The Memory of Animals

Imagining a pandemic is much more accessible to us than it used to be, and Claire Fuller takes our hand and leads us into a world that encounters a more intense version of what we all experienced a few years ago and the aftermath that plays out. Neffy, a twenty-seven-year-old marine biologist, has just been kicked off a research project in London involving octopuses, and guilt may be what fuels her decision to sign up for a vaccine trial in the face of a deadly disease. Against the wishes of her mother and her boyfriend, Neffy signs up. In the hospital, she meets the other volunteers, Piper, Yahiko, Rachel, and Leon, who may or may not receive a vaccine and exposure to a fatal disease. When the trail doesn’t go as expected, and the city around them descends into chaos, the participants must seclude themselves and inhabit a solitary world inside the hospital. Neffy befriends Leon, who invented a new technology that allows you to revisit the memories of your past. Similar to taking a nap and reliving your memories like a dream. Revisiting gives us a window into Neffy’s childhood, her parent's divorce, and her divided childhood between London and the hotel her father owns on Paxos, the Greek island where she spends her summers. ‘The Memory of Animals’ is a richly imagined post-apocalyptic reality that will grab you with the beautifully drawn, complex characters and have you wondering, ‘What if?’