I picked this book up a few years ago and read it quickly thereafter. Animal Crackers was Tinti's first book. It is not a book of sunshine and happiness - it's a darker work. That being said, it was a wonderful and entertaining read nonetheless. It was a joy to see that she has her first novel out (The Good Thief) and she's getting a lot of recognition for it. ( )

In her collection of short stories titled Animal Crackers, Hannah Tinti deftly juxtaposes the innate qualities of the animal world with those of humanity. Like Arthur Bradford’s collection Dogwalker, Tinti presents a selection of dark and forlorn stories musing upon the question of what it means to be an animal, or rather if humans are actually civilized enough to be called animals.

Unlike most of the animals in her stories, there seems to be something just not right about the human species. She skilfully hints around the prevalence of sociopathic behavior in her human characters, suggesting it may be more innate, and thus common, whether exhibited in unattended little boys or refined hitmen, than we would like to admit. We’re more interested in self-absorption than the self-preservation exhibited by her non-human characters.

It’s a curious contrast. Her non-human characters, including easily bored pet snakes, wild red jungle chickens of Southeast Asia, mobilized and striking zoo giraffes, Slim the ragdoll white rabbit, and stuffed museum bears exhibit just as much, if not more, personality and civility we would normally expect from ourselves. ( )

This collection has a lot going for it: crisp style, inventive situations, quirky characters, and a flair for the magical and absurd. As you all know by now, each story is connected in some way with animals and most are disturbing in one way or another. "Slim's Last Ride," "How to Revitalize the Snake in Your Life," "Gallus Gallus," and "Bloodworks" all depict the manifestation of inarticulate misery as sadistic behavior toward domestic animals (including a couple of portraits of the sociopath-in-training). In "Talk Turkey," turkeys embody a state of mind, while in "Preservation" a stuffed bear comes to life as a projection of the main character's fear. "Animal Crackers" and "Miss Walden's Red Colobus" explore some truly unusual behaviors prompted by close contact with different animals. This is no collection for Lassie fans.

I found the writing and the narrative to be quite controlled and distancing, perhaps even too much so, as I am left wondering what is the point of some of the stories beyond the depiction of cruelty and/or weirdness. However, there is more to the collection than this familiar theme. "Reasonable Terms" brings three giraffes absurdly to sentient life for a work action which goes somewhat awry in a tragicomic tale of powerlessness. I particularly enjoyed "Home Sweet Home" where Tinti uses a wonderfully inventive narrative strategy and goes much deeper into the mystery of love and hate with her complex and cool tale of suburban infidelity and explosive passion. "Restoration" also reaches deeper with its exploration of a father-daughter relationship nearing its end. "Talk Turkey" is affecting in how it conjures the emotional wake of the events culminating in a prolonged adolescent (un)joy-ride. The final story, "Miss Walden's Red Colobus," is at heart an adventure narrative and is so filled with inventive action in exotic settings, I am looking forward to reading her forthcoming novel, The Good Thief, which promises to be an adventure story as well. ( )

An interesting collection of short stories - some disturbing, some funny, all interesting. A running theme of missing or lost pieces runs through the stories. Missing body parts in "Animal Crackers"; missing eveidence in "Home Sweet Home"; losing a friend after running away in "Talk Turkey"; missing rooster in "Gallus, Galuus"; lost hope in "Bloodworks".
All unique and well-written stories.
A great debut collection. ( )

Contains eleven short stories, which all feature animals, but not in ways I expected at all. The story about a boy who throws his pet rabbit out the window to see if it can fly horrified me. Others struck me as deeply ironic, mysterious and rooted firmly in a graphic, gritty reality. Three giraffes in a zoo pretend to be dead in attempt to force their demands on the zookeeper. A dog innocently walks through a murder scene, the son of a turkey farmer runs away from home with two classmates, a dead kitten is found in the closet of a disturbed boy. My favorite story was that of an artist who is repainting the background scenery of displays in a natural history museum- and through the glass sees the stuffed bear in the hall come terrifyingly to life. In many of the stories the animals are victimized or used; mirroring some aspect of the main character's inner nature or circumstances. Even though I find it all disturbing and downright creepy, I'm shelving this book to read again one day, and see if I can't figure out the elusive significance of the animals here.

from Dog Ear Diary ( )