To Leave with the Reindeer

Rosenthal (We’re Not Here to Disappear) blurs the line between beast and human in this mesmerizing exploration of a woman’s search for identity. The unnamed narrator has a ferocious interest in animals and sets out to introduce wolves into urban environments. Another narrative thread involves a farm boy who grows to relish his work in a slaughterhouse and later crosses paths with the main character when she comes to his private butcher establishment; he teaches her about the particulars of animals raised for human consumption. Rosenthal traces her narrator’s trajectory from difficult birth to a tantrum-throwing child, an adolescent furtively exploring sexuality, and a docile woman who eventually breaks free of convention. There are repeated refrains in her life: about betrayal, staying silent in order not to tell lies, threatening to leave her family to go wherever Santa’s reindeers disappear to after Christmas, about the tragic loss of her first love and about trying to be free. In addition to unearthing the narrator’s search for independence, Rosenthal explores what it means for free creatures to be under someone else’s control. This story of self-discovery explores the many dimensions of captivity, whether it’s a caged animal or a human being stifled by societal conventions and strict mores, and the result is unusual and ultimately triumphant. [em](Apr.) [/em]