"A 30-something American woman adrift from life becomes caught in the dazzling headlights of four bright young Britons in an intoxicating story of idealism, freedom, friendship and longing."
Idealism, messy relationships, desire and being thrown a lifeline when you’re cast adrift — Ashani Lewis’ Winter Animals presents an intense story that sees a woman recently deserted by her husband find an unlikely, uneasy fellowship with four young strangers.
The woman in question, Elen, is 38 and has nowhere to go. Everything she owns in in her car, where she plans to sleep, surrounded by the snowy chill of the Cascade Mountains, until she can figure out what to do and where to go.
Then, into her life, avalanche-like, come four British teenagers who are drifting between empty AirBnBs in fancy ski resorts. Breaking in and squatting with the audacious confidence of youth and wealth, the entitled teenagers meet her in a bar and invite her to join them. As Elen discovers they’re set on creating a utopia, as she finds herself attracted to one of the girls, she senses something might be simmering beneath their apparent state of freedom, leading her to wonder, “what are they doing with Elen? What do they want from her?”
Atmospheric and addictive, and driven by questions, uncertainty and emotional unease, Winter Animals is chillingly gripping.
**Winner of the 2025 BETTY TRASK PRIZE**'Excellent . . . Ashani Lewis is superbly talented.' Katherine Rundell'Thoughtful, intelligent and beautifully written . . . Lewis is definitely a new talent to watch.' Marie Claire, "Best Books of 2024"In one of America's Happiest Cities, thirty-eight-year-old Elen is trapped under the shadow of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains. Her husband has left her. Her belongings are in the boot of her car. Her days are filled mostly with silence and drinking. When she meets four English teenagers in an empty bar, she is enamoured.Luka, Clover, George and Lyn are wealthy squatters, drifting between ski resorts and breaking into empty AirBnBs. When they bring Elen into their fold - and into their messy, entangled relationships - she senses a violent secret that fuels the four's never-ending disappearing act.Dazzling, cultish and intensely committed to creating their own utopia, they force Elen to ruminate on the irresistible pull of bright young things.She doesn't understand what they want from her, but how can she leave when she has nowhere else to go?A dark meditation on the dangers and seductive power of youthful idealism, and the slippages between friendship and love, Winter Animals is an extraordinary debut examining freedom, friendship, desire and excess.'A dreamlike, piercing examination of privilege, youth and freedom.' Cecile Pin, author of Wandering Souls'Atmospheric as hell, beautiful, and delightfully intelligent . . . Think The Secret History written by Raven Leilani.' Jenny Mustard, author of Okay Days
| Primary Genre | General Fiction |
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**Winner of the 2025 BETTY TRASK PRIZE**'Excellent . . . Ashani Lewis is superbly talented.' Katherine Rundell'Thoughtful, intelligent and beautifully written . . .
Winter Animals features in the following genres: General Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Fiction
Paperback, Hardback. £9.89, down from the £10.99 cover price. In Stock.
Winter Animals was written by Ashani Lewis and published by Dialogue Books an imprint of John Murray Press
Winter Animals has 240 pages
£9.89, reduced from £10.99. In Stock.
