Elen finds herself questioning her life choices and her future in a US backwater mountain resort after her husband leaves her. A group of English teenagers rescue her from lonely drinking, and invite her to come along with them as they move from ski resort to ski resort, squatting in empty chalets.
She is attracted by their youth and free spirit, which invigorates her and makes her feel part of a close unit but gradually the shine is tarnished as she comes to realise their sad truth.
Luka, Lyn, George and Clover are the winter animals because they carry the psychological burden of dread that they may be a generation that sees the decline of the human race. Clover does not want to bring a child in to a world of the future. They keep on moving because they do not want to come up against reality. Live for now in a hedonistic present rather than look back or forward.
There is a bit of a dive into Charles Fourier and his utopian socialism philosophy, who believed people could live harmoniously in a state of nature, free of government intervention. I was unaware of him and will investigate his ideas further.
The gradual reveal of some of the pasts of the characters is what kept me interested and offered an insight into their motivations.

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy - 2.5/5

Winter animals is the story of Elen, a 38 year old woman who becomes tangled in a group of rich British “ski-squatters” after her husband leaves her.

Lyn, Clover, George and Luca are early 20-something trust fund kids who are travelling around the world squatting in off-season ski resorts and dreaming of building their own utopia based on the writings of the long dead Fournier. Elen is old enough to be their mother, but in the confidence slump of being an abandoned wife is drawn into their orbit.

Not much happens beyond skiing, drinking, drugs and desiring each other and the novel uses the device of the “Fournier” writings to look at class, community, hedonism and sex. These threads go largely nowhere - the kids high principled ideas are founded on a bed of sand - and the book toys with queer themes that ultimately also peter out.

There was some good world building and some nice atmospheric, dreamlike prose, but mostly this book fell flat. The themes and ideas were not well developed and the characters were vague. There are attempts to look at marriage and love through Elen’s eyes but again, the book felt like it was trying to do too much and not succeeding in any, not even in the basic goal of telling a story.

Promising, but didn’t deliver. Wouldn’t recommend.

I feel so weird about Winter Animals. The first chapter was off-putting, the short sentences made me feel like I was at a avantgarde play at the theatre where you're not sure what is going on and why.

Then I warmed to the characters, and whilst I had no idea why Elen decided to join the nomadic group I surfed (or skied) along with the group. I liked the way you gently got to know nuggets of information about each of them, and the strangeness of having money, but not using it, living quite a basic life.

By two thirds in I was back to my question why. There is no distinctive plot, it has a floaty nonchalant feel. if it is a character exploration I would have liked more in-depth analysis. I love it when books are left open ended, but for me, winter animals was just too, well, open.

I wanted to like “Winter Animals” more than I did. This is yet another case of a blurb over-selling the book – when I first read about it, it was being compared to The Secret History although I think this comparison has now been removed from the description, which is wise as it is no where near that level. This is quite a slow-moving and uneventful story about a 38-year-old woman who, with nothing much else to do, starts travelling around with a group of wealthy young people almost half her age. It’s an intriguing premise but the novel doesn’t do much with it and ultimately I was left feeling bored.

Thirty eight year old Elen's life is disintegrating as she drinks more and more each day and then her husband leaves her. Unable to pay the rent on their house any longer she decides to leave town and move back to her estranged parents. On the way she stops for a drink and meet a group of priveledged British kids who are ski squatting their way around the world.
Initially Elen feels out of place, older, wiser and married compared to the kid's free and easy attitude. She is at odds with their family wealth and their privileges and selfish wishes to live life on their terms. But slowly she is drawn into the group and finds as her body becomes stronger with the daily exercise of skiing and climbing the mountains, so her position in the group becomes more fixed and she is accepted and accepts them.
I really enjoyed the premise of this story and was drawn in by the promise of it being compared to White Lotus and The Secret History but I have to say I found the plot somewhat lacking and actual story no where on the level of either of those two books.
I also found Lena a rather disappointing character and more than once I wanted to urge her to buck her ideas up and do something. I found her rather a doormat.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the buildings - the abandoned resort and the air b&b - that the group used and the descriptions of skiing were good. I liked the back stories of the group but ultimately the well drawn and quirky characters couldn't make up for the lack of plot for me and in my view this one sadly missed the mark.
With thanks to Netgalley and Dialogue Books for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

Winter Animals revolves around Elen, a woman who lives in Oregon, and has been drinking since her husband left her.
She finds herself drawn into the world of four wealthy squatters (teenagers from England) as they invite her to join them as they visit ski resorts, squat in buildings, and dream of their “ideal future” community. The novel explores a wide range of themes - freedom, friendship, youthful idealism, as well as the complexities of friendship and love. An interesting read

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC. I was keen to read this novel but, I couldn't get into the story or connect with the characters. Instead of labouring through and leaving a possible bad review I will leave a modest rating and allow others to make their mind up.

I love a good cult based book, especially one involving pretentious rich kids who don't seem to realise the extent of their pretentiousness. I also love books which are character driven and delve deep into a character's mind. Combine all of this and that's exactly what this book is about - plus a mid-life crisis from protagonist, Elen.

Overall, I found this book to be an interesting read, full of intriguing characters and an unpredictable plot. The supporting characters - Luka, Lyn, George and Clover - are what kept me reading, mostly because I found them all fascinating. Despite being dealt so much good luck in terms of financial security, they throw it all away to squat in empty buildings and ski all day. However, I cannot sing praise to the teenagers of the novel without criticising the main character, Elen, who I found to be the weakest part of the book. Something about her was missing to the storyline - it felt very unbelievable that she would click with the group like she did, and overall, she was just a bit boring. I think it's partly because I didn't really find the cause of the 'cult' all that believable, although the characterisation of the 'leader' and the 'followers' was excellent. Winter Animals reads as the prequel of an established cult, how the foundations are laid out and the leader is established as The One.

I would recommend this book for those looking for a quick novel depicting the beginning schemes of a cult. It also had interesting perspectives on wealth, capitalism and philosophy, and was beautifully written.

Thank you to Dialogue Books for the e-ARC!

38 year old Elen believes her life is over with the loss of her home and break up of her marriage, leaving her with a plan to return to her estranged parents until she gets back on her feet. That's until she meets a group of young posh and rich British travellers and falls in with their plans for a life filled with skiing, squatting and a bizarre outdated philosophy about creating the ideal community.

It's all a bit odd, but as the group gradually disintegrate and turn on each other, Elen actually starts to find her feet and discover a way to carry on.

The characters are recognisable and well-created, and the ideals the group share are fascinating, less so the reasons they have for letting Elen into their group. even as individual motivations become clearer.

The book has a good premise and the explorations are solid, but the end seems a little rushed and doesn't entirely satisfy.

★★★★☆

The NetGalley email said that this was for fans of The White Lotus and The Secret History, which if you've ever even brushed past Bookstagram is a big claim. I definitely see where they were going with that, but for me this was very Ottessa Moshfegh-esque (particularly Eileen but that might be because there was snow lol).

This follows Elen, recently abandoned by her husband, homeless and drinking, where she meets 4 privileged 20-somethings squatting at various places to go skiing. The entire book keeps you on edge, with this constant eerie quality that everything could explode at any point (which is, as claimed, very White Lotus), although is very much a "no-plot-just-vibes" kind of narrative. If you're looking for a super-twisty thriller this probably isn't it, but for anyone that wants to feel like your skin is crawling and someone is constantly watching you, then do I have a winner.

There was one chapter that shifted perspective which was a bit rogue for me, and as a self-professed plot-girlie, I do wish there was a little bit more substance to the ending, but overall it was a good read. I <3 Clover.

cw// mentions of animal abuse/hunting, alcoholism, drug use, scenes of violence

Thirtysomething-year-old Elen find herself adrift, lonely and drinking excessively, after the departure of her husband, who leaves her virtually penniless and subsequently homeless. She meets four British teenagers in a bar one day and becomes attached to the group. They travel and squat in empty buildings during the ski season and spend the majority of their days hiking up mountains and skiing back down. This is all possible by the fact that all of the teenagers come from well-off families. They live in relative comfort and without undue anxiety, despite the fact they may be discovered by the authority or owners of the properties.

Luka feels himself to be the leader of the group and endlessly spouts the beliefs and ideas of a long-dead philosopher. Due to their isolation and days skiing without seeing many people the group of five become cultish and cut-off from the outside world.

The prose is dreamlike and even the dialogue seems otherworldly. I felt that the author was probably English, since I didn’t think that Elen or other peripheral characters sounded in any way American.

I particularly enjoyed the author’s skill in describing the skiing, an activity which I’ve never undertaken but I felt immersed as Elen skis down the runs with beautiful vistas ahead of her.

As the trip continues Elen feels a growing disquiet, wondering why they would want to have her, an older woman, along with them and begins to understand that it is partly to be an observer, but perhaps there is something dark which has happened, hiding in plain sight? Is there more than unhindered pleasure and exploration to their endless travelling? Are they exploring, or running away?

Like other readers I also feel the ending is rather abrupt. The tone definitely changes, but I think you realise throughout the story that all good things must come to an end…

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher of the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. I hope it does well.

I really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately didn't! The writing was a little hard for me to get into, and the characters difficult to connect with. I thought the plot building was good, and I really liked the setting and the backdrop of the novel. I just wasn't 100% into it.

Winter Animals centres around Elen who has taking up drinking following her husband’s departure, she meets four British rick kids who are travelling around squatting in various locations and skiing. They invite Elen along with them. All five of them are running away from the reality of their lives. Luka is the ringleader of the group and it seems it wants to create and almost cult like utopian community.

There is no real plot in this novel and the prose is very dreamlike, almost like from Elens point of view when she’s in an alcohol fuels hazed. While I usually enjoy novels that are more character focused rather then plot focus, I felt this one missed the mark and didn’t quite achieve what the author set out to achieve.

This was a very wintery read, perfect for the current weather! Although the comparison to Secret History is well intentioned, it may not meet the same level, although ti certainly tries. Overall a good read.

This was a book that I couldn’t help but read in one sitting — once I picked it up it was genuinely impossible to put down. The prose was beautiful and perfect for the tone of the story, the characters were complex and well-rounded, and the setting was crisp and immersive.

It was difficult to decide on a star rating for this, because I acknowledge that the novel is beautifully written in terms of the quality of the prose. But I requested this book because it had been compared to White Lotus and The Secret History - and I’m not sure why: those stories have seismic events, plot twists, scandals. Maybe it was down to the finally drawn and quirky characters? But as lyrical as the language is in Winter Animals- nothing happens. At one point, in frustration, I skipped a huge chunk and it was as if I’d skipped a page. They were still eating the thing they’d baked about 50 pages earlier.
If you like a lot of description of skiing, and skiing locations and people who ski, you may enjoy this novel. I did not.

The premise of this book sounded so so good but ultimately, I think it fell flat. I did appreciate the flow of the book and how it coasted along, like Elen and the teenagers and I enjoyed the ‘cultish’ aspect. Overall, there were more questions than answers.

absolutely breathtaking. ideal for anyone wondering what to turn to after reading The Secret History. I just inhaled this book in one sitting and it was flawless. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dialogue Books for this privilege.

Winter Animals is a novel about a woman who finds herself drawn into the world of four wealthy squatters as they visit ski resorts and dream of their ideal future community. Elen lives in Bend, Oregon, and has been drinking since her husband left her. When she meets four British rich kids in a bar, they invite her to join them, squatting in buildings in beautiful ski locations, skiing and drinking. One of them, Luka, obsesses over a long-dead writer's ideal of community, hoping to build something similar, but utopias don't always go as planned.

This is a hazy novel, with prose that invites you to float through the narrative like Elen seems to be floating through her experiences, and doesn't answer many of its own questions. In terms of actual plotline, there's not a huge amount going on, with small moments and dramas and a fairly abrupt ending, as the book is more about ideas and themes: wealth, desire, freedom, dreams. There is a good atmosphere created, but overall the book did end up dragging for me, with a lot of not much actually happening, and maybe the 'outsider joins a weird posh group' concept needs more of an actual narrative to go deeper than just 'how weird what rich people can just do'. Elen's own desires and feelings towards the others were interestingly confused, but the ending felt like it ignored all of that and become a slightly different book, and strangely for a book that seems to be trying to focus on it, queer desire felt very brushed aside in the narrative, and the fluid vibe of many things in the book didn't seem to translate into anything interesting around gender roles or desire.

Winter Animals has a good concept and from the way it is described and categorised it seemed like it might have more about transgressive excess or power, but instead it felt quite safe, similar to a lot of other books about a group of rich kids, and the skiing element didn't really have enough impact by the end to make it feel distinctive enough.

DNF - I was eager to read this book but, I couldn't engage with the story & was not a big fan of the writing style.