Winter Animals

LoveReading Says

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. 

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen’s lifelong love of reading and writing began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, and very much wished that witches (and Mrs Pepperpot) were real.
More reviews by Joanne Owen

About Winter Animals

Be one of the first to discover this award-winning writer's decadent and addictive debut, a must-read for fans of The Secret History and White Lotus.

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