we the animals justin torres - by Maggie Lange
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While reading Justin Torres’ 2011 novel We the Animals, I felt like I was holding a broken glass in my hand. Is this maudlin to say? The book isn’t maudlin at all! Don’t let me stain it! It’s fragmentary, yes. But mostly there’s something about this book that draws your attention to the broken edges.
We the Animals is from the perspective of three boys. The book begins when the youngest brother is about six. Their parents are young, and their home is chaotic and tumultuous. From their earliest days, the boys are plotting—both logistically and imaginatively—about how they will leave. There’s something about the book that feels like suspense, tense and full of forward momentum.
Anyway, this was an early moment in the book about crystal mornings, which was slight but stuck with me:
These little boys are awake before anyone else in the house—but aware of how this stillness is not peace, but instead something that could break. It contains so much essence of youth, of its wild energy and fragility and vulnerability. I think one of the main things that communicates this childlike energy is We the Animals’ brevity. You have to be confident to write a short book, I’ve decided it!!
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