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

by Indra Sinha (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 337 ratings
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In this Booker-shortlisted novel, Indra Sinha’s profane, furious, and scathingly funny narrator delivers an unflinching look at what it means to be human.

I used to be human once. So I’m told. I don’t remember it myself, but people who knew me when I was small say I walked on two feet, just like a human being...

Ever since he can remember, Animal has gone on all fours, his back twisted beyond repair by the catastrophic events of “that night” when a burning fog of poison smoke from the local factory blazed out over the town of Khaufpur, and the Apocalypse visited his slums. Now just turned seventeen and well schooled in street work, he lives by his wits, spending his days jamisponding (spying) on town officials and looking after the elderly nun who raised him, Ma Franci. His nights are spent fantasizing about Nisha, the girlfriend of the local resistance leader, and wondering what it must be like to get laid.

When Elli Barber, a young American doctor, arrives in Khaufpur to open a free clinic for the still suffering townsfolk—only to find herself struggling to convince them that she isn’t there to do the dirty work of the Kampani—Animal gets caught up in a web of intrigues, scams, and plots with the unabashed aim of turning events to his own advantage.

Profane, piercingly honest, and scathingly funny, Animal’s People illuminates a dark world shot through with flashes of joy and lunacy. A stunning tale of an unforgettable character, it is an unflinching look at what it means to be human: the wounds that never heal and a spirit that will not be quenched.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    March 17, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    6.13 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    141657879X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1416578796
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Animal's People is raw, furious, and utterly compelling. Indra Sinha is a brave writer, and he's produced a novel of great power." -- Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist

"From the arresting opening line of Indra Sinha's vivid second novel, the voice of Animal, the narrator, leaps out to grab you by the throat. Bawdy, irreverent and smart...Animal's People -- part coming-of-age Bildungsroman, part vicious critique of corporate terrorism -- is a bold and punchy tale." -- Lucy Beresfoford, New Statesman

"An extraordinary achievement. Sinha fends off all condescension with the salty and scabrous urchin's voice -- a virtuoso compound of Irvine Welsh and Salman Rushdie. Yet, for all its surface profanity, Animal's People mingles sentiment with its savagery.... [S]hould spur a new generation to find out about the foulest act of corporate homicide in modern history." -- Boyd Tonkin, The Independent

"Compelling, heart-wrenching and laced with redemptive hope...it explores the really big issues -- justice, equality, the nature of humanity -- and does not once flinch from what it discovers." -- Soumya Bhattacharya, The Observer

"I was absolutely bowled over by [Animal's People]. It is brilliant. In the narrator, Animal, Sinha's created a character who's as original and memorable in his own way as Holden Caulfield -- funny, profane, witty, touching and immensely appealing." -- John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

"A double triumph for Sinha: The plight of the world's powerless has seldom been conveyed more powerfully, while Animal is destined to be one of fiction's immortals." -- Kirkus Reviews

"[A]n antic, ribald, and searing tale of greed and heroismÉ.Sinha's daring farce asks what it means to be human, rekindles compassion for the still uncompensated victims of the real-life catastrophe, and celebrates the resiliency of love and goodness in the poorest and most poisoned of places." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Sinha's writing is a blade gleaming in the moonlight. And the novel, for all its pain, is a work of profound humanity." -- Kamila Shamsie, The Guardian

About the Author

Indra Sinha was born in India. His work of non-fiction, The Cybergypsies, and his first novel, The Death of Mr Love, met with widespread critical acclaim. He lives in France.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (March 17, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 141657879X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1416578796
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 337 ratings

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Indra Sinha

Indra Sinha

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
337 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J. P Spencer
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary.
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2023
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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.
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Inside the Beltway Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars a profoundly human novel deserving a wider audience
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2016
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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.
6 people found this helpful
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JenP
4.0 out of 5 stars a book about resilience and friendship in the context of tragedy
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2014
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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."
10 people found this helpful
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A. Beans
5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid piece of writing.
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2010
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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.
4 people found this helpful
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Jonathan Gomez
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
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!
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Harsh Rajput
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful read about accepting yourself and fighting for your people
Reviewed in India on February 25, 2024
Verified Purchase
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.
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Susan
5.0 out of 5 stars As expected
Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
Took a little longer to arrive, but that is the norm right now for the mail.
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Cabres
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in France on November 30, 2017
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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.
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Umi Sinha
5.0 out of 5 stars Bitter, angry, obscene, funny - a journey to the heart of the human spirit
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2007
Verified Purchase
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.
25 people found this helpful
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S & B
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Reviewed in India on November 7, 2018
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Really unique story... Love it.
One person found this helpful
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