Barbara Comyns’ book The Vet’s Daughter dabbles in magical realism in a way that Our Spoons Came From Woolworths and Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead did not. Comyns is great at magnifying the real, which is evident in Our Spoons. In Who Was Changed, the circumstances are very strange, yes, but, in my opinion, those circumstances remain grounded in possible real events. The Vet’s Daughter, on the other hand, is the first from Comyns’ œuvre that really defies the laws of physics…so to speak.

The Vet’s Daughter reminded me of the recent film (inspired by the book) Poor Things, starting Emma Stone, in that the setting is strange and grotesque. In the case of The Vet’s Daughter, the homes are dark and abusive. The vet’s house is full of sick animals and taxidermied pets, which felt much like the home scenes in Poor Things. I did not love being in those scenes, but I did appreciate their power to convey.

The Vet’s Daughter is another classic novel from the indomitable Comyns. I find myself slowing down to savor my first read throughs of her books.