Wow. Brandon Taylor's ability to convey such emotions through short stories is incredible. The entire book kept together quite well.

Man, can Brandon Taylor write! His ability to describe discomfort and disquiet is masterful. I wish this would have been either all connected or one long(er) novella even...I didn’t quite fall into the groove of what the author was trying to do with this group of short stories. I wanted more. Love his writing and am so appreciative and in awe of his talented writing. What a gift. Thank you to Riverhead for a copy of this book. I’m grateful.

I was looking forward to this novel, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I didn't connect to any of the characters.

This set of interconnected stories is best read as a novel not as a collection. Lionel, a young man struggling with his identity and his mental health meets Charles and Sophie at a dinner party. Everyone else revolves around these three. It's an interesting conceit. Taylor has once again tackled race, sex, death, academia and love in a way that engages. If I have a complaint it's that there isn't a beating heart here but rather a more distant look at a group of young(ish) people in Wisconsin. That's not to say that you won't feel for some of the characters but that the emotional is meted out. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Taylor's fans will be pleased as will those who enjoy literary fiction.

It has been five weeks since I finished Filthy Animals, and I have not stopped thinking about it yet. The moment NetGalley told me I’d been approved to read it early, I nearly screamed with joy. Over the last few years, Brandon Taylor has become one of my favorite authors. I started following him on twitter first; he probably caught my attention while going on about a period film we both admire. Then I read one of his short stories. And then I read another. And I’ve been trying to keep up since—which has proven difficult because he’s so damn prolific! But not only does he write a lot, he writes excruciatingly well: As the preeminent voice in the genre of sweater literature, Brandon Taylor is truly one of our finest storytellers.

His novel Real Life was the best book of 2020. Since reading it last June, it’s been my go-to book recommendation. There’s an uncanny intricacy to the way Taylor pens his stories. Every clause is a stitch in a magnificent garment, so tightly knit and full of complexity. Taylor earned every accolade he received for Real Life.

He brings that same level of craftsmanship to Filthy Animals, a collection of linked and standalone stories. If you’re a fan, you may have already read an earlier version of these entries. For instance, I read “Proctoring” back in 2017 when it was published in Joyland as “French Absolutism.” But don’t let that compel you to skip. Taylor has reworked and fine-tuned these narratives so they flow and build upon one another…

… The queerness of Brandon Taylor’s writing cannot go unmentioned. There is a certain delicacy with which he crafts these characters; he’s especially adept at capturing the frail and the broken. Their inner struggles and fears ring true. Every character seems to be navigating through a difficult or momentous time in their life, and many of their hardships involve some fraught form of human connection, or a lack thereof. A yearning for closeness paired with a concern of what such intimacy may bring. This is a concept that I think a lot of queer folks can relate to, particularly those of us who came into our own while living in the geographic middle of the country.

FULL REVIEW COMING SOON TO FEARSOMEQUEER.NET

After reading and being blown away by Brandon Taylor's "Real Life", I was ready for whatever he wrote next. "Filthy Animals" is a collection of short stories that has a mix of recurring and unique characters. The overriding theme throughout these stories is loneliness, when one is alone or among others, and the pull of wanting to be understood. My favorite stories in the collection are the ones that feature the same group of individuals. The main character of note is Lionel, a graduate student in mathematics, who has just been discharged from the hospital. In the opening story "Potluck" he reluctantly attends a party by a former classmate, where he feels deeply uncomfortable among others. At this party he meets Charles and his girlfriend Sofie. The relationship between these three characters are highlighted in over half of the stories, so we get to know them better. Charles and Sofie are both dancers, and they struggle with deciding what they want to do with their life considering the diminishing opportunities as they age in their profession. Lionel is definitely reminiscent to me of Wallace, the main character in Taylor's "Real Life". He's very observant and deeply vulnerable. Taylor's descriptions of what is is like to live with depression and anxiety are deeply resonant. The other stories in this collection were a bit of a mixed bag for me. My favorite of them was probably "Anne of Cleves", which continues to highlight Taylor's talent at writing interesting conversations where so much (and nothing) are said. If you enjoyed Taylor's previous book and writings, you will absolutely appreciate what he has done with this collection and I will continue to recommend his writings to everyone I know.

Thank you to NetGalley and Riverhead for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

Unfortunately I don’t think short story books are for me.. they always leave me wanting more and I think the brevity of these stories added to that. I enjoyed the “main” story about Charlie, Lionel, and Sophie and would’ve loved a whole book on just that dynamic!

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.

I really, really wanted to like this one. I loved Brandon Taylor's debut novel. But this was exactly the kind of short story collection that makes me not like short story collections: a bunch of random stories from various publications, edited and stuck together in a way that tries to make sense but doesn't totally work. None of the stories really stood out to me because there was so much similarity, and they didn't work together to tell any kind of larger story that captured my interest. I'll still read Taylor's work in the future, but I won't be recommending this one.

Huge fan since I read Real Life. I love the Midwest setting. Midwest is well done and accurate. While the mood of these were pretty somber, so have to be in the right mood to read, but loved the connected timeline. Haven’t read short stories connected like that before!

This was an excellent read! I have not read Real Life yet, so my only prior read of Brandon Taylor's was his short story in the collection Kink.

I wasn't expecting stories in Filthy Animals to be related to each other, and while I did like it- I do wonder if the way it was structured was optimal. The stories that focused on Lionel/Charles/Sophie seemed like they could have been a novella, and I wonder if I would have liked it better presented that way? I suppose you'd lose a little bit of the Easter egg effect (I freaking love Easter eggs) in the rest of the stories, as they were sprinkled within the stories of these three.

I maybe didn't like the choice of structure because the Lionel/Charles/Sophie arc reminded me so much of Taylor's story in the collection Kink- which I liked better. That story had so much crackling energy to it, and it read like a movie. These three didn't live up to that story, in my opinion, though I definitely appreciated the mental health line of Lionel's arc. There was some really strong writing there.

The stories that weren't focused on Lionel/Charles/Sophie (which ARE good stories, nothing in this book isn't good) are amazing, so every time I got back to those three, I wanted to get back out to see where else we were going. The writing throughout is amazing, but "Mass", "What Made Them Made You", and the story "Filthy Animals" were the three stories I liked the very best. As in I wanted to throw the book across the room they were so good.

I always like to include at least one outstanding quote, and here's my pick for this book:

"When she was younger and sleeping upstairs, Grace had sometimes felt a pressure on her chest or on her shoulders, holding her down, doing nothing else but that, pressing her against the bed until she was perfectly flat. She had tried to scream, to holler for someone to come and help her, but the weight on her chest had prevented it. She’d lie there all night, frozen, stuck inside her body, unable to do anything to get free. When she told Big Davis about it, he said, What made them made you, didn’t it? They don’t mean you no harm. As if some common origin could negate terror of the unknown. Because we were all made of the same fearsome stuff, nothing in the world could scare you if you looked it in the eye and saw the part of it that was yourself. It was nonsensical in the way that only wisdom could be, Grace thought. Old men and their little stories."

Thank you to Riverhead and NetGalley for the review copy!

There is an allure to this novel with its remarkably dark and poignant substance.

I find that the trajectory of the story felt more revolving with a specific character despite having a variety of them in the book. Some of the stories, regardless of their target character to focus, felt more a side story of the first character—Lionel—than anything else.

However, I did enjoy the entirety of the novel. I think that it was beautifully written and that the essence of the story gave the novel a spectacular importance.

This collection is masterful, tenderly wrought, and lovely. I can't wait to see what's next from him!

Exceptional, elegant stories, some connected, all threaded with isolation and difficult choices. This is a fine writer with a recognizable and distinctive voice whose follow up to a striking debut confirms he’s here to stay. Good news.

Reading Brandon Taylor's collection of linked short stories was a real delight. It was fun to see, and imagine, these characters interacting on the same campus. There were sentences throughout that I had to stop reading to digest, either for their wisdom, their beauty, or both. I was partial to the third story, "Flesh," as someone who loves dance. The way Taylor describes those movements along with the physicality and athleticism of dance is really incredible.

In this series of shorts, focused on a group of interrelated young people, most of them striving graduate students, Brandon Taylor explores familiar themes of his: loneliness, belonging, family and a sense of home. All his characters yearn for something, sometimes painfully, and few fulfill that longing by getting what they want. And when they do, it often doesn't satisfy their need. This collection, like his debut novel is beautiful and poignant, and at times uncomfortable. An impactful reading experience. Recommended for readers of literary and outsider fiction.

Fresh off of his critically acclaimed novel Real Life, Brandon Taylor is setting forth a short story collection,Filthy Animals, that should be seen as a modern day John Cheever arrangement.
Many of the stories here are connected by Lionel, who we meet in the engaging opening story Pot Luck, where Lionel, a college math proctor, is seeking to reconnect with the world after a suicide attempt. While at the title party, he finds himself bonding with Charles, a dancer who is in a relationship with Sophie, who Lionel also feels a kinship with.

As this triangle goes forward, Lionel's unease at balancing both of these newly formed connections is felt throughout the book. The other stories here showcase a distraught private chef/babysitter and her less than happy charge, a pack of turbulent teens seeking trouble and then finding it in a rather violent manner and a young woman having more than her fair share of coping with her physical and emotional health.

While I'm not a big short story reader myself , this collection is a truly compelling book that ought to bring all of the reluctant readers to the yard.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

Raw, fraught, observational, intimate. This collection of linked stories captivated me from the first one. I especially loved the titular story, Filthy Animals.

After Brandon Taylor’s brilliant debut, Real Life, last year, FILTHY ANIMALS is a tremendous follow-up. This collection of short stories are woven together with themes of identity and pain. A thread through many of the stories are the characters of Lionel, Charles, and Sophie, who meet at a potluck at the beginning of the book.

Taylor has the ability to write about lives, almost in real time, over hours or days, and taking the mundane aspects of life and transforming them into something meaningful. His prose is excellent. For me, reading his books in a fully immersive experience, it’s almost as if I’m living it.

The book explores themes of identity, relationships, pain. Several of the characters are ballet dancers with pain and skill centered in their body. This makes the book much more visceral. Some of the characters deal with trauma like abuse, or self-harm, or a cancer diagnosis. Many of the stories deal with complicated relationships that are non-traditional or at least not widely portrayed in fiction.

I loved that this book captures moments in the lives of these characters like a snapshot, brief, ephemeral. At the same time, full characters and whole worlds are developed with an ease that astounds me. I can’t recommend this book enough. Mark your calendars for the publication date of June 22 in the US.