Anima Rising by Christopher Moore

March 8, 2026

Anima Rising by Christopher Moore

On his way home from an evening on the town, artist Gustav Klimt sees a naked dead girl lying on the bank of a canal. Fascinated by the color of her skin, he stops to draw her, and then realizes that she isn't dead. He takes her home to his studio, where one of his regular models Wally takes her under her wing and nurses her back to health. But the drowned girl can't remember her name or how she got into the canal, so Klimt takes her to see his friend Dr. Sigmund Freud, and under hypnosis, the girl tells a fantastic tale of being murdered and reanimated by none other than Victor Frankenstein. Who also brings a Malamute named Geoff who loves croissants back to life.

Another out-there tale of history/fantasy/horror from Christopher Moore, featuring a number of real-life characters including artist Gustav Klimt and his favorite model Wally, Egon Schiele, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung (Adolf Hitler even does a walk-on), and incorporating the story of the bride of Frankenstein (coincidentally, the movie The Bride starring Maggie Gyllenhall is just about to be released). Moore also incorporates Inuit mythology and stories of shapeshifters. The humor is darker than in many of his books and there are darker themes at work here as well, including sexual and physical abuse, sex work, some animal death that is mostly off-stage, murder, and mental health. My favorite character by far is Geoff the pastry-loving dog, who is Judith's protector, and yes, he is fine at the end of the story.

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt - he was known for the mosaic costumes on his models