Animal is there, bent double, face to the earth, in the muck, protecting Little Girl from the pain of existence in the belly of the barn and the horrifying abuse at the hands of Farmer. This is where she is finally found, in the subterranean pen, and "saved." Animal is taken in and cared for, but as she can not be Little Girl, with her grunts and squeals and twisted body, she is not truly loved. Animal craves a mother's love. She has not had it since the decomposing head of her own Momma kept her company in the darkness of her pen. This desire to please her new master motivates her search for Little Girl in the Ink. Animal finds her there and sacrifices once again, this time to release Little Girl for new Momma to love, Animal takes her place in the Ink. Will Little Girl be the perfect daughter for new Momma, or will the inheritance of sickness spreading like a wild fire already have burnt Little Girl's mind to ash? Had Animal protected Little Girl, or had Little Girl been peeping all along through her eyes, watching and learning? This book is uncomfortable. It is gruesome. It is brutal in its look at topics that impact human beings, especially those who have or continue to suffer from how they were raised, how much pain we can endure and the magic of the mind to create ways to survive it, and confronting ideas about God, Satan, Sickness and their role in it all. The author, Antigone, has a lineage of atrocity. She understands the need to survive, tasted her mortality like fresh blood on the lips, and can point twisted fingers at the wolves who raised her, the wolves who raised them, and the Great One who spectated. Hopefully, this story elicits fear and suspense, but also thought.
