New Animal - SCWC Book reviewer in residence
REVIEWED BY ANDY MUIR
Debut author Ella Baxter has written a book that is uncomfortable, raw and energetic and throws the reader into a darkly comic world of sex, death and trauma. Although described as comedic, the black humour presents more as the humour of the character’s everyday humanity rather than laugh out loud funny. But be warned, this might not be a book to read on the train.
Telling the story of Amelia, a mortuary cosmetician in her mother’s family business, there is a tragedy in her past hinted at but which Amelia is less than willing to share. She finds comfort having random sex with strangers, hooking up with a string of partners, one of which the book opens with and is described with the clarity of memoir. Is the sex a form of avoidance, of an inability to face the reality of life and death? A sudden event sees Amelia physically running away to her biological father living in Tasmania. Even here, Amelia seeks solace in the hook-up, one that leads her into the taboo worlds of BDSM and domination. Something will have to give.
The journey Ella Baxter sends Amelia on feels and reads like a memoir, encouraged by the use of first person, which had me wondering several times what was real and what was fiction. The specificity of detail, the character interactions and the conversations felt verbatim. Amelia’s work with the dead, especially the novel’s incredibly moving climactic scene felt more voyeuristic than the graphic sex scenes, a private moment of catharsis not meant to be shared.
There is a lot to enjoy with this novel, from the characters and their dialogue to the unflinching examination of a character craving connection as she fights a soul-sapping loneliness that is never explained or articulated. This is where the novel felt weakest; there seemed to be details missing, hinting to material edited out, which is a shame. It is rare to read a book where you leave wanting to know more. There are sequences and characters that could have been expanded, such as the dominatrix Vlad who attempts to show Amelia the ropes, yet slips away without a conclusion, the two characters meet and part with more to say. Or Barbara and Shell at the Tasmanian funeral home who welcome Amelia to join the practice. There is a sense that these characters have much more to teach and share with Amelia than what they do, which is a pity as Amelia’s very millennial self-absorption and personal focus deserved to be balanced with some self-reflection and analysis. Especially after the events in the sex club that leave you wanting to take Amelia aside and tell her to take a breath, stop.
New Animal is a powerful debut but one with subject matter and details that won’t be for everyone.
New Animal by Ella Baxter
Published March 2021 with Allen & Unwin
“A stunning, heartbreakingly funny debut novel from a brilliant new literary voice. Sex, death, grief, running away…only one of these makes Amelia feel like a new animal.”
SCWC Book Reviewer 2021: Andy Muir
Andy is an award nominated screenwriter and story researcher for the hugely successful Underbelly franchise, and was nominated for a Ned Kelly for his debut crime fiction Something for Nothing (Affirm Press, 2017). The follow up Hiding to Nothing (Affirm Press, 2019) continues anti hero Lachie Munro’s misadventures. Awarded a 2019 Australian Society of Authors Fellowship, he is currently writing two new crime novels.