Fragile Animals by Genevieve Jagger

RIYL: Dealing with religious trauma, character study literary fiction, vampires

In Genevieve Jagger’s debut novel Fragile Animals, protagonist Noelle – a writer in her early 20s - escapes from her mysterious traumatic urban life to a remote Scottish island, ostensibly to rewrite her second book of poetry. She’s staying in a bed and breakfast run by a quirky old woman, but, as it turns out, there’s one other guest. Oh, and he’s a vampire. You might think you know where this is going.

This setup might lead potential readers to expect this is a horror-infused romance, or one of the many “romantasy” books dominating the literary landscape nowadays, but it’s not that at all. Fragile Animals is a piece of literary fiction about Noelle’s trauma, where the only real plot is the continual revelation of what happened in her past and how she might move forward. These non-chronological flashbacks are framed around her parents’ divorce (marked by the use of BC [Before Crisis] and AD [After Divorce]) and are occasionally interspersed with Noelle’s present interactions with her host, and more importantly, with her fellow guest, the vampire Moses. Moses is not a traditional romantic leading man; he’s described as at least looking twice her age and as not particularly attractive, but soon the two strike up a messy flirtatious dynamic using each other as confessional soundboards to their many tales of past lovers and sexual encounters. Moses quickly reveals that he’s a vampire, and though we learn enough to know that he believes this, it’s never quite definitely proven, and the question of whether he truly is one or not is not really dwelt on, and nor should it be. There’s certainly a propulsion to their relationship, such as it is, that kept me turning the pages, but really, the book lives and dies on its poetic prose and its deep dive into Noelle’s trauma – in particular, her religious trauma.

This is a deeply Catholic book, or perhaps, a deeply ex-Catholic book, where Noelle’s liaison with a vampire just one thematic example of her attempts to build a self-identity separate to her domineering mother and the stranglehold both she and their faith still hold on Noelle, even years since she’s spoken to her mother or attempted faith. Noelle is consumed by grief and self-hatred, throwing herself from ill-advised fling to messily short relationship with abandon. Is Moses someone who can jolt her out of her darkness, or is he merely the latest example of it?

As a work of literary fiction, Fragile Animals rests on Jagger’s appropriately-poetic prose (which at times verges into the overwrought but only just) and on her ability to conjure up insightful personal revelations about her protagonist. She succeeds pretty well on both these fronts, and by the end of my read I had a good sense of who Noelle is, and how she and many other people are indelibly formed by their flawed parents and broken to fit the shape of their overriding faiths. Ultimately though, I did find the entire experience a little slight, and wished for the book’s real dark turns and flourishes to be explored in greater detail. Like many other books that lightly dip their toes into genre or the supernatural, I think they’d be improved by sinking a little deeper into that well of inspiration. All that said, if the idea of this kind of in-depth character study is appealing to you, I think Fragile Animals is well worth the read.

Rating: *** 1/2

Fragile Animals is set to publish on April 25, 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Fragile Animals tells the story of Noelle, a 23-year-old woman recovering from a devoutly catholic upbringing in Scotland. Unable to confront her familial trauma and repressed sexuality, Noelle travels to the Isle of Bute, where she meets a man who claims to be a vampire. Their relationship mirrors confession, and she shares some of her darkest memories: her mother’s affair with the local priest, how Noelle sought revenge and broke up their family. Noelle is soon suffocated by her storytelling and must decide whether she’s ready to move on from the past and exist in her own skin.

Fragile Animals was tragic but also darkly funny. Noelle is easy to both love and hate. She’s so helpless, yet you can see how desperately she wants to be different. You have to be patient with her and remember what it felt like to be 23 amidst all the other tumultuous nonsense she endured. I appreciated how the story moved back and forth through time to show Noelle’s life. I would have read a book twice as long if it meant learning more about her childhood, family, and coming out.

First I’d like to thank you publisher for the advanced copy of Fragile Animals! I was super excited because I LOVE VAMPIRE BOOKS! For a debut Jagger, has composed a lovely framework that was unexpected from my initial expectations. I also believe if you like literary fiction you’d probably enjoy this novel.

Noelle, a twentysomething writer, retreats to the remote Isle of Bute off the coast of Scotland for some R&R, with the goal to finish her second book of poetry. At her B&B, she meets a fellow guest, Moses, who she soon learns is… a vampire! While she gets to know Moses, she also turns inward to reflect on her upbringing - religious trauma and mommy issues - and her own sexuality.

While reading this synopsis, you might be thinking “ok so the Pisces for vampires,” and I kept thinking the same while reading the book as well, but that cheapens how good the book is. Though it certainly shares a lot of similar ideas (depressed girl working on something meets fabled creature while on a retreat), the writing in Fragile Animals is so distinct and it introduces enough of its own that it didn’t feel like a borrowed idea.

I could see this not being for everyone. I could see the writing coming across as maybe cheesy and maybe pretentious at times, but I thought it was edgy and new, and I really enjoyed!

Fragile Animals is out April 25th. Thank you to NetGalley and 404 Ink for the ARC.

I was pleasantly surprised by the slow draw, slice-of-life injected into what I expected would be a more fantastical view of Catholic trauma. Jagger's writing is a reminder of the beauty in the slow, thoughtful moments in life while simultaneously packing a punch into the human condition.

I want to start of by thanking the publishers for sending me this title because this was genuinely one of my favorite recent reads. Fragile Animals is a raw, unsettling, yet poetic tale that hooked me from the first chapter. Jagger has a way with writing that is so beautiful despite how dark some of the themes addressed are. At times, I felt like I was looking at myself through the protagonist as her struggles were so real and relatable to me. I felt so many emotions throughout this book and it was such a wonderful experience overall. I am so excited for this to be published as I will for sure be buying myself a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and 404 Ink for the ARC!

I took a chance on this book, as it is slightly different than my usual reads, but I am so glad I did!

The best way to describe my feelings would be: falling gently. I fell into the world of Fragile Animals and enjoyed my time there. Nothing but good things to say about this work of literature!

I can't wait to see what Genevieve Jagger does next!

5/5 stars

✨️Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC✨️
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This book was as beautiful in its prose as it was devastating in its content. The main character, Noelle, was complicated and nuanced, I felt myself at some points pitying her and others feeling angry at her self-destructive actions.

I found the ending all together satisfying and thought it tied the book together quite well. Themes of death and rebirth both in literal and metaphoric throughout.

I would say this leans into the magic realism genre for me, a light sprinkling of the fantastic. Noelle discovers the fellow boarder at the B&B she's run away to in the Scottish countryside is a vampire.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and hope people give it a try.

It's taken me a week or so to work through my feelings on Fragile Animals.

I will start by saying the premise of this book had me gripped - gothic/supernatural, exploration of religious upbringing, a journey of self discovery, visceral imagery and a lot of quirk (enter a Vampire called Moses with a taxidermy hobby) all whilst juggling some rather brilliant questions on morality, sin, sexuality and the idea of self vs deity ... however it fell completely short of what it could have delivered.

The prose felt fractured which yes, at times added to the impending sense of horror (loved) but 90% of the time just made the story nearly impossible to get into and for you to form any attachment to Noelle the MC (didn't love).

For a debut it really set a tone, so I'm interested to see what is next in store for Jagger.

Thanks to 404 Ink and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a lot quirkier than I was expecting it to be, given the description. For some reason, I was thinking this would be a gothy, romantic book with religious undertones. (Honestly, not really my thing.) But I chanced it anyway and this turned out to be more of a literary fiction. The romance takes up a very small portion of the story. There is a bit of what people call “spice,” but it is kind of rancid. (The love interest isn’t exactly desirable and neither is the intimacy.) But then again, that's definitely a different take than what I typically see in books. Noelle states several times that she hates men but she finds herself fascinated by the weird, older gentleman claiming to be a vampire staying in the same bed and breakfast as she is. The way she describes him makes him sound more like Nosferatu than Edward Cullen, but I think he still has a sort of magnetism because of the vampire thing?

I enjoyed some chapters more than others, because some of them were very poetic and the prose really shone. I think the flashback chapters that were more dialogue heavy, for example, weren’t as impactful for me. Pretty much all of the characters in this story, including Noelle, are peculiar so the conversations all have that clever and humorous quality to them, which contrasts a bit harshly at times with the dark and gritty (often smelly) tone of the core plot. There was a ton of self-reflection and self-loathing on Noelle’s part, and her backstory took up a pretty big part of the book.

A couple of issues I had involved some nitpicking with the writing itself. Especially early on: every little detail is described. Whenever Noelle goes into a room, she tells us about the floor, the windows, the wallpaper, etc. If she eats something, she describes the dishes. It got tiresome quickly. There are two characters in the novel named Lomie and Lorne and they aren’t related, and whenever those names were involved in the same chapter I was confused. Also, this is one of those books that jumps around in time a lot, as Noelle is constantly telling the reader about memories from various times in her life without any sort of transition between them.

I do appreciate the way the author portrays how growing up in an oppressive religious environment can mess you up when you’re older, and the angle of befriending a stranger who’s a vampire is an interesting one, especially when he’s ugly instead of the classic hot young immortal. Noelle is struggling with her sexuality, her friendships and her belief in life in general. She’s gradually revealed to be a less than sympathetic protagonist. It is the first book I've read in a minute that achieves a fully realized arc for the protagonist, and that was much appreciated.

Personally, I don’t agree with the Ottessa Moshfegh comparisons. Just because a book is kinda gross and the narrator is a woman, that doesn’t automatically make it similar to Moshfegh’s novels. However, this will be something one might enjoy if they like a bleak setting and a narrator with a deadpan sense of humor and don't mind reading about bodily functions and poor hygiene. It does SOUND like an Ottessa book, but it didn't feel the same to me. The first part of the novel seemed more gothic than the latter, almost like the atmosphere wore off after a while. I think that once all the reminiscing really kicked in with the narrative, it carried me too far away from the core story and some of that initial magic was lost. There was something weird going on with the perspective in the last chapter, also. A lot of the overall language and writing throughout were lovely and poetic, though. Overall, I liked this because it was weird and different, but I didn’t LOVE it.

TW: Animal death/Taxidermy, domestic abuse, self-harm

WOW. Nothing about this book took me where I thought it was going to go. Even though I knew there was vampirism, the vampire felt like the most tame character (in a good/needed way). This feels extremely intentional by Jagger. That even next to a supposed blood sucking creature, Noelle is still grittier, dirtier, and even more of a risk to herself and others.

We see this emphasis on how careful Moses is, and handling the animals and people in his care. This plays great contrast to how Noel struggles to handle things in her grasp. It’s also no surprise why she is so drawn to Moses’s ability to handle her fragility. Except in the sex scene, where it feels like the lake all over again. In this moment, he is her mirror holding a clear lens into her repressed desires. All this time he has been nothing but the confessional she ran from. Through their talks, their little exchanges, and now their bodies.

What I found most interesting was her relationship with god and her sexuality. How the majority of her religious experiences connected directly to her parents, her sexual desires, her repression/obedience, and ultimately lead her to disdain. Disdain for her desires and inability to accept herself and others where they’re at. Disdain for her faith because of her mother & Father’s choices. Though mostly disdain for herself, guised as god’s hatred of her, and what she was willing to do with her body because of it.

While this book was at times disgusting, cringey, and weird. I couldn’t put it down. I finished this overnight. I look forward to more people talking about this book and can’t wait for its release.

thank you to netgalley for the arc — i had a really great time reading this work of art.

i wasn’t sure how to structure this review, so i’ve done it in three main points, each with their own quote i loved.

here we go.

1 - “i get hollow like this sometimes. my face stops appearing like my face and my extremities crawl around my skin like warped insects, fumbling and yet overly dexterous. when i pull back my lips and inspect my gums up close, the concept of teeth seems bizarre.”

the visceral nature of the language used, no matter how mundane, no matter how they stripped back a single moment to its core, touches you mind, body and soul. the attention to the minute, the use of abject imagery, the evocative language: it’s intentional and has the right nuance to provoke. to enrage. to draw sympathy. i can hear julia kristeva and ‘the powers of horror’ shriek in delight.

2 - “know that i tried to live my life with love, the way jesus wanted, but that it’s so fucking hard out here in a world made to be mean.”

using noelle’s mother almost as an antithesis, or even as an allegory, to god through the capitalising of her pronouns (and never referring to her by name) was a really interesting touch that gave the novel some great depth. albeit simple, it provided us with an in-depth perspective to noelle’s maternal relationship, saying more than enough in very little words.

equally, the moment that noelle actively voices and declares, “now i must strip Her of her capitalised presence in my brain” holds a similar sort of power — if not, even more so. it marks the end of a monumental shift in noelle’s life, one that she can begin to move on from.

3 - “though my heart was carried in my body as it carried out my sad, sacrilegious actions (honour thy mother and father), all it ever wanted was to love.”

the intersection between religious and parental trauma was approached and done oh so very bloody well. it filled me with the raging fires of hell, lodged a frog in my throat and pricked my eyes with tears. so, yknow, mission accomplished, jagger.

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that all being said, while i really enjoyed the story and its execution, i couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. the way it was advertised to me was that the overarching plot of the novel was that noelle and moses start a sexual relationship — when in fact, after chapters upon chapters of just talking, they sleep together once and then he leaves. and don’t get me wrong, i have no problem with that! none whatsoever! i enjoyed it! but i did have a problem with the marketing. it should have been clearer.

Fragile Animals, Genevieve Jagger ⭐⭐⭐

Buckle up, this is going to be a weird ranty review, much like this book (not a bad thing!). This book covers themes of guilt, rejection, sexuality, pleasure, disdain and so much more. I struggle to precisely say what i think so, my feelings about this book come in 3 waves:

1st Wave: This book is disorientating, there's no pre-tense and you're thrown into Noelle's consciousness and forced to break through the layers of memories to piece together where we are and what on earth is going on. The themes of Catholicism are strong, with the use of BC/AD being warped to fit the narrative, and Noelles fear and guilt shining through each sentence.

2nd Wave: This feels like a pot of milk simmering, boiling and spilling over onto the stove. Noelle is really not nice, she's harsh and gritty and I think I really hate her.

3rd Wave: Smut. Don't get me wrong, sex can be a necessary addition to novels and individuals stories, but I don't like it. The book took a bit of a turn for me when a chapter described sex in such a contrasting way to the rest of the book. It felt as thought the final 3rd of the book was written by several different authors, all trying to fit their own style into one narrative.

I guess I think that this book made me feel something, which is great, and I did really enjoy most of it, however the final third really let me down. It's a solid book with great themes but just not as amazing as I'd hoped it'd be.

This was a wild ride. I found it strange and uncomfortable but I wanted to keep on reading. I loved the Scottish setting. The juxtaposition of religion and the influence it has on people and their relationships was great.

WOW! This book was not what I was expecting at all. It was a lot more focused on the emotional exploration of the main characters traumatic familial and religious past than it was focused on fantasy-type vampires. However, I absolutely loved it. I couldn't put it down. I found the writing grotesque, morbid, and beautiful. It's a haunting novel, but a must read.

i really enjoyed my time with this one. i found i was sucked into the story from the very beginning. the themes in this story kept me wanting to binge read this entire book in one sitting. i am blown away by the authors writing and the flow of the story was really incredible. i found the middle was a tad bit slow but other than that i really enjoyed myself. the writing style is so unique, fresh, and really intentional. can’t believe this is a debut. definitely an author to look out for in the future that’s for sure. definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, 404 Ink publishing and Genevieve Jagger for providing me with an ARC of this debut book and giving me the opportunity to review it honestly

⭐️⭐️⭐️ + 0.5
3.5/5 stars

Fragile Animals by Genevieve Jagger follows Noelle, ex-Catholic, as she navigates her life now that she is haunted by her religious upbringing and traumatic relationship with her Mother. Plagued by memories, and seeking complete retribution that at times she is not sure that she deserves. Noelle travels away from her everyday life to the small secluded town of Bute, where she meets Moses, a vampire and develops a sort of co-dependent sexual relationship with him as they both live in the wake of their past lives.

This book goes back and forth between the present and memories: moments with her Mother ( the narcissistic She), moments that plague Noelle with regret, quieter moments with her Father (dad, not to be confused with Father), and moments where she has always felt the ever watching eye of Him (God). The story shows contrasting moments between She and Miss Fraser, between her past lovers and Moses, everything lead her here to unpack a life that she was deeply unhappy in; Noelle is at the same time very sentimental but also very unattached.

She is tumbling over memories but they are waves that keep knocking her down. She is trying to live a life without immense guilt, but it seems as though every moment for her reminds her of something that she must confess for.

Genevieve's writing is really something special, every moment described so intensely that it feels as though you're living it. Feeling the happiness, disgust, sadness, or sickness that Noelle feels in the moment. Everything was done so well, intertwining the past and the present, making them connect in a way you might have not imagined as they seamlessly blend together, where you sometimes confuse where the moment starts and ends as Noelle remembers things.

There were moments that I frankly wish I felt a little bit less, I would put the book down and need to focus on something else to get the feeling away from me, but in my opinion that just means it was impressive writing. (Any and all mentions of bodily movements, phlegm, and pubes could have been reduced and still gotten the point across, in my opinion).

If you love literary fiction, with subtle elements of fantasy/supernatural/horror, I think that you would really enjoy this book. Dealing with Catholic guilt, sexuality, family trauma, and so much more in this easily devoured (pun intended) debut novel.

From the book summary, I definitely went into this book with different expectations of how it was in reality, but that’s not a bad thing. I originally thought this story would lean more heavily into the supernatural, but the supernatural was definitely a side element to this story, used to push the storyline of Noelle dealing with her trauma. Parts of it slowed (which is why my rating is just under four stars), as the story built, but the ending really picked up for me, and I really enjoyed stories of Noelle's past as it explained a bit more of why she feels the way she does now. I am not typically drawn towards books with horror elements to them, so this was a really interesting break from what I have been reading as of late.

There are some quotes in this book that I marked down and will be thinking about for a while to come, I think. Thank you again Netgalley!

A beautifully lyrical debut. This book took me out of a reading slump. I have to say it isn’t necessarily a book I’d usually pick up but I think it’s unlocked a new genre for me. I loved the storytelling style, with parts of Noelle’s past being revealed as she propels through her narrative in the present. Did I mention how pretty the writing was? I’ve never read a book about religious trauma but even as an atheist I felt Noelle’s conflict about the church deeply. I still can’t get over that this was a debut!!! I’m definitely going to keep updated with Genevieve Jagger in the future. One final mention about the stunning prose!
If you’re a lit fic/fem fic fan then you’ll love this!!

4.5 stars ✨ thank you to NetGalley, 404 ink and Genevieve Jagger, the queen herself, for an advanced copy of this book.

I was interested in this as soon as I read “ex catholic woman” and “vampire” in the same sentence. Initially, I didn’t think this book was going to hit as hard as it did, but boy did it do exactly that. It’s so much deeper than I anticipated, it had me questioning my own morals along with the decisions that the main character Noelle made throughout her life and her relationship with people and Catholicism.

I loved how gross this book was. When our vampire character was introduced, it wasn’t giving Edward Cullen nor Dracula, it was giving sick, dirty, malnourished - in the best way. When our main characters finally kiss, Noelle describes his lips as dry and cracked and his mouth to taste foul which is exactly what I expected from him. Genevieve, you did that. 🍷

My favourite part of the story was definitely the analogy between believing in the existence of vampires and believing in religious dogmas, that is, why is it so hard to believe that vampires exist, but easy to believe that Noah built an arc for all animals or that one guy who was stuck in a whale for a number of days?

I loved this to bits and I can’t wait to read more of Genevieve Jagger 🩸

This took me quite awhile to read, but I really needed it to process what’s written here. This book was excellent but it is so packed with fraught emotion. It had so many elements that were in my wheelhouse - processing trauma related to religion, figuring out sexuality, sharing a B&B with a grungy vampire. It really hit on everything. It’s no surprise I loved this. The way this was written, uncovering the main character’s past, it was intriguing and emotional. By the end, Noelle was someone I wanted to protect and nurture. This book made my heart hurt!