The Past Is a Grotesque Animal (which is a great title, by the way – ed.) is a nicely put together compact hardcover that brings together over 200 pages of Tommi Parrish's work created over roughly a decade – in both black & white and full color, and in a variety of media – assembled in such a manner so as to provide a bit of a scrapbook feel while also providing a reading experience undergirded by a cohering narrative structure – of which the scrapbook is, in turn, an integral component (think Carol Tyler); a formal mirroring that does double duty in also adding a layer of psychological insight into the characters' apprehension of the reality of their surroundings and its interiorization, into which gender identities and sexual behaviors are folded and unfolded, constructed and deconstructed. 

Suffice it to say, Parrish fans will not be disappointed; also, great jumping on point for new readers interested in this terrain.