Dictionary of Animal Languages

We grant men a right to solitude. Why can’t we do the same for women?
Ivory Frame arrives in Paris at the height of the surrealist movement. She falls in with a set of bohemian artists and begins an intense love affair with a volatile, married Russian painter. But this freedom cannot last forever. When the Second World War comes, she is forced to flee, leaving everything she cares about behind.
Years later, as Ivory compiles her last, greatest work — a vast account of animal languages — she receives unexpected news. She is told that she has a grandchild, despite never having had a child of her own.
Inspired by the life of surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, this is a thrillingly elegant yet raw evocation of a woman clawing her way to a creative life.

Reviews

‘Sopinka isn’t just a terrific writer, she’s a great thinker. Her writing has particular sway and grace when she writes about the natural world.’