Book Review: Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen

Nick and his older brother Joshua were raised by their domineering father Carlyle Morrow on his sprawling property in rural Nebraska. Their mother passed away while they were still very young and so they barely remember her, but Carlyle sometimes says that Nick reminds him of her, not that it causes him to be treated any better. To the contrary, the man clearly favors his first born and is grooming him to one day take over the estate. Though neither boy is treated with anything approaching affection, each existing at the whims of their father’s moods which range from near total apathy at best to violent rage at worst.

While away at college, Joshua meets and marries Emilia, who Carlyle instantly abhors presumably due to her Asian descent. He banishes the couple from his property and vows never to speak to Joshua again, which means that when Nick grows up and moves to the city, the old man finds himself alone with only his greyhounds to keep him company.

In the present day, both boys are now in their forties when they are called by their father to return home as he is dying of cancer and wants them all back together. Neither is eager to visit but they both find themselves going regardless, and while things seem strangely pleasant at first, the 3 men quickly find themselves falling back into their old roles. Joshua and Carlyle roam the property’s vast acreage hunting and fishing, while Nick is relegated to remain at home with Emilia, where the pair find themselves forming a strange and potentially dangerous bond. As deep-seated resentments and jealousies percolate back to the surface, Nick remembers the cruelties that were thrust upon him in his childhood and can’t help but feel as if the entire family is on an unavoidable path towards their own destruction.

Sacrificial Animals meanders along in beautifully extravagant prose, with borderline poetic descriptions of people, places, and events. The pacing is languorous to a fault however, making some sections drag. While the relatively short chapters that alternate between past and present provide some momentum, the dream-like atmosphere bogs down the story.

Inspired by Chinese mythology, there is a dark parable woven through the novel about man’s mistreatment of nature, but this is also a tale about the ways we can be cruel to each other, toxic masculinity, and the ripples of abuse through time. Most readers should have no trouble guessing exactly what is going on well before the characters do, but once things reach their violent conclusion it still feels satisfying. Kailee Pedersen proves herself a writer to watch, even if this first novel might have benefitted from some tighter editing. ★★★