We the Animals

We the Animals by Justin Torres

We the Animals is a novel that was written to make the reader emote. It did not work on me. I did not feel this novel at all. It was simplistic. It was full of cliché and stereotype. It was, in a word, boring. Yes, there was flowery language and imagery that put me into Upstate New York with this mixed-race family. But it was for naught. I did not find that narrator’s tale interesting. Instead, I wondered why the author chose the youngest of the three boys as his narrator. The reason for that, too, turned out to be cliché.

I was very disappointed in this book, especially since it was written by a person of color. Some of the descriptions of the Puerto Rican father and biracial boys were disturbing, especially compared to those of the White mother. They fed into the stereotypes the author used throughout the novel that undermined the struggle and search for identity this novel was supposed, I believe, to showcase. Man, what a disappointment.

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