that end up being ok, great, more than great, sad , disasters and then a true Holocaust decision.
This young couple chose to make a decision that has no return. It was an excellent read and worth while going on the journey that they took, not an easy content read. The Characters were alive and true. Loved the family.
December 17, 2017
I had to read this book for class. It is well written for the most part. But it has major flaws. For the major part of the story nothing happens plot wise. The structure is odd. The chapter sizes are very inconsistent, and you are never with one character for very long to understand what is going on or to grow a connection with the characters. In addition the book has questions that are not answered. This book was like a sermon. It kept on preaching the love of nature and how people interact with it.
January 23, 2018
Fauna is een boek waar je eerst even in moet komen voordat je het verhaal gaat waarderen. Het is zo stil geschreven dat je aan het wachten bent tot er iets gaat gebeuren. Wanneer je eenmaal bekend bent met de hoofdpersonen, houd niets je meer tegen om volledig in het boek te duiken. Alissa York heeft op een sublieme wijze een roman vol sociale problemen gecombineerd met een vleugje natuur, een scheutje literaire klassiekers en heel veel liefde. Dat maakt dat Fauna een bijzonder prettig en fabelachtig boek is om te lezen.
May 24, 2025
Dit vond ik een bijzonder en vreemd boek, maar ook wel interessant. En lastig om te duiden. De verhalen van zes jonge mensen aan de randen van de samenleving die allemaal een bijzondere band hebben met dieren komen samen rondom een autosloperij. Ze hebben allemaal een eigen verhaal en die verhalen lopen door elkaar en spelen op verschillende momenten in hun levens. Dat maakt het lastig in het boek te geraken en de personages goed te onderscheiden. Je hebt heel lang geen idee waar het heengaat en dan is het ineens afgelopen.
March 13, 2024
I LOVED this book. So much that I almost want to read it again to pick up on all of the things I missed the first time around. It was so abundant I couldn’t take it all in. My one criticism is that I found it really hard to keep all of the characters straight until I was about three quarters of the way through it. I’m not sure why, because they were all great, well defined characters. I would highly recommend this book.
February 3, 2021
Fauna is the story of six damaged humans in Toronto. Five of these humans do their best to help the damaged wildlife in the area, while the other seeks to do more damage.
While I normally would be upset that a book doesn't have a clear plot or destination, I actually really enjoyed reading this story from all the different perspectives - including the occasional animal. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
While I normally would be upset that a book doesn't have a clear plot or destination, I actually really enjoyed reading this story from all the different perspectives - including the occasional animal. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
May 30, 2025
2-3 stars It's quite slow at times and is very strange. I never really like it when every character is such an oddity it feels too fake. I definitely liked the idea of a story around a conservation officer suffering a breakdown but the story told in this book is very strange. I don't know what to make of Darius.
August 24, 2019
I loved this book. It reminded me of The Overstory, although the characters were not as richly developed, and didn’t flow together as nicely. It was slow paced and breathed of the sacredness of all life. Perfect, warm summer day read.
October 10, 2021
I DNF this book at about 45% it just lacked any major plot direction. A lot of complaints about this book are that it rambles about nothing. It got off to a good start but then fizzled and strayed in many directions. Thankfully I only paid 1$ for this book.
January 13, 2026
I was deeply invested in this book. The character development and the relationships throughout had me hooked. The end left me wanting MORE. How did the relationships continue to unfold? It ended as quickly as it started getting good. My heart was left feeling empty after I closed this book.
June 27, 2019
Beautiful, lyrical writing and characters that earn your love. The ending fell off a bit steeply though—wanted a bit more there.
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