Beautiful Animals

Starred review from June 15, 2017
Beautifully crafted and psychologically astute, Osborne's (Hunters in the Dark, 2016, etc.) latest novel takes us on another journey through a heart of moral darkness.The "beautiful animals" of the title refer to two young women. Naomi Codrington is 24, rich, bored, and recently unemployed. She lives with her father and stepmother (refer to fairy tales for insight into that relationship) in a villa on a Greek island, a venue whose languorous sultriness provides a perfect backdrop for the unfolding of the action. Samantha "Sam" Haldane, a few years younger than Naomi, comes to the island for a summer with her family, and the two women strike up an uneasy friendship. Naomi is amoral and charismatic, a deadly combination for someone like Sam, who is naive and dependent. In a remote place on the islands they discover Faoud, a man they take as a Syrian refugee, though he remains cagey about his background. Naomi decides to help him, but her motivation derives as much from a love of secrecy as from altruism. She comes up with a plan that involves providing money for Faoud by staging a robbery at her parents' villa, but inevitably things go startlingly and tragically wrong. A writer of great intelligence and insight, Osborne now follows the nonintersecting paths of Faoud and the two women, for Faoud must flee a crime far greater than robbery. Osborne then explores the deepening tension between Naomi, who struggles to remain in control of a rapidly deteriorating situation, and Sam, who struggles with her continued deference to Naomi. The novel works engagingly on many levels, most basically that of plot but especially that of character and the fascination we have with people who bring out our moral disapproval. Osborne ultimately brings all of his complications involving Faoud, Naomi, and Sam to a logical but troubling conclusion. A rich, disturbing, and compelling read.

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October 2, 2017
Actor Campbell provides the vocals for the audio edition of Osborne’s novel. Rich and charismatic Naomi is living at her parents’ villa on the Greek island of Hydra when she meets Samantha, who is visiting the island for the summer, and the two become fast friends. Their summer takes an unforeseen turn when they encounter Faoud, a Syrian refugee washed ashore. With an aristocrat’s penchant for mischief, Naomi convinces Samantha to help gather funds for Faoud to move into Europe by staging a robbery at Naomi’s parents’ house—a plan that has dire consequences. Osborne’s languid prose captures the beauty of a Greek island in summer. His keen use of dialogue conveys the power dynamics among the characters, particularly Naomi’s dominance over Samantha. Campbell reads with a deep baritone voice that’s both enticing and easy to follow. His smooth delivery and light emphasis initially come across as neutral but, as the story progresses, he mimics the air of resentment and arrogance that reverberates through Naomi’s life. He isn’t always able to capture the tense moments in the plot, such as when Naomi is confronted by the police and when Faoud is within reach of escape to a new life. As a result, the story is slow moving. A Hogarth hardcover.

Starred review from July 1, 2017
Naomi is a beautiful animal, a panther licking her claws after being fired from her law job, whiling away the summer on a Greek island, when along comes the perfect prey. Samantha, a young American, is looking to break free of the suffocating choke hold imposed by her parents. In Naomi, Sam finds something exciting, a glimpse of the independence she has not yet tasted: Naomi offered something elsea sense of knowing what she wanted long before anyone else did. For her part, Naomi is weighed down by an excess of liberal guilt, apologizing for her parents' hedonistic excesses and taking the side of the wronged whenever she can. As Osborne (Hunters in the Dark, 2015) shows, the line between altruism and self-absorption can be thin. When the young women find a refugee hiding on a remote part of the island, Naomi's impulsive actions, fueled by utterly delusional motivations, plunge both into murky and dangerous waters. Soaked in lush descriptions of the breathtaking Greek countryside, this brilliantly paced novel also visits the chasms built by class. As Naomi's example illustrates, it takes a special type of privilege to play puppet master with somebody else's life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

February 15, 2017

In his three frequently best-booked novels (most recently, the suspenseful Hunters in the Dark), Osborne walked the razor's edge of East-West culture clash from Morocco to Macau to Cambodia. Here he lands on the Greek island of Hydra, where Naomi, whose British art collector father owns a magnificent villa, is rambling through the countryside with younger vacationing American Samantha when they discover a sleeping man who is very likely a refugee. Naomi's urge to help, perhaps just as a diversion, has grave consequences that include murder.

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