#249 | How All Men Can Relate to the Journey of Identity and Growth in ‘We the Animals’
Quick SUMMARY:
Douglas Vigliotti explores "We the Animals" by Justin Torres, a coming-of-age novel that tackles the intricate themes of family, identity, and personal growth. Douglas sheds light on the author’s background and the book's narrative, which follows a young protagonist as he navigates complex family dynamics and his emerging sexuality. With a focus on the book's emotional depth and minimalist storytelling, Douglas shares his reflections, inviting listeners to join the conversation and embrace the subtle richness of literary fiction.
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TOPICS COVERED IN the EPISODE:
Introduction to "We the Animals" (00:09) - Douglas introduces the book "We the Animals" and its themes of family and identity.
Author Background (01:17) - Discussion on Justin Torres, his writing career, and his connection to the book.
Book's Adaptation (02:31) - Mention of the indie film adaptation of "We the Animals" released in 2017.
Themes of the Story (03:36) - Exploration of the book's themes of family life, childhood longing, and the protagonist's coming out.
Complexity of Emotion (05:00) - Insight into the emotional complexities in the story, compared to works by Amy Hempel.
Growth is Painful (06:13) - Discussion on the protagonist's painful journey of growth and self-discovery.
Meaning of the Title (08:51) - Analysis of the title "We the Animals" and its symbolic significance in the narrative.
Closing Remarks (10:24) - Douglas encourages listeners to subscribe, rate the podcast, and connect with him.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to “Books for Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do. So this week I am going to be sharing with you a piece of literary fiction. It is also a coming-of-age story. It is extremely short, so around 124 pages or so. It came out in 2011, and it is titled “We the Animals” by Justin Torres. So, of course, I will be sharing with you more about the author, the book, and some of my larger takeaways. But before I do that, I did want to quickly remind you about my new book that came out at the end of last year, “Aristotle for Novelists: 14 Timeless Principles on the Art of Story”. If you are a novelist, or maybe you are looking to write that first novel, or just tell a story of any kind, whether it's on the screen, the page, or in your life, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you will find in that book. If you're interested in learning more, all you have to do is visit the website AristotleorNovelists.com.
01:17 - All right, so now that we've got that out of the way, let's turn back to the work at hand and start with the author. Of course. So Justin Torres has written two novels and a handful of short stories and articles. He's also a professor at UCLA. To be honest, I don't know much about him aside from what I just picked up on the internet. So it was interesting to me to find out that he had only written two novels, especially considering how good I found the novel that I am sharing with you today to be. So I sort of came to this book in an interesting way, as I was in a conversation with a literary agent who I respect, I told him that one of my favorite books was “Miles from Nowhere”, and he recommended that I check this book out, and shortly after I read it, I quickly realized why and where the similarities were. Some of that I will share with you momentarily, but interestingly enough, similar to Torres, Nami Mun, the author of “Miles from Nowhere” never wrote another novel, so I don't know if there's something going on here with these delicate, minimalistic coming of age portrayals of survival, but neither of these authors have been very prolific.
02:31 - However, in no way, shape, or form does that demean the work that I am sharing with you today. I just think it's an interesting correlation. I should mention that “Miles from Nowhere” was one of the original books that I featured on “Books for Men”, and I can link that episode up in the show notes for anybody who was interested. Oh, and I should also note that this book that I'm sharing with you today, “We the Animals”, was turned into an indie film in 2017. So if anybody is interested in seeing the cinematic representation of this story, there is one out there. I have never seen it, so I can't vouch for it or talk about the differences or anything of that nature. But I did want to just make a note of it so that you are aware. All right. So now let me turn to the story itself. And it is a story of raw emotion. I would say it's one of longing for family life and childhood, but it also doubles as a coming-of-age story, or specifically, in this book's sense, a coming out story for our nameless protagonist.
03:36 - So his emerging sexuality is essential to the development of not just him as a person, but to the storyline. It's the structural spine of the narrative, and it juxtaposes against the animalistic, masculine nature of growing up as the youngest of three boys, hence the title “We the Animals”. So the book itself is told in short scenes or vignettes starting from an early age, depicting poverty and chaos and recklessness, but also, as I mentioned or maybe alluded to, love and unity as the brothers really rely on each other for survival and strength. And it's in the growing and evolving as an individual, particularly with, as I had mentioned earlier, the embracing of our nameless protagonist’s sexuality, that he starts to sense a divide and a separation from his brothers. And there are certain plot terms that heighten this and deepen the struggle. But as always, I'm not going to spoil the specific plot points of the story. Instead, you should just know that thematically, it's a story of the complexities of family life, identity, and ultimately growth, something that I will dive more into in just a moment.
05:00 - Which leads me into the first takeaway that I wanted to share with you. And I've used the word complexity, I think, a couple times so far in this little monologue here, but I do believe that one of the most interesting parts of this story is the complexity of emotion, and subject matter is similar to the short stories of Amy Hempel, or even a novel that I mentioned much earlier, “Miles from Nowhere”, both featured on this pod, and as I mentioned earlier, we'll be linked in the show notes. But this is a lesson, just like those works are in what can be accomplished with so little. And I always find it so fascinating when an author can really grip you and leverage what isn't on the page to heighten what is on the page. And in my eyes, this is the best form of minimalism because it reminds you that what isn't there is just as important, if not more so, than what is. And certainly this applies to writing or storytelling. But even if we extrapolate this out to one's life as a whole.
06:13 - I think it's an important reminder, and that sort of ties into the theme of this novel, and that is growing from a pack to an individual, and remembering that what isn't there is sometimes just as important as what is. This leads me into my second big takeaway, and that is that growth is painful, but most times necessary. This protagonist's journey, although yours, might be completely different as you may or may not be gay, and coming out is the central struggle, and the emerging sexuality is the essential struggle for our protagonist. It's a metaphor for moving on from an identity that involves tight family life, and embracing your own individuality in this wild, unruly world, and the challenges that one faces when doing that, both emotional and physical. And I think it's in that we can all relate to our protagonist, even if, as I said specifically, your story is much different. I mean, mine is much different as I'm not gay, but I definitely related to the journey of growth that this protagonist faces in my own way.
07:42 - And on a personal note, sometimes it takes remembering that what isn't there is just as important as what is. Because as we strive for certain things in our life and we don't have them or they're not there yet, it's important to remember that the growth is also about what isn't there. And sometimes it could be good, and sometimes it could be bad. But there is a positive element to that as well. And so I know I am tying in Style with Theme and extrapolating it out to bigger picture stuff within our own lives. But this is the type of thoughts that were going on in my head as I was reading a story like this. But I will close this with my third and final takeaway, which ties back to that minimalistic nature of the prose and of the story in general, and it being a strength, even the title “We the Animals”, if you think about that, it packs so much meaning into three simple words. I mean, first, phonetically it sounds like a child, right? And so it has that one layer.
08:51 - And then when you just look at the word, “We”, it indicates this collective unity of his brothers during childhood and that pack mentality. And “Animals” depicts their raw, instinctualness. And in totality, it's really symbolic of embracing that collective masculinity to survive the hardship of their childhood. And as I've already mentioned a couple of times, this juxtaposition with the growth of our protagonist and how that affects his relationship with his brothers and parents is the real tension that rides in this narrative. There's a really tragic line that comes at the end or towards the end of the novel, and it says, “Why won't you look at me, my brothers, why won't you take my eyes?” And naturally, I just found this to be incredibly heartbreaking and heavy, but nonetheless beautifully written and articulated. And if you allow this story to go there, I am sure it will resonate with you. All right, so that's all I've got. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, I want to remind you to please click subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on, or take two seconds and rate the show.
10:24 - It is the best way to help new listeners find the show and also inspire more men to read. If you want to connect with me, maybe tell me what you thought about this podcast or the podcast more broadly. There are two ways to do so: on Instagram @DouglasVigliotti. It's the only social media that I have or via my website DouglasVigliotti.com. As I mentioned at the top of this episode, I have a new book out. It is titled “Aristotle for Novelists,” and you can find more information about that at AristotleforNovelists.com. And last but not least, I wanted to thank you so much for listening. And if you want more information on this podcast specifically, which includes signing up for the monthly newsletter, then all you have to do is visit the website BooksforMen.org.
