Mammals

"Mammals" is a disturbing reminder of what a despicable and unpleasant species humans can be. "All families owe it to themselves to have a failure: a family without a failure is not truly a family, for it lacks an element which challenges it and thereby confirms its legitimacy." Caustic, comic and unflinchingly honest, "Mammals" is a cruel but beautiful tale of love, solitude, alcoholism, unemployment and family life. Reminiscent of the late Charles Bukowski, these memoirs recount the life of Uncle, a miserable, misanthropic bachelor and secondary school teacher with a taste for drink and a love of execrable poetry. A glorious loser, he is emotional and sarcastic, with little to be proud of and much to regret. Where did it all go wrong? Pierre Merot has created an unforgettable, embittered, dysfunctional, tragic anti-hero, an everyman for our morally bankrupt times.