Animal Stories

Essayist and novelist Zambreno (The Light Room) uses zoos as a landscape to explore the human psyche in this provocative collection. The essays are divided into two sections; in the first, “Zoo Studies,” Zambreno draws poignant parallels between humans and animals, prompting the question: if people and animals are not so different, then how can humans justify their captivity? In one scene, Zambreno recalls seeing an orangutan in the zoo holding her baby—trapped, tired, and gazed upon—and the overwhelming sympathy they felt as a fellow parent. In addition to their own experience, Zambreno explores representations of zoos in various mediums, such as the photographs of Garry Winogrand and the writings of John Berger, exposing the sadness and strangeness of these spaces (“The zoo is a place we go, and can only tolerate if we don’t really look at it”). These themes culminate in the collection’s second half, “My Kafka System,” which examines the life and writing of Franz Kafka, highlighting how such works as the 1915 novella The Metamorphosis serve as an allegory for the dehumanizing and imprisoning nature of work structures and societal expectations. Throughout, the author deftly draws from anthropology, philosophy, and psychology to offer a striking meditation on captivity. Zambreno’s lucid writing and relentless inquisitiveness shine. (Sept.)