Customer Reviews

Animal Instinct

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Want to remember how passion feels?

Well, this book will relight those flames whatever your secret or not so secret cause may be.

You will find yourself cheering on Eleanor Aquitaine Green as she decides to pack up her God given skills and move on.

No longer just a job. No longer just a dream. She is going to spend her days making a difference no matter what the personal cost. That is until she has had enough!!

As you turn the pages you will feel the long hard days of her work. The humiliation of being ignored and deceived by an emotional train wreck of a boss. The triumph of a good fight and just when you need it, the author will have you awash in the fresh air of Connecticut's shoreline, a downpour of rain or a love scene that will make you want to buy a boom box.

Within the gift of this reading adventure, the author delivers her message. Some hard cold facts about the torture of animals that end up on our plates or amuse us at the circus. You will rush to tell your friends.

Absolutely energizing!!

I was completely engrossed in this book. I must say that I got a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach whenever I read about the abuse some of the animals suffer. However, the plight of the animals does not overshadow the storyline.

Everyone can identify with this story---a divorce, starting over, finding new meaning in life, office politics and a crazy boss!!!

This book will make you re-evaulate your lifestyle!

Eleanor Aquitaine Green, a savvy reporter and survivor of a painful divorce, discovers her true calling is crusading for the animals. Only days later, as if by divine providence, she lands a job in the animal rights movement.

Before long, Eleanor realizes that her boss, Honor Vine, the president of People Against Animal Cruelty, is a burned out, aging tyrant stuck in a bygone era of the movement. Even worse, the movement Eleanor so admires is near death and is fractured with inner turmoil. A unifying issue is required and that issue, Eleanor believes, is the yearly slaughter of ten billion farm animals for human consumption. Convincing Americans to change their meateating ways borders on impossible, but it seems less difficult than working for her manipulative boss. An animal rights organization, however, is the perfect war room to wage such a battle, so Eleanor begins her crusade in the dysfunctional office. With the help of her brow beaten colleagues, Eleanor attempts to endure the daily batterings in order to gain some kindness for the animals. As a movement foot soldier, Eleanor campaigns against traps and wearing fur, she attempts to rescue a circus elephant, and also meets her other true love.

Animal Instinct is an entertaining insiders look at personalities and politics that surround an important issue often hidden in plain sight - the yearly slaughter of 10 billion farm animals for human consumption.

A good read for whatever side of the fence you're on.

Animal Instinct is a page-turner. I progressed through the 232 pages in less than two days leaving me searching for another easy-to-read yet socially aware novel. It includes good social commentary, at times detracting from the story itself, that is worthy of reflection and consideration for all involved in animal protectionist movements.

The crossover between hinted details of campaigns and, at times purposively distorted representations that fit well within the story, provide somewhat of a primer to those in the abolitionist movement and the challenges on many levels socially as well as with welfarism based approaches. Animal Instinct also goes much further through highlighting many of the broader social/inter-personal challenges that permeate into animal organizations. These range from subtle comments on individual actions (implications to strict vegetarianism as opposed to veganism) through to direct illustrations of exploitative practices of many in the constructed hierarchies of the animal protectionist movements.

Alongside these references to what those involved in some level of animal protection will be aware, Animal Instinct includes detail - including facts and figures - of animal abuse for those who are newer to the issues. The impetus for inclusion of these is clear and at times this works well, yet at others it detracts from the story. This is perhaps the weakest aspect of the novel. I also found the conclusion a little fast in coming and short on detail... These are minor issues on the scale of things. Readability is very high.

Much of the inferences to the workings of animal protectionist organizations, whilst names are changed - with several real-life people melded together into specific individual characters and the timelines a little distorted - indicate many lessons we can draw from reading this novel. Those with more detailed inside knowledge of past campaigns will be able to decipher many of these multiple personalities, and also locate specific references to well-known (or less) individual traits.

Deborah Hayes' experiences and knowledge gained through working both as a journalist and for the organization Friends of Animals are clear - as indicated in her multiple real-life persona characters and many of the events in the book. This does not, however, afford reference to Animal Instinct as autobiographical - as some reviews provide - any substantive basis. Further, some reviews do little to fully consider the exposed exploitative nature of people within the animal protectionist movements to the point of both falsely stating them and clearly misrepresenting them. For me, this clearly highlights the painful lack of awareness of broader social issues and ills by many engaged in animal protection - something Animal Instinct touches on.

The direct (and often not-so-direct) references in Animal Instinct to real-world situations (if skewed a little time-wise) include the impacts of seminal works like Peter Singer's Animal Liberation, Tom Reagan's The Case for Animal Rights and Gary Francione's Rain Without Thunder in the context of the direct influences they have. This provides a means for everyone concerned with animal protection - whether long or short term - to learn and draw from.

To finish with, and indicative of another strength of Animal Instinct, Dorothy Hayes does attempt to place the exploitative practices of some in the animal protection movement within specific contexts. This does not appear to be as providing a means for justification of such actions, rather to understand - clearly indicating one of the many challenges we continually face in working towards holistic social change. Such change is necessary and essential for the liberation of all species. This is one aspect of the Animal Instinct - even if not fully realised by Dorothy Hayes herself - that is of immense value.

Animal Instinct, by Dorothy Hayes is well written with the magic of painting a picture so vivid that you feel you are there and part of the story. This is a novel you will not want to put down. Buy two copies and send one to a friend.

This book has been called "the Devil Wears Prada for vegans" numerous times, and what an apt comparison; "Animal Instinct" is just as poorly written and completely uninteresting---an embarrassment, in my opinion, to writers everywhere. Also like "The Devil Wears Prada," this book is a thinly-veiled attempt at revenge, and for what I am not certain. What both of these books make painfully clear: a "fictional" novel is no place for airing dirty laundry, unless, of course, one possesses the actual ability to write. Otherwise, Ms. Hayes might have kept this banal tale locked within the pages of a journal; this story is not interesting enough for mass consumption.