Unveiling the Wild Within: How Amie Souza Reilly Redefines Our Connection to Animals in ‘Human/Animal’
Ever wonder what really lurks behind the pristine fences of suburban Connecticut? Amie Souza Reilly’s Human/Animal: A Bestiary in Essays throws a wrench in the classic “perfect neighborhood” stereotype, revealing a world where civility and menace coexist, and where neighbors can be as feral as the wildlife they might brush past. I grew up not far from where Reilly’s unsettling tales unfold — tales of escalating intimidation that puncture the glossy veneer of suburbia. But this isn’t just a memoir of neighborly strife; it’s a layered meditation on the blurry lines between human and animal instincts, safety and threat, vulnerability and violence. Sometimes, the fiercest battles aren’t fought in distant jungles but in our own backyards. Could your next-door neighbor really be the most dangerous creature of all? Dive into this provocative, metaphor-rich collection and prepare to rethink what “home” truly means.
Reviewed by Sarah Rosenthal
I grew up in coastal southern Connecticut, likely not far from where the events of Amie Souza Reilly’s essay collection, Human/Animal: A Bestiary in Essays, took place. When I tell people I am meeting for the first time this fact about myself, they might make a reference to Stepford Wives, Revolutionary Road, or a similar tale of a dysfunctional, monied, white family that is deeply broken despite maintaining a perfect, all-American facade outside of their quaint home.
The implication when invoking these kinds of stories about suburbia is that no community can be peaceful on the outside without profound inner pain, which must remain hidden at all costs to protect the communal peace. This is particularly true for the mothers, who must be one of two extremes: cheery and wholesome, or bitter and angry.
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