Publishers Weekly
★ 07/04/2022
The unifying premise of Kolluri’s exquisite debut collection—stories narrated from various animal perspectives—might seem gimmicky or cute, but it’s neither. Instead, these nine exceptional stories, centered on a variety of mammal and bird species and set in global locations ranging from the Sundarbans to the open ocean, from the arctic to Delhi, feel both timeless and urgent. Each deal in some way with the disruptions wrought by humans on the natural world and on nonhuman species. These include war (“The Good Donkey,” set in a Gaza zoo), hunting and poaching (in a pair of nearly unbearably sad stories, one set in Yellowstone, the other in Kenya), and technological disruptions. Perhaps inevitably, climate change is either explicitly or implicitly at the heart of several of these tales, including the title story, in which man-eating tigers realize there’s something menacing their home that’s even more dangerous than their own kind. A list of sources points to the real-world incidents and phenomena that inspired Kolluri, such as an Atlantic article titled “Why Did Two-Thirds of These Weird Antelope Suddenly Drop Dead?”; the context serves to make the author’s treatment that much more remarkable. Joy might understandably be in short supply in settings defined by mass extinctions and climate crisis, but the exceptional closer, “Let Your Body Meet the Ground,” soars on the promise of human kindness, no matter how small. This remarkable collection leaves an indelible mark. Agent: Kerry D’Agostino, Curtis Brown, Ltd. (Sept.)
PopSugar
"Explores themes of loss, friendship, identity, and nature."
Philadelphia Inquirer
"Charming."
Claire Comstock-Gay
"What We Fed to the Manticore is a work of incredible imagination and daring, asking us to recognize the inner lives of whales, donkeys and pigeons to be as complex and deep as our own. The stories in this collection are gorgeously written and richly emotionally textured; in Talia Kolluri’s hands, the familiar world we live in comes freshly to life. I looked up from the last page to find that my own world—and my heart—had become bigger."
Orion
"Remarkable."
Ms. Magazine
"Touching, original. . . . This one will move you."
Amerie's Book Club
"Unforgettable."
Ayse Papatya Bucak
"If like me, you fell in love with Fiver and Hazel and Charlotte and Wilbur as a child and have been looking ever since for stories that work that same magic—here they are. This spellbinding collection reminds us that every animal story is a human one, and every human story an animal one. These stories work like incantations."
High Country News
"Courageous and new."
She Reads
"With vivid emotion and scenery, the tender and heartfelt voices show the world from different points of view that speak to the interconnectedness of people, animals, and nature."
Bookbrowse
"Imaginative."
Book Riot
"Imaginative. . . . Vulnerable and hopeful, this collection is a touching read."
Starred Review Booklist
"Stupendous. . . . breathtaking. . . . remarkable."
Elena Passarello
"The voicing of other species is an ancient, vulnerable, and utterly human practice. For millennia, we’ve placed our stories inside non-human animals not only to celebrate these creatures, but to see the ways our own natures bend and twist in a new set of stripes. The fiction in this deft collection proves that what we call ‘humanity’ exists within a menagerie of other beings, but it also showcases the mind of the one human animal regaling us with her singular wit and wonder. How lovely to get to know a storyteller like Talia Lakshmi Kolluri while she winks at us from inside the minds of a tiger, a vulture, a donkey, a whale."
Chicago Review of Books
"Set to take its rightful place among some of the best environmental fiction in recent memory."
ALTA Journal
"Kolluri’s collection crosses borders to explore the inner lives of creatures."
BOMB
"A collection of fables for the 21st century."
OC Register
"Vivid."
Seattle Times
"Lays bare the inextricable human-animal connection."
Bookstr - 5 Amazing Books that are Similar to Bambi
"Vivid and breathtaking. . . . deals with feelings of heartbreak and tenderness while crafting a profound message about environmentalism."
Shelf Awareness
"Vivid, imaginative, spellbinding. . . . Kolluri's prose reads like a beautiful song as it soars over the savannah and under the sea."
Locus
"A singular new voice. . . . the stories are sparkling, strange, and tender."
Soapberry Review
"A must-read for animal lovers."
Poets & Writers
"Fresh observations of the world."
The Rumpus
"Deeply tender."
Debutiful
"Vivid and exciting."
So Many Damn Books
"Every single one of these stories is a gem. "
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"Kolluri delivers a dazzling, daring bestiary brimming over with textured, tender lives. A most magnificent debut!"
El Orion
"Remarkable."
Library Journal - Audio
★ 12/01/2022
Kolluri's masterful debut collection features nine short stories where the protagonist is always an animal. Whether they are tame, wild, cared for, or alone, Kolluri imbues them with fully developed personalities and treats them with great respect. The relationships of animal/human, animal/animal, and animal/self reveal universal truths of love and fear. The stories are delivered by two narrators, providing a necessary change of pace halfway through. Audie Award—winning Nikki Massoud begins the collection in "The Good Donkey," giving voice to a sweet donkey and making unique oral choices for the antagonists. Narrator Neil Shah comes in later as a deep-voiced, pensive bear. Listeners may be disappointed to hear only a couple of stories from Shah, which is a shame, as he is very talented. Both narrators provide a wonderful atmospheric reading, giving the illusion of being tucked into bed by a macabre fairy tale. Most tracks are about 30 minutes with enough space between each story. VERDICT A remarkable book and an audiobook that deserves wide attention. Share this outstanding collection with fans of Karen Russell, George Saunders, and Amy Hempel.—Laura Stein
