A strange and always-fascinating look at Earth's other animal inhabitants, What We Fed to the Manticore is undoubtedly beautifully written and quite timely in its messages. I enjoyed reading it and felt incredibly moved by many of its passages, and even learned some very interesting facts about the animal kingdom and its myriad connections to the human world, sometimes loving and sometimes the opposite. It is a quick and worthwhile read, and I would highly recommend it to any reader that has taken any interest in the subject. However I did struggle with a couple of inclusions— there were a few too many stories with canines at the forefront and I would have enjoyed less monotony in the overall tone of the collection. At a certain point Kolluri seems to make a point of only showing suffering— and while I do not find any fault in the addressing or depictions of animal abuse, on both massive and individual scales, I did wish for more diversity in the narratives presented. I would easily have read another 100+ pages of this collection and regret to some extent its shorter page count as I believe they might have added immensely to the overall depth and value of the message Kolluri presents here.

I requested this book because of the gorgeous cover and because it’s told from animal points of view and it didn’t disappoint. I generally liked the stories and how relatable the animals were. I liked how the messages were more subtle and think it will be more intriguing for people to pick up.

Through nine emotionally vivid stories, all narrated from animal perspectives, Talia Lakshmi Kolluri’s debut collection explores themes of environmentalism, conservation, identity, belonging, loss, and family with resounding heart and deep tenderness.

In Kolluri’s pages, a faithful hound mourns the loss of the endangered rhino he swore to protect. Vultures seek meaning as they attend to the antelope that perished in Central Asia. A beloved donkey’s loyalty to a zookeeper in Gaza is put to the ultimate test. And a wounded pigeon in Delhi finds an unlikely friend.

In striking, immersive detail against the backdrop of an ever-changing international landscape, What We Fed to the Manticore speaks to the fears and joys of the creatures we share our world with, and ultimately places the reader under the rich canopy of the tree of life.

About the Author: Talia Lakshmi Kolluri's short fiction has appeared in The Minnesota Review, Ecotone, Southern Humanities Review, and The Common.

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Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the copy!
It's really really nice to learn more about animals out there when we can't really go out and see the animals themself right away. I love the detail information about every single animal.

This is a fascinating collection with an interesting premise - every story is told from the point of view of an animal. While I found that some of the stories suffered from what many short stories do - not enough happens, there seems to be no point in the end - I generally enjoyed them. They weren't happy stories, often addressing the impacts of humanity on the animal world. What I was impressed with was Kolluri's ability to write a nonhuman narrator in a way that felt both understandable to us as human readers and true to what we know of the animals. It's a difficult task to accomplish, and I think that she nailed it. The thought and care put into these stories is evident, and it makes them feel authentic, even though we as humans have no way to truly verify that.

A collection of stories told from an animal's perspective and written for adults is creative and unique. However, I found this collection forgettable. I think I would have benefitted from reading the Author's Note that was placed at the end of the book prior to reading the stories. I didn't have a strong understanding of the intention and motivation for this collection until I read the Author's Note, and frankly, if I'm not able to get that by reading the short stories alone, then did the author truly do a good job of embedding the lessons and themes into the stories?

I was so lucky to win this gifted eARC off my wishlist; thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher! I love short story collections and what a wonderful collection this one! This book doesn’t just have a gorgeous cover, it also is home to so many unique & engaging stories, as told from the perspective of animal — I loved each one. This collection is such a beautiful way of looking at things from a different perspective and examining how we interact with the world around us. Definitely would recommend this book, especially if you’re a lover of short story collections!

A text interview with Talia Lakshmi Kolluri was just published at Desi Books. Please see the link below. Thanks.

This is one of the most beautiful and original books I've read this year. In this collection of nine short stories, I feel like I journeyed through an entire spectrum of human impacts on the natural world. It's imaginative, engaging, and definitely gives you a lot to think about.

What an imaginative book!! I alternated ebook and audio and I enjoyed reading via both modalities. The narrators were fantastic!

I don’t give short stories enough love and this one was perfect for me. It was so unique to read through an animal’s eyes and dare I say it was FUN. I really enjoyed these stories and this collection as a whole.

I really enjoyed reading this book more than listening to it. The narrators changed over stories, and the voices of some were very monotone. I did not like the one in the whale story.
I did enjoy the stories being told from the perspectives of animals, it was a very inventive style of writing. There were themes of environmentalism, but they weren't shoved in your face. It was a subtle way of showing how we are harming the planet and affecting animals' lives. The stories were sometimes funny but mostly reflective or sad.

An unusual title captions this nonagon of animal-oriented tales, captured from animal viewpoints, exploring our planet's past, present, future; ethics and survival; myth and practicality, in a collection suffused with deep thought, insight, and intuition, all bathed and basted in magical realism.


All the audio version's narrators are chosen well; my favorite is the initial narrator who delineates the ethics of survival in the gentility of her narration.


Text: I believe author Tallia Kolluri must have subsumed herself in the consciousnesses of these various animals. This collection is a must-read for any reader who admires animals, is concerned about climate change, or is an aficionado of fabulous and fabled storytelling. Ranging from heartwrenching to heartwarming-often simultaneously-and instantly suspending disbelief, the stories in this set, all told from an animal's point of view, are sheer delight. Read consecutively, or one a day over a period of time, one's eyes will be opened and imagination ignited.

Gorgeous and devastating collection of stories told from the perspectives of 9 different animals--each inhabiting different parts of the planet where humans have impacted their environments in often deleterious ways. I loved the way Lakshmi Kolluri centered non-human voices to bring into contrast how they experience the planet--for me, it served to highlight the recklessness with which we wreak havoc on everything around us. As climate writing picks up and we reckon with the destruction we've caused, this collection adds an essential voice to the conversation.

This book reads like something one would be assigned in an English class and most people wouldn't like it. I appreciated the unique perspective the author gave narrating the stories from an animal's POV. However, I struggle to comprehend the overly philosophical thoughts of some of these creatures. Maybe I am missing some metaphors but the whale in the story with the huskies was just weird.

The only story I really enjoyed was The Good Donkey and even that felt a bit odd to me in certain spots, like the donkey speaks to people.

I found myself slogging through the last few tales and was completely bored by the time the book ended.

Wow, this is a stunning collection of short stories. When I first learned that WHAT WE FED TO THE MANTICORE by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri was a collection of animal narrators, I expected some whimsy or, perhaps, fabulist fiction. These stories are not whimsical. Instead, they feel deeply rooted and real with the animals' observations even more of a gut-punch than a humor narrator could provide. I had to take a break between some of the stories--and they have all stayed with me. I will be incorporating these into my creative writing classes. I'll also be using gentle content warnings for students who find it difficult to read about animals suffering and dying. My high school students are going to respond very strongly to the climate change and greatly appreciate the depictions in these stories.

First drawn in by the cover design, I ended up mesmerized by the storytelling.. Kolluri’s voice is such that I had little trouble sharing in the experiences of her animal narrators, and indeed, being transported to their environments. Together the nine stories of this collection are a gorgeous, if melancholy, reflection on the relationship between the built and the natural worlds. In a word: wow.

3.75

thank you to netgalley and w.w norton and company for this arc!

"what we fed to the manticore" by talia lakshmi kolluri is a collection of short stories covering many relevant topics in today's world through the unique perspective of animals. each story truly felt like you were seeing it through the animal's eyes and was compelling in different ways. as it is with collections, there were some i enjoyed more than others, and some i contemplated what the true meaning of the story was meant to be but overall, this was a GREAT debut with incredible thought and writing skill put in to truly immerse ourselves in the lives of these 9 animals and their interactions with the world!

goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4690277437?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/36f8874c-e42e-48cf-9af5-25f832cedf6f

A truly astounding debut for Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, "What We Fed to the Manticore" is a collection of short stories told from the perspective of animals.

Above all else, it is a beautiful, poignant, imperative lesson in empathy.

These stories reflect important conversations that we are running out of time to have: conversations on climate change, on deforestation, on conservation, and simply on what it means to care for the creatures of this earth. Woven with dazzling, emotional prose, Kolluri's seemingly-simple stories will leave an irrevocable impact on, let's face it, any reader with half a heart.

I literally wept through some of these stories; this collection is an awakening in the best way and yet also in a painful way. There's a deeply-spiritual element it in the way the animals talk, experience a world they don't fully understand, and view humans in the stories. "What We Fed to the Manticore" is to be read, savored, and remembered.

A delightful collection of short stories from the points of view of different animals ranging from a donkey posing as a zebra to a migrating whale..

I really enjoyed this collection and look forward to more from this author. The premise is so captivating; I cannot recall reading a collection from the perspectives of animals before. I applaud Kolluri both for the concept and the execution, which is tender and careful.

The collection leaves the reader wondering about what animals might be thinking. The range in terms of geographic locations and types of animals is quite impressive. Very well-written and understandably melancholic, particularly in terms of climate change.

An incredible series of short stories that were beautiful and elegant. I highly enjoyed this.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own