The Memory of Animals

Author Claire Fuller
Narrator Genevieve Gaunt
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Run Time 9 hours and 50 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Dystopian and utopian fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: Interior life, Science fiction.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the Costa-Winning, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Unsettled Ground: a gripping, haunting novel about memory, love and survival, for readers of Never Let me Go and Leave the World Behind

Neffy is a young woman running away from grief and guilt and the one big mistake that has derailed her career. When she answers the call to volunteer in a controlled vaccine trial, it offers her a way to pay off her many debts and, perhaps, to make up for the past.

But when the London streets below her window fall silent, and all external communications cease, only Neffy and four other volunteers remain in the unit. With food running out, and a growing sense that the strangers she is with may be holding back secrets, Neffy has questions that no-one can answer. Does safety lie inside or beyond the unit? And who, or what is out there?

While she weighs up her choices, she is introduced to a pioneering and controversial technology which allows her to revisit memories from her life before: a childhood divided between her enigmatic mother and her father in his small hotel in Greece. Intoxicated by the freedom of the past and the chance to reunite with those she loves, she increasingly turns away from her perilous present. But in this new world where survival rests on the bonds between strangers, is she jeopardising any chance of a future?

The Memory of Animals is a taut and emotionally charged novel about freedom and captivity, survival and sacrifice and whether you can save anyone before you save yourself.

©2023 Claire Fuller (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

Following her award-winning novel Unsettled Ground, Fuller has returned with a piece of stunning speculative fiction

The i

A haunting novel about love, survival and everything in between … one to get excited about

Stylist, Best Modern Dystopia

A thought-provoking and utterly compelling novel from a writer we always look forward to reading

Glamour

Haunting and unsettling, moving and thoughtful, with horror lurking at the edges, this is a subtle, elegant novel. Claire Fuller is a huge talent

Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane

Claire Fuller is such an interesting and original writer and she has produced another literary page-turner … Compulsive and thoroughly convincing. Terrific!

Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures

Fuller is an excellent writer and she neatly conveys boredom as well as dread (no mean feat)

Daily Mail

Stunning … A page-turning, topical, edge-of-your-seat story that resonates with the reader on an emotional level, and leaves them thinking about it for a long time afterwards

Louise Morrish, author of Operation Moonlight

A gripping page-turner, this apocalyptic tale is given warmth and depth by the portrayal of Neffy, a young woman with a complicated past to which she returns to escape the horrors of the present

Woman and Home

A taut and atmospheric read, an exploration of captivity, sacrifice and survival in a post-apocalyptic world … Asks important, resonant questions of life in extremis … Fuller writes brilliantly … The superb ending ties everything together with a moving, tragic cohesiveness

Irish Times

A woman once undone by empathy now finds that it could be her salvation in Claire Fuller’s stunning postapocalyptic novel … Sobering and evocative, The Memory of Animals is a novel about who we choose to be when the lights go out

Foreword

Wonderful, sorrowful, haunting, tender, elegiac

Barney Norris, author of The Undercurrent

Claire Fuller is my favourite story-teller. I read The Memory of Animals in one sitting, swept up by the thriller-like pace and the sheer joy of reading a great story. Yet, in the book’s aftermath, I was haunted by Neffy’s fumbling humanity in the face of loss and fear, and how courage isn’t always obvious – even to those who find it. Fuller’s books come in at the eyes, but they settle right behind the heart.

Melanie Finn, author of The Hare

A riveting exploration of agency, allegiance and choice

Marie Claire

Fuller’s latest work is thought-provoking and unsettling, and somehow strikes a further warning note to a world already in crisis

Irish Independent

Claire Fuller is a fascinating writer, and The Memory of Animals is further evidence of her powers. Her story is one of survival, but her subject is humanity itself. With immense skill, she shines a light on the dark heart of our existence – the beauty and brutality of human behaviour. This is an unforgettable novel

Kathleen MacMahon, author of Nothing But Blue Sky

A story you’ll both recognize from our collective recent past, and a thrilling departure from our reality

Good Housekeeping USA, The Best Books of 2023 so far

Full of jeopardy and strangeness but also laced with Fuller’s trademark generosity and compassion. A startling and satisfying book

Julie Myerson, author of Nonfiction

Fuller excels in examining the everyday moments at the heart of a life … A memorable meditation on how the human struggle to survive in captivity is not so different than that of our animal kin

Kirkus

A haunting novel of second chances set in a near-future pandemic … Intricately structured … The entwined pain and pleasure of memory is at the heart of Neffy’s story, as is the hard work of establishing trust and finding forgiveness, particularly for oneself. This is a pandemic novel, yes, but one that radically transcends the label

Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Brave, unflinching and beautiful

Beth Underdown, author of The Witchfinder's Sister

Claire Fuller strikes the perfect balance between beauty and melancholy

Clare Mackintosh, author of Hostage

The way she writes (with empathy but never sentimentality) moves my heart

Elizabeth Day, author of Magpie

A creeping tale of isolation and the dangerous allure of memory

Liz Earle Wellbeing

[A] post-Covid psychological thriller … takes faintly distubing turns through grimly familiar territory to suggest that what makes us heroic, or not, hinges on unexpected things

Mail on Sunday

Compelling … A riveting, don’t-miss account of what some may see as the reality to come; long-time Fuller readers will relish this completely engrossing story, which questions what we value most

Library Journal

Compelling … A timely read … Fuller is on strong form in evoking the terrors faced by those who are not just marginalised but entirely forgotten by society

Daily Express

There’s a haunted elegance to Fuller’s vision of a fallen world … Sensuous

Lit Hub, 28 Novels You Need To Read This Summer

More from the same

Author

Narrator

About xigxag

Enjoy the best audiobooks on xigxag, an innovative, user-friendly audiobook platform that makes it easy to find, purchase, and enjoy your favorite books in audio format. xigxag’s flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less – affordable prices and the best audiobook deals with no subscription required. Give the perfect gift with our audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

xigxag’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices ensures a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform – an exciting alternative to big tech. Enjoy audiobooks from the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service and a leader in audiobook innovation.

Search effortlessly, read honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the book and the narration, and discover hidden gems. Download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere and get the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Experience the future of audiobooks today.