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The God of Animals

"[A] first novel that's so strong, startling, and moving, that it's a thoroughbred from the first page... In stark, gorgeous prose, Kyle tunnels into the dark heart of the connections between people and place.... The God of Animals does what the best fiction does -- it creates a whole living, breathing world and unfolds it in front of us, granting us entry into a place that, like this author, is impossible to forget." -- Caroline Leavitt, The Boston Globe

"[A] beautiful first novel."

"[An] involving and accomplished first novel... Kyle has a gift forcreating character, for making even the most minor players in Alice'sdrama come alive on the page. And she ties up the strands of her plot innervy and satisfying ways, so that nothing is predictable as The God ofAnimals twists and turns toward its conclusion. Aryn Kyle's debutdelivers all the fun of the books about horses that you loved as a kidbut with the added weight and seriousness of a novel for grown-ups."

"A memorable novel gracefully compares and contrasts the vast landscapesof the human condition -- people butting up against each other, theirnatural surroundings and, most significantly, themselves. To find theseelements expertly handled in a debut novel -- as they are in The God ofAnimals-is reason for readers to rejoice."

"With her debut novel, Aryn Kyle seems poised to become one of America'snext great authors."

"Aryn Kyle is one of those handfuls of first-time novelists whosearrival trumpets what might be a major talent. Kyle's The God of Animalsis a coming-of-age tale that manages to be both elegiac and hard-nosed.It's an impressive debut."

"In Aryn Kyle's affecting first novel, The God of Animals, the ordealsof horses believably reflect and frame the foolishness and suffering oftheir so-called masters....Kyle's writing is strong, and Alice's storysucks us into its stringent world, making us curious and worried...It'sa tribute to Kyle's honest, unshowy writing that readers will want, withaccelerating urgency, to find out what happens."

"Kyle writes perceptively in Alice's voice, drawing the reader into the understated drama of this seminal summer in her life...the author paints an evocative portrait of the vast country in which her characters struggle. Raised in Colorado herself, Kyle knows well the territory of which she writes, from its mind-boggling beauty to the aftermath of drought and flooding. This captivating saga of a loving but dysfunctional family, melded with an ode to the harsh splendor of the West in the tradition of Kent Haruf's Plainsong, is surely the start of a promising career."

"An impressive debut."

"A really good read."

"[A] striking debut novel...Kyle writes an original coming of age story ina subtle but strong voice. The characters are rich and pure, and youcome to know them as complete."

"Vivid...intriguing...Kyle's...prose is a joy, fluid on the page. In 15well-crafted chapters, Kyle creates a strong narrative pulse aroundthese characters, capable of surprising Alice -- and us."

"Kyle...is a seamless storyteller...the structure is as strong as a wellmade fence, despite the many story threads and characters. It will bewonderful to watch her write more and more."

"Like Annie Proulx and others before her, Aryn Kyle brilliantly revealsa vibrant female world pulsing at the heart of the protomasculine ranchlife. Girls come for lessons and become women; women sit on the sidelines coaching their daughters and casting glances at Alice's father. Many novels are published now about adolescents, but writing about them is actually quite difficult. They affect knowingness yet know little; they are loyal to a point, and then quick to betray their upbringing. Kyle understands all this and has a beautiful grasp of Alice's voice."

"[A] compelling book with complex characters you'll grow to love...[a]wonderful coming-of-age book with special appeal to horse lovers."

"Gorgeous, cinematic prose. The God of Animals is a book with a strongbloodline: Jayne Anne Phillips's Machine Dreams, Alice Sebold's TheLovely Bones, with their hard-luck families and wise, weary girlnarrators. But the confidence, and the congratulations, belong to Kylealone."

"Kyle's obvious and delightfully unpostmodern pleasure in the old schoolart of story-telling is sure to make converts of all but the most jadedreaders."

"Kyle has done an artful, careful job with The God of Animals,packing it with riveting details and insights...Kyle is deft at portraying the way an adolescent makes sense of the world...The novel follows the classic coming-of-age formula, but this is material that never gets old when the writer who works it as capable as Aryn Kyle. Like Nona Winstonriding her horse, Aryn Kyle appears to be a natural."

"This is a very impressive debut. Kyle's prose is graceful and mature,and her themes are subtly stitched into the story. A powerful tale,from a writer with real promise, of a girl coming of age amid a dyingway of life."

"Kyle delivers the story in graceful, translucent prose...lyrical."