Description

Dairy farmer George Calvert is fighting to keep the family business afloat. Worried about the future but resistant to change, he refuses to face the reality of his failing farm, his elderly mother’s declining health and his troubled relationship with his youngest son, Tom.

Newly returned from university, Tom isolates himself in his childhood bedroom, guarding the truth of his burgeoning identity.

When animal rights activists break into the cowshed one morning and Tom appears to side with the protesters, father and son lock horns. As the Calverts begin to unravel, a decades-old secret surfaces – one that might rip them apart completely, or finally unite them.

A deeply moving debut about one family’s struggle to find connection in a rapidly changing world, Human, Animal is an ode to the wild, a journey of self-discovery and a hopeful path to common ground.

Publisher Review

Beautifully, skilfully told with real tension and gorgeous characters, Human, Animal moved me to tears. Seth Insua writes with so much kindness, empathy and wisdom; everyone is understood and forgiven and revealed. The narrative sneaks up in tiny moments packed with emotion that never become overwrought. Taut, precise, witty, insightful, it barrelled me along. Remarkable, inspirational writing — Russell T Davies Human, Animal is a formidable saga of British farming – spinning a moving tale of belonging, family, and land that brings country life into fierce reckoning with the modern world. As vital and sweeping as the countryside it enfolds us in — Scott Preston, author of The Borrowed Hills Human, Animal is a masterclass in empathy, perfect for our divided present (and past) times. Astutely emotional and lyrical while never being overwrought, Insua’s quietly gorgeous prose delivers huge, profound moments about what it means to belong, care for, inherit and live amongst humans and animals. It is a beautiful addition to the family saga and rural queer canons – and don’t we need more of those! I love this book! — Henry Fry, author of First Time For Everything A beautiful, clever debut, written with such tenderness for its muddled, struggling cast. Seth Insua balances polarised worlds – the young and old, the urban and rural, the expected and forbidden – to create a novel so full of generosity and insight — Abigail Dean, author of Girl A and Day One Seth Insua probes the spaces between black-and-white-thinking with immeasurable sensitivity. Insua holds a mirror up to the ‘good’ of animal rights campaigning, and the ‘evil’ of dairy farming, to show that the lines aren’t so clear cut, and that life is much messier. Messy, also, is the conflict between traditional values and the advancement of modern technology, of trying to express one’s queerness in such a hypermasculine setting. Human, Animal manages to explore all this, and the anxious convergence of the past, present and future, with staggering clarity. A truly impressive debut — Joshua Jones, author of Local Fires