Don't be fooled by the spare, quiet prose Kaye and her characters will do cartwheels over your expectations * Sara Novic, author of Girl At War * Kaye's satire usually hits the mark, coming at the expense of rural gastropubs with names like The Snooty Fox, as well as the world of hipster taxidermy (Mirka starts assembling Dazed and Confused-friendly scenes called things like 'Freelance squirrels' and 'Rats at an office party'). Chronicling a Slovakian immigrant's story in the UK, English Animals is an important novel in an uncertain time. A bubble of pleasurable reading * Sainsbury's Magazine * Kaye offers an engrossing look at the English countryside, complex in friendship, love, violence and with a touch of mystery. Hyland, author of the Man Booker-shortlisted Carry Me Down * Better than a burst of February sunshine, this is a pitch-perfect story. The dreadful marriage, the horrific father and above all Mirka herself with her courageous honesty and kindness make this something very special * Amanda Craig * A beautiful and bold debut * M.J. I loved the taxidermy ideas and details, and how beautifully they chimed with the human animal scenes presented. Its command of tone, narrative and character is so assured, and both its wit and perceptiveness about a certain kind of English life make it a joy to read. charming - Lucy Scholes * Observer * confident novel that engages with love, belonging, prejudice and, above all, quintessential Englishness * Daily Mail * wry and knowing debut * Stylist * It's a long time since I've enjoyed any debut novel as much as English Animals. Kaye has a keen eye for social observation. Phone orders min p&p of £1.Shades of Cold Comfort Farm. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. To order a copy for £14.44 go to or call 03.

The result, if not particularly urgent, is undoubtedly charming.Įnglish Animals by Laura Kaye is published by Little, Brown (£16.99). If never quite taking off, this aspect of the book rumble along gently in the background, and Kaye has a keen eye for social observation – a scene of multiple polite “Afternoons” between passing dog walkers had me chuckling. Shades of Cold Comfort Farm – Mirka goes to work in a large rural house, home to eccentric drunks Sophie and Richard – meet more contemporary concerns, namely immigration and a snobbish type of English bigotry. This odd creation is the perfect metaphor for English Animals, a rather strange beast all of its own. T owards the end of Laura Kaye’s debut, her heroine, Mirka – a Slovakian lesbian trying to build a new life in England – visits a taxidermy shop in London’s East End, and finds “a cat with the wings of a white bird”.

English animals laura kaye