Alienation & self-discovery
May 15th, 2023
Corinna Chong has followed up her debut novel Belinda’s Rings (NeWest Press, 2013) with The Whole Animal (Arsenal Pulp $19.95), a collection of short stories that grapple with the self-alienation and self-discovery that make us human. Flawed characters wrestle with the complexities of relationships with partners, parents, children and friends as they struggle to find identity, belonging and autonomy. Bodies are divided, often elusive, even grotesque. In “Porcelain Legs,” a pre-teen fixes on the long, thick hair growing from her mother’s eyelid. In “Wolf-Boy Saturday,” a linguist grasps for connection with a young boy whose negligent upbringing has left him unable to speak. In “Butter Buns,” a college student sees his mother in a new light when she takes up bodybuilding. 9781551529158
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