Synopses & Reviews
New Animal is a poignant, darkly comedic look at human connection from a biting and original new voice in Ella Baxter.
Amelia Aurelia is approaching thirty and her closest relationships — other than her mother — are through her dating apps. She works at the family mortuary business as a cosmetic mortician with her eccentric step-father and older brother, whose throuple's current preoccupation is with what type of snake to adopt. When Amelia's affectionate mother passes away without warning, she is left without anchor. Fleeing the funeral, she seeks solace with her birth-father in Tasmania and stumbles into the local BDSM community, where her riotous attempts to belong are met with confusion, shock, and empathy.
Hilarious and heartfelt, New Animal reveals hard-won truths as Amelia struggles to find her place in the world without her mother, with the help of her two well-intentioned fathers and adventures at the kink club.
Ella Baxter is a writer and sculptor living in Melbourne, Australia. In her spare time she runs a small business making bespoke death shrouds. She is currently writing her second novel, Woo Woo.
Review
"This unusual novel navigates the most treacherous of emotional territories — the fault lines between love and grief, sex and death — with a deliberate lack of grace and real charm."
Kirkus
Review
“Australian writer Baxter debuts with a raw and mordant story of a woman processing her grief, sexuality, and family relationships... Baxter delicately balances the emotional heft of the situation with dark humor.”
Publishers Weekly
Review
“In her incredible debut, Baxter combines dark humor with a complex protagonist and bold narration to both astound and devastate her readers.”
Booklist