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Since the death of his brother, dairy farmer George Calvert has fought to keep the family business afloat. Worried about the future but resistant to change, he refuses to face the reality of his failing farm, his elderly mother's declining health and his troubled relationship with his youngest son, Tom.
Newly returned from university, Tom isolates himself in his childhood bedroom, guarding the truth of his burgeoning identity.
When animal rights activists break into the cowshed one morning, Tom appears to side with the protesters. As the Calverts begin to unravel, a decades-old secret surfaces – one that might rip them apart completely, or finally unite them.
A deeply moving debut about one family's struggle to find connection in a rapidly changing world, Human, Animal is an ode to the wild, a journey of self-discovery and a hopeful path to common ground.
Author: Seth Insua
Paperback Published 1 March 2025 320 pages
Read and Recommended by Graeme:
"The Alderdown dairy farm has been a family business for the Calvert family over many generations and has seen its share of upheaval over those decades. There was the tragic death of a son on the land, issues over succession, and a German prisoner-of-war working alongside the family throughout 1944 when labour was in short supply. Yet perhaps the biggest threat to the farming business occurs in the present day, when animal rights activists break into the cowshed one morning and film compromising video of the Calvert’s farming practises. The video goes up online and the Calverts find themselves caught up in a maelstrom of online attacks and abuse. Younger son Tom had only recently informed his family he is vegan and his sympathies seem to lie with the activists and may even have links with them. Yet veganism is not the only change that Tom needs to share with his conservative family - he has been keeping a secret about his sexuality and identity for years. This compelling narrative pits the rural vs urban and the traditional older folks vs a younger progressive generation - yet this is not the only compelling storyline. The novel also steps back to 1944, intertwining chapters of when Stefan Becker, a German POW begins to work on the farm alongside the family. This is a fascinating historical situation that Australian readers are likely to be completely unaware of. A close friendship develops between Stefan and Maggie, the farmer’s unconventional daughter who works the farm. In the contemporary storyline, Maggie is Tom’s Gran, still living on the land she loves and worked on, yet succumbing to dementia and creating a difficult conundrum for the family. These complex dual storylines are both explored with great compassion and emotional breadth. The characterisation is also absolutely superb - psychologically astute and all too human, with the sympathies and stubbornness of these characters explored. Yet Seth Insua also writes beautifully about the land, the animals, and nature, and his depiction of farming life - its challenges and joys - is spot on. The ending is also exceptionally well handled, with family secrets exposed, some reconciliation achieved, yet in the final pages a menacing undercurrent emerges... This debut novel is a knockout! Highly recommended."
'Beautifully, skilfully told with real tension and gorgeous characters, Human, Animal moved me to tears. Insua writes with so much kindness, empathy and wisdom...Remarkable.' – Russell T Davies
'Insua probes the spaces between black-and-white-thinking with immeasurable sensitivity...Human, Animalexplores the anxious convergence of the past, present and future with staggering clarity. A truly impressive debut.' – Joshua Jones, author ofLocal Fires