Animal's People: A Novel Paperback – March 17, 2009

Animal is a twenty-first century wild child, orphaned as a baby and forced to walk on all fours as the result of a permanently deformed spine caused by a toxic explosion that enveloped the Indian city where he was born and lived among the "kingdom of the poor" (Animal's people), with tragic consequences extending to the present, nearly two decades after that deadly night. This is his story, raw and unfiltered, lustily profane and searingly insightful, narrated into a tape recorder provided by an inquiring journalist ("jarnalis"), It is the story of what unfolds when an idealistic (or is she?) American ("Amrikan") doctor opens a free health clinic, only to be boycotted by the desperately needy but profoundly suspicious townsfolk at the instigation of a Gandhi-like (albeit a nonbelieving Muslim) anti-company ("Kampani") activist and his motley followers. Animal, so named because he is perceived as and self-identifies as less than human, a one-of-a kind animal whose nose is close to the ground, yet is capable of climbing trees to spy on Elli "the doctress" and her adversaries, is a unique and, as you might expect, preternaturally human character. He speaks in a street English all its own, mixed with Hindi (there's a glossary at the end) and even French (Animal was raised by Ma Franci, a French nun who dreams of the Apocalypse), that makes for a rich, entirely enjoyable reading experience (unless your enjoyment is spoiled by Animal's promiscuous, sometimes hilarious use of the crudest profanity). Towards the end of the book, Zafar the saintly activist, well into a hunger strike aimed to prevent the local government from selling out the victims by settling on disastrous terms a long-delayed suit against the Kampani, tells Animal, "You have understood something worthwhile, my friend, in the end the only way to deal with tragedy is to laugh at it." So it goes with this extraordinary novel, which in its Rabelaisian depiction of humanity elicits repeated laughter in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Author Indra Sinha is an alchemist, and this book deserves a much wider audience in this country. If you found humor in Slaughterhouse Five, remember fondly The Tin Drum and The Confederacy of Dunces, and were mesmerized by Cutting for Stone, A Civil Action, and Behind the Beautiful Forevers, you should read Animal's People. It's that good.

In Dec 1984 an accident at Union Carbide’s pesticide plant in Bhopal India, released a toxic cloud which killed thousands and injured hundreds of thousands. To this day the company has not even tried to make things right. Animal’s People is a fictionalized story of the disaster’s victims 20 years later set in a fictional city, Khaufpur. “Animal” was an infant the night of the leak whose parents were killed leaving him homeless and nameless. Ask a consequence of exposure to the poison, Animal, now in his late teens has suffered severe spinal damage which prevents him from walking upright. Forced to travel on all fours Animal sees himself as not human. Indra Sinha’s novel is a telling of the survivor’s continuing attempts to get justice as told by Animal in a series of tape recordings in which Animal’s extraordinary intelligence, humor and friends are at the forefront.

Animal's People is a novel based on the true story of a chemical factory explosion in Bhopal in 1984 that killed thousands and left countless others with serious medical illnesses. It was a finalist in 2007 of the Man Booker Prize. The book follows the life of "Animal," a young man whose spine was deformed as a result of his exposure the chemicals and thus has to walk on all fours. The narrative is told in a series of recorded tapes from Animal to a Western journalist, although it reads like regular prose. The book opens in the following way, "I used to be human once. So I'm told. I don't remember it myself, but the people who knew me when I was small say I walked on two feet just like a human being." What follows is in many ways Animal's journey to regain his humanity although for most of the book he embraces his nickname and renounces the notion of his humanity. When an American doctor tries to set up a clinic in his town to treat those impacted by their exposure to chemicals, Animal becomes torn between "loyalties" to a group of political activists from his town (mainly driven by his love for one of the women) and the new doctor who promises a glimmer of hope for his own medical condition.Once I got past the profanity, I really enjoyed this book. The book is tragic in that it covers a horrible incident, describes the poverty and hopelessness in a town impacted by an industrial accident. Yet, in many ways this was a book about resilience, friendship, and love. Animal is profane and irreverent, yet it is his style that helps to lighten the book. He finds humor in his surroundings and is rarely self-pitying and always fighting to survive. In some ways the characters do come across as caricatures: the political activists, the young Western idealist doctor who has little awareness of the culture, etc. The ending seemed slightly unrealistic (overly optimistic given the context) but despite these flaws, I really enjoyed it. I loved how Animal was a flawed man who despite his early tragedy was able to bring together a group of different people and create warm and touching bonds.Warning: There is a lot of profane language (lots of use of the c-word). This profanity is particularly prominent in the first 50 pages. It fits with the character and once you get into the book it is less bothersome but be forewarned if this will bother you.Quotes:"If you want my story, you'll have to put up with how I tell it.""as the words pop out of my mouth they rise up in the dark, the eyes in a flash are onto them, the words start out kind of misty, like breath on a cold day, as they lift they change colours and shapes, they become pictures of things and people.""When something big like that night happens, time divides into before and after, the before time breaks up into dreams, the dreams dissolve to darkness.""To be trapped in an animal body is hell, if you dream of being human.""Hope dies in places like this, because hope lives in the future and there's no future here, how can you think about tomorrow when all your strength is used up trying to get through today?""I am Animal fierce and free in all the world is none like me."

This book is marvelous. I read it in a few sittings. Everything about this book is high-level feeling and thinking, from the thick texture of characters, social conditions, and places to the feeling of peoples willingness to refuse their disposability. Get it!

When I started the book, it took a little while for me to get into it because of the unique dialogue format in the first few pages. After a few sessions with the book, I slowly became entwined in the story of Animal and couldn't put it down. I admit, I never knew about the disaster in India, but this novel taught me a lot about my missed history. I laughed, I cried, and I was sad to have it end.

I loved the story telling of this book, Indra made the rimmagination of Bhopal as Khaufpur alive. It felt like the city itself was the protagonist. Animal's character was pf a grey protagonist and Zafar Bhai was inspiring to say the least.

Took a little longer to arrive, but that is the norm right now for the mail.

After having had some difficulty etering the story, the book was a page -turner. Makes you think about Western indifference to the plight of thousands of Indians, even today. Animal is a very indearing charachter.

Animal's voice is a tour de force - as strong and individual as the voice in Vernon God Little and equally funny. This a dark, unsentimental portrait of a community who have been shat on from a great height by the rich and powerful and who continue to survive and dream and hunger for a better life. It is an accurate and unsentimental portrait of the India that tourists never see - a world in which the poor help each other not because they are noble or selfless but because they know they can expect no help from anyone else. But though anchored in reality, the book also touches on larger issues and we accompany Animal on a life-changing journey as he struggles with jealousy and loyalty, love and hate and ultimately life and death. I should confess here that I am Indra's sister, but I am also a professional literary consultant and creative writing tutor, used to giving criticism objectively regardless of whose work it is.

Really unique story... Love it.