This story follows Noelle, a 22-year-old poet travelling to the Isle of Bute in Scotland in attempt to clear her mind write something of worth for her editor. Here she meets Moses, a vampire, and a journey of discovery begins.

Jagger’s writing style is immersive, her depiction of the Scottish coastline was so vivid. I loved how she explored themes of religious, sexual, and parental trauma in a sensitive yet enigmatic way. For the first time, I’ve been made to consider what it must have been like to grow up in a household as devout yet problematic as Noelle’s, which was an interesting journey.

Noelle as a character was an over-sharer and over-thinker, who made me laugh hysterically at times but who also made my heartache. Over the course of the book, Noelle reveals the full extent of her deep-rooted self-hatred through various flashbacks, which were artfully written. Her character was full of hidden depths, even towards the end of the book. However, her interactions with Moses fell flat for me. I understand his significance in the book but I wasn’t invested in their relationship.

Thank you to Netgalley and 404ink for the ARC!

Unique and beautiful. A young writer visits Bute to focus on re-writing her second book of poetry. Staying in a B&B she meets a man who claims to be a vampire, as their relationship intensifies, she is confronted with her catholic upbringing, which completely shaped her sense of shame. She is haunted by the complexity of her relationship with her mother and grappling’s with her own sexual identity now away from the church. The writing was beautiful and crude at times. I enjoyed the character examination, Noelle was dry and vulnerable, her observations of the people around her keen. This is a modern gothic novel, with melancholy love weaved in, but perhaps not in the way or for the person you first suspect.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher 404 Ink for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and 404 Ink for the eARC! In exchange, this is my honest review.

In Fragile Animals, author Genevieve Jagger takes her reader on a deep dive into the mind - and heart, and body - of Noelle, a young poet struggling with religious and personal trauma, a crisis of identity, and a serious case of writer’s block. As Noelle navigates her present staying at a bed and breakfast on the Isle of Bute, contending with her anxiety, her discomfort, and her complicated interest in fellow-guest Moses - who purports to be vampire - she also untangles the messy threads of her past, and the audience is brought along for every unquiet, unsettling, and often heart-breaking moment of it.

This novel was uncomfortable to read - but I think very much in the way that the author intended it to be. Nothing is sugar-coated or glossed over - from bodily functions, to mental spirals, to dissociation, Jagger pulls no punches. And, for me, at least, I felt nearly every one of them land.

With imagery that is evocative and haunting, Jagger’s prose and story-telling reached right into me and grabbed onto pieces of myself I thought I had long since buried. As another queer ex-Catholic who has spent years untangling religious trauma, anxiety, and mental illness, there were parts of this novel that, frankly, hit almost too-close to home, and for this reason I think it took me a lot longer to read this novel than I would have anticipated. I had to keep putting the book down to sort myself out emotionally, and then return to it. I mean this in a way that is entirely complimentary to Jagger, but also as a bit of a warning to others in a similar position: I think if I was less-removed in time from my own history with the Church, and with the spiraling emotions that came in the wake of leaving it and coming to terms with the baggage I took from growing up in it, this is a novel that could have set me back on my healing journey.

As it is, though, I found this novel cathartic in a way I can’t quite put my finger on. Like Noelle - like many ex or recovering Catholics I have known - for myself, pain and suffering are linked so closely with the ideas of purification, of forgiveness, and of divinity. In letting Jagger’s prose pierce into me and suck something vital and human from the wound, I am left battered, and empty, and yet, somehow, this is a relief as it means I am free to fill myself up again, and maybe to do it differently this time.

This novel is the Three of Swords, and the dark of the confessional, and the clots of menstrual blood, and the imprint of a broken-necked swan that might be an angel on a windowpane. It is also a prismatic feather floating out over the waves as I return home, and I’m not quite sure what to do with that just yet.

I didn’t realize how much religious trauma I had until I read this book. This was funny, unhinged, intense, but also made me sad? I think I need to sit with this one for a while longer to really figure out how I feel about it. I think I love it?

Fragile Animals by Genevieve Jagger

RIYL: Dealing with religious trauma, character study literary fiction, vampires

In Genevieve Jagger’s debut novel Fragile Animals, protagonist Noelle – a writer in her early 20s - escapes from her mysterious traumatic urban life to a remote Scottish island, ostensibly to rewrite her second book of poetry. She’s staying in a bed and breakfast run by a quirky old woman, but, as it turns out, there’s one other guest. Oh, and he’s a vampire. You might think you know where this is going.

This setup might lead potential readers to expect this is a horror-infused romance, or one of the many “romantasy” books dominating the literary landscape nowadays, but it’s not that at all. Fragile Animals is a piece of literary fiction about Noelle’s trauma, where the only real plot is the continual revelation of what happened in her past and how she might move forward. These non-chronological flashbacks are framed around her parents’ divorce (marked by the use of BC [Before Crisis] and AD [After Divorce]) and are occasionally interspersed with Noelle’s present interactions with her host, and more importantly, with her fellow guest, the vampire Moses. Moses is not a traditional romantic leading man; he’s described as at least looking twice her age and as not particularly attractive, but soon the two strike up a messy flirtatious dynamic using each other as confessional soundboards to their many tales of past lovers and sexual encounters. Moses quickly reveals that he’s a vampire, and though we learn enough to know that he believes this, it’s never quite definitely proven, and the question of whether he truly is one or not is not really dwelt on, and nor should it be. There’s certainly a propulsion to their relationship, such as it is, that kept me turning the pages, but really, the book lives and dies on its poetic prose and its deep dive into Noelle’s trauma – in particular, her religious trauma.

This is a deeply Catholic book, or perhaps, a deeply ex-Catholic book, where Noelle’s liaison with a vampire just one thematic example of her attempts to build a self-identity separate to her domineering mother and the stranglehold both she and their faith still hold on Noelle, even years since she’s spoken to her mother or attempted faith. Noelle is consumed by grief and self-hatred, throwing herself from ill-advised fling to messily short relationship with abandon. Is Moses someone who can jolt her out of her darkness, or is he merely the latest example of it?

As a work of literary fiction, Fragile Animals rests on Jagger’s appropriately-poetic prose (which at times verges into the overwrought but only just) and on her ability to conjure up insightful personal revelations about her protagonist. She succeeds pretty well on both these fronts, and by the end of my read I had a good sense of who Noelle is, and how she and many other people are indelibly formed by their flawed parents and broken to fit the shape of their overriding faiths. Ultimately though, I did find the entire experience a little slight, and wished for the book’s real dark turns and flourishes to be explored in greater detail. Like many other books that lightly dip their toes into genre or the supernatural, I think they’d be improved by sinking a little deeper into that well of inspiration. All that said, if the idea of this kind of in-depth character study is appealing to you, I think Fragile Animals is well worth the read.

Rating: *** 1/2

Fragile Animals is set to publish on April 25, 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Fragile Animals tells the story of Noelle, a 23-year-old woman recovering from a devoutly catholic upbringing in Scotland. Unable to confront her familial trauma and repressed sexuality, Noelle travels to the Isle of Bute, where she meets a man who claims to be a vampire. Their relationship mirrors confession, and she shares some of her darkest memories: her mother’s affair with the local priest, how Noelle sought revenge and broke up their family. Noelle is soon suffocated by her storytelling and must decide whether she’s ready to move on from the past and exist in her own skin.

Fragile Animals was tragic but also darkly funny. Noelle is easy to both love and hate. She’s so helpless, yet you can see how desperately she wants to be different. You have to be patient with her and remember what it felt like to be 23 amidst all the other tumultuous nonsense she endured. I appreciated how the story moved back and forth through time to show Noelle’s life. I would have read a book twice as long if it meant learning more about her childhood, family, and coming out.

First I’d like to thank you publisher for the advanced copy of Fragile Animals! I was super excited because I LOVE VAMPIRE BOOKS! For a debut Jagger, has composed a lovely framework that was unexpected from my initial expectations. I also believe if you like literary fiction you’d probably enjoy this novel.

Noelle, a twentysomething writer, retreats to the remote Isle of Bute off the coast of Scotland for some R&R, with the goal to finish her second book of poetry. At her B&B, she meets a fellow guest, Moses, who she soon learns is… a vampire! While she gets to know Moses, she also turns inward to reflect on her upbringing - religious trauma and mommy issues - and her own sexuality.

While reading this synopsis, you might be thinking “ok so the Pisces for vampires,” and I kept thinking the same while reading the book as well, but that cheapens how good the book is. Though it certainly shares a lot of similar ideas (depressed girl working on something meets fabled creature while on a retreat), the writing in Fragile Animals is so distinct and it introduces enough of its own that it didn’t feel like a borrowed idea.

I could see this not being for everyone. I could see the writing coming across as maybe cheesy and maybe pretentious at times, but I thought it was edgy and new, and I really enjoyed!

Fragile Animals is out April 25th. Thank you to NetGalley and 404 Ink for the ARC.

I was pleasantly surprised by the slow draw, slice-of-life injected into what I expected would be a more fantastical view of Catholic trauma. Jagger's writing is a reminder of the beauty in the slow, thoughtful moments in life while simultaneously packing a punch into the human condition.

I want to start of by thanking the publishers for sending me this title because this was genuinely one of my favorite recent reads. Fragile Animals is a raw, unsettling, yet poetic tale that hooked me from the first chapter. Jagger has a way with writing that is so beautiful despite how dark some of the themes addressed are. At times, I felt like I was looking at myself through the protagonist as her struggles were so real and relatable to me. I felt so many emotions throughout this book and it was such a wonderful experience overall. I am so excited for this to be published as I will for sure be buying myself a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and 404 Ink for the ARC!

I took a chance on this book, as it is slightly different than my usual reads, but I am so glad I did!

The best way to describe my feelings would be: falling gently. I fell into the world of Fragile Animals and enjoyed my time there. Nothing but good things to say about this work of literature!

I can't wait to see what Genevieve Jagger does next!

5/5 stars

✨️Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC✨️
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This book was as beautiful in its prose as it was devastating in its content. The main character, Noelle, was complicated and nuanced, I felt myself at some points pitying her and others feeling angry at her self-destructive actions.

I found the ending all together satisfying and thought it tied the book together quite well. Themes of death and rebirth both in literal and metaphoric throughout.

I would say this leans into the magic realism genre for me, a light sprinkling of the fantastic. Noelle discovers the fellow boarder at the B&B she's run away to in the Scottish countryside is a vampire.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and hope people give it a try.

It's taken me a week or so to work through my feelings on Fragile Animals.

I will start by saying the premise of this book had me gripped - gothic/supernatural, exploration of religious upbringing, a journey of self discovery, visceral imagery and a lot of quirk (enter a Vampire called Moses with a taxidermy hobby) all whilst juggling some rather brilliant questions on morality, sin, sexuality and the idea of self vs deity ... however it fell completely short of what it could have delivered.

The prose felt fractured which yes, at times added to the impending sense of horror (loved) but 90% of the time just made the story nearly impossible to get into and for you to form any attachment to Noelle the MC (didn't love).

For a debut it really set a tone, so I'm interested to see what is next in store for Jagger.

Thanks to 404 Ink and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a lot quirkier than I was expecting it to be, given the description. For some reason, I was thinking this would be a gothy, romantic book with religious undertones. (Honestly, not really my thing.) But I chanced it anyway and this turned out to be more of a literary fiction. The romance takes up a very small portion of the story. There is a bit of what people call “spice,” but it is kind of rancid. (The love interest isn’t exactly desirable and neither is the intimacy.) But then again, that's definitely a different take than what I typically see in books. Noelle states several times that she hates men but she finds herself fascinated by the weird, older gentleman claiming to be a vampire staying in the same bed and breakfast as she is. The way she describes him makes him sound more like Nosferatu than Edward Cullen, but I think he still has a sort of magnetism because of the vampire thing?

I enjoyed some chapters more than others, because some of them were very poetic and the prose really shone. I think the flashback chapters that were more dialogue heavy, for example, weren’t as impactful for me. Pretty much all of the characters in this story, including Noelle, are peculiar so the conversations all have that clever and humorous quality to them, which contrasts a bit harshly at times with the dark and gritty (often smelly) tone of the core plot. There was a ton of self-reflection and self-loathing on Noelle’s part, and her backstory took up a pretty big part of the book.

A couple of issues I had involved some nitpicking with the writing itself. Especially early on: every little detail is described. Whenever Noelle goes into a room, she tells us about the floor, the windows, the wallpaper, etc. If she eats something, she describes the dishes. It got tiresome quickly. There are two characters in the novel named Lomie and Lorne and they aren’t related, and whenever those names were involved in the same chapter I was confused. Also, this is one of those books that jumps around in time a lot, as Noelle is constantly telling the reader about memories from various times in her life without any sort of transition between them.

I do appreciate the way the author portrays how growing up in an oppressive religious environment can mess you up when you’re older, and the angle of befriending a stranger who’s a vampire is an interesting one, especially when he’s ugly instead of the classic hot young immortal. Noelle is struggling with her sexuality, her friendships and her belief in life in general. She’s gradually revealed to be a less than sympathetic protagonist. It is the first book I've read in a minute that achieves a fully realized arc for the protagonist, and that was much appreciated.

Personally, I don’t agree with the Ottessa Moshfegh comparisons. Just because a book is kinda gross and the narrator is a woman, that doesn’t automatically make it similar to Moshfegh’s novels. However, this will be something one might enjoy if they like a bleak setting and a narrator with a deadpan sense of humor and don't mind reading about bodily functions and poor hygiene. It does SOUND like an Ottessa book, but it didn't feel the same to me. The first part of the novel seemed more gothic than the latter, almost like the atmosphere wore off after a while. I think that once all the reminiscing really kicked in with the narrative, it carried me too far away from the core story and some of that initial magic was lost. There was something weird going on with the perspective in the last chapter, also. A lot of the overall language and writing throughout were lovely and poetic, though. Overall, I liked this because it was weird and different, but I didn’t LOVE it.

TW: Animal death/Taxidermy, domestic abuse, self-harm

WOW. Nothing about this book took me where I thought it was going to go. Even though I knew there was vampirism, the vampire felt like the most tame character (in a good/needed way). This feels extremely intentional by Jagger. That even next to a supposed blood sucking creature, Noelle is still grittier, dirtier, and even more of a risk to herself and others.

We see this emphasis on how careful Moses is, and handling the animals and people in his care. This plays great contrast to how Noel struggles to handle things in her grasp. It’s also no surprise why she is so drawn to Moses’s ability to handle her fragility. Except in the sex scene, where it feels like the lake all over again. In this moment, he is her mirror holding a clear lens into her repressed desires. All this time he has been nothing but the confessional she ran from. Through their talks, their little exchanges, and now their bodies.

What I found most interesting was her relationship with god and her sexuality. How the majority of her religious experiences connected directly to her parents, her sexual desires, her repression/obedience, and ultimately lead her to disdain. Disdain for her desires and inability to accept herself and others where they’re at. Disdain for her faith because of her mother & Father’s choices. Though mostly disdain for herself, guised as god’s hatred of her, and what she was willing to do with her body because of it.

While this book was at times disgusting, cringey, and weird. I couldn’t put it down. I finished this overnight. I look forward to more people talking about this book and can’t wait for its release.

thank you to netgalley for the arc — i had a really great time reading this work of art.

i wasn’t sure how to structure this review, so i’ve done it in three main points, each with their own quote i loved.

here we go.

1 - “i get hollow like this sometimes. my face stops appearing like my face and my extremities crawl around my skin like warped insects, fumbling and yet overly dexterous. when i pull back my lips and inspect my gums up close, the concept of teeth seems bizarre.”

the visceral nature of the language used, no matter how mundane, no matter how they stripped back a single moment to its core, touches you mind, body and soul. the attention to the minute, the use of abject imagery, the evocative language: it’s intentional and has the right nuance to provoke. to enrage. to draw sympathy. i can hear julia kristeva and ‘the powers of horror’ shriek in delight.

2 - “know that i tried to live my life with love, the way jesus wanted, but that it’s so fucking hard out here in a world made to be mean.”

using noelle’s mother almost as an antithesis, or even as an allegory, to god through the capitalising of her pronouns (and never referring to her by name) was a really interesting touch that gave the novel some great depth. albeit simple, it provided us with an in-depth perspective to noelle’s maternal relationship, saying more than enough in very little words.

equally, the moment that noelle actively voices and declares, “now i must strip Her of her capitalised presence in my brain” holds a similar sort of power — if not, even more so. it marks the end of a monumental shift in noelle’s life, one that she can begin to move on from.

3 - “though my heart was carried in my body as it carried out my sad, sacrilegious actions (honour thy mother and father), all it ever wanted was to love.”

the intersection between religious and parental trauma was approached and done oh so very bloody well. it filled me with the raging fires of hell, lodged a frog in my throat and pricked my eyes with tears. so, yknow, mission accomplished, jagger.

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that all being said, while i really enjoyed the story and its execution, i couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. the way it was advertised to me was that the overarching plot of the novel was that noelle and moses start a sexual relationship — when in fact, after chapters upon chapters of just talking, they sleep together once and then he leaves. and don’t get me wrong, i have no problem with that! none whatsoever! i enjoyed it! but i did have a problem with the marketing. it should have been clearer.

Fragile Animals, Genevieve Jagger ⭐⭐⭐

Buckle up, this is going to be a weird ranty review, much like this book (not a bad thing!). This book covers themes of guilt, rejection, sexuality, pleasure, disdain and so much more. I struggle to precisely say what i think so, my feelings about this book come in 3 waves:

1st Wave: This book is disorientating, there's no pre-tense and you're thrown into Noelle's consciousness and forced to break through the layers of memories to piece together where we are and what on earth is going on. The themes of Catholicism are strong, with the use of BC/AD being warped to fit the narrative, and Noelles fear and guilt shining through each sentence.

2nd Wave: This feels like a pot of milk simmering, boiling and spilling over onto the stove. Noelle is really not nice, she's harsh and gritty and I think I really hate her.

3rd Wave: Smut. Don't get me wrong, sex can be a necessary addition to novels and individuals stories, but I don't like it. The book took a bit of a turn for me when a chapter described sex in such a contrasting way to the rest of the book. It felt as thought the final 3rd of the book was written by several different authors, all trying to fit their own style into one narrative.

I guess I think that this book made me feel something, which is great, and I did really enjoy most of it, however the final third really let me down. It's a solid book with great themes but just not as amazing as I'd hoped it'd be.

This was a wild ride. I found it strange and uncomfortable but I wanted to keep on reading. I loved the Scottish setting. The juxtaposition of religion and the influence it has on people and their relationships was great.

WOW! This book was not what I was expecting at all. It was a lot more focused on the emotional exploration of the main characters traumatic familial and religious past than it was focused on fantasy-type vampires. However, I absolutely loved it. I couldn't put it down. I found the writing grotesque, morbid, and beautiful. It's a haunting novel, but a must read.

i really enjoyed my time with this one. i found i was sucked into the story from the very beginning. the themes in this story kept me wanting to binge read this entire book in one sitting. i am blown away by the authors writing and the flow of the story was really incredible. i found the middle was a tad bit slow but other than that i really enjoyed myself. the writing style is so unique, fresh, and really intentional. can’t believe this is a debut. definitely an author to look out for in the future that’s for sure. definitely recommend.