You’re an Animal

A group of misfits hide out from the law in this entertaining if cursory effort from Libaire (The Sober Lush). In a remote Oklahoma commune, three miscreants eke out a living by cooking meth: Ernie, 34 (a “hustler-Jesus from outer space”); Staci, 25; and her boyfriend, Ray. They welcome newcomer Coral, a Deaf and mute 17-year-old, who’s left with them one day by her half-sister, who looks red-faced and guilty in the act, like someone “leaving a grand piano on the side of a highway in the rain.” When one of the compound’s labs erupts in flames, the foursome flee on motorcycles for rural Texas, where Staci’s alcoholism resurfaces and Ernie frets about being found by the authorities. Bizarre antics ensue in the novel’s second half, including a harebrained attempt to comfort Coral with Slash, an adult cheetah adopted from an criminal associate. Libaire is great at setting a scene and bringing to life the gritty cast, but the narrative sputters and runs out of steam in the final lap, and the conclusion feels tacked on. This diverting tale is less than the sum of its parts. Agent: Sally Wofford-Girand, Union Literary. (Aug.)