Laura Kaye (2)Critiques

Mirka, a Slovenian, arrives at a country house owned by Sophie & Richard. They are very much of their type and class and how Mirka interacts with them evolves as she comes more into their circle. Richard has a number of schemes to make money, shooting & taxidermy being but two. Mirka starts to help with the taxidermy and proves to be surprisingly good at it. It is when emotions get involved that Mirka ends up on more rocky ground.
I couldn't ever quite decide where this was going. Mirka made some odd decisions at times and I'm not sure she felt real, more a collection of set pieces that lead up to the final set piece. It wasn't awful, but I can't get enthused about it either.

Rating: 4.5 stars. English Animals is one of those books that few readers have heard of, but has high ratings from those who have been lucky enough to discover it. Also, I always love a book set at a country house.

Comments As a young woman, Slovakian Mirka tries for a new life in Britain. After struggling in London, she lands a job as an assistant to Sophie and Richard. They have a messy life and a messy relationship, and have inherited a country house in some unnamed location in England. Scrambling to try whatever it takes to support it, they juggle weddings, B&B, bird hunting, taxidermy. Of her many jobs, her focus is taxidermy, and Mirka goes from squeamish to proficient quickly, surpassing Richard's skill. In her free time, and to escape the chaos, she creates elaborate dioramas with small rodents acting out human scenes, such as a coffee shop (think Brambley Hedge or Richard Scary updated to 2017 England). These become a hit with a particular London art crowd and she can't keep up with demand. This part of the book fascinated me, but was rather minor.

I digress. English Animals is Mirka's story of trying to negotiate the situation she found herself in, and employee, but a pseudo family member, 15 years younger than the other two, and trying to juggle work & friendship with Richard while having a sexual relationship with Sophie.

Excellent first novel. I look forward to reading what Laura Kaye comes up with in the future

Recommended for: To start, I've seen comparisons to Cold Comfort Farm in several places. I haven't read that, so can't comment. Initially it reminded me of Bitter Orange by Clare Fuller, but then it went off on its own story. So if you like either of those books, find this. Also, people who like books set in English country houses, but not necessarily fancy, Chatsworth-type country houses, and more realistic "oh jeez, I inherited this monstrosity and I love it but how do I financially make this continue" reality of country houses,

How I Discovered This: Jen Campbell raved about this and I went to the Book Depository (RIP) and ordered it right away½

English Animals is an apt title. An interesting read and I felt that Mirka the Slovakian comes out of it the best. 4 ⭐️