To become pregnant should be something of the most beautiful and meaningful a woman could experience in her life - right? This novel by Heidi Furre says: No. It tells us of the emotional hell it can be to have a new person growing inside you, and all that comes with it. It is not beautiful. It is wild and violent.
My stomach aches in an area where it has not been aching before. Especially at night. The aching wakes me up and I hope for a miscarriage. It would be so easy if my body would just take care of this by itself.
Furre is undoubtedly talented, with a devious sense of humour. In a playful, beautiful and visual language she tells the story about a change, from everyday life to an increasing experience of being a part of something extraordinary.
DAGBLADET
The Animal is a light, entertaining and smart novel. It is a story about so much more than motherhood: The novel is a moving tale of all of a sudden having to become stronger and tougher to be able to take care of the life that is coming. This is a book that moves and entertains the reader - and will give you a lot to think about.
KLASSEKAMPEN
Heidi Furre gazes both inwards and out in her feministic observations. Many of them thought provoking, and just as many funny. Literature has a way of complicating things, turning to the darkest parts, and obsessing with the hardest stories about abortion, stillbirth, relationship complications and postpartum depression. The Animal is the opposite of this. It is a book that can be read with a moving recognition by many, many mothers. And it should be read with a wide-eyed interest by just as many fathers.
DAGSAVISEN