The Beast is an Animal

About this book

When unimaginable tragedy strikes her village, Alys is only seven years old, yet she can’t stop thinking that she is somehow to blame.

Even when her life gets back to something resembling normality, Alys waits for the beautiful, evil creatures of the night to return and leave her devastated all over again. And despite acknowledging the inherent dangers, she is irresistibly drawn to the dark woods where the Beast and his minions lie in wait.

Like many traditional folk tales, Alys’s story is haunting and claustrophobic with undertones of cruelty and injustice. Her journey towards self-discovery is protracted and tortured and has parallels with the lives of refugees in the modern era.

Startlingly visual imagery brings Alys’s experiences to life in an epic tale of trauma, fear, discrimination and, ultimately, bravery.