Reviews with content warning for Child death - Animal

I don't really know what to say. Ok firstly, read ALL the trigger warnings before you even consider picking this book up. It was a compelling read and there is no doubt that Taddeo is a talented writer, but I just, I remain deeply disturbed by this narrative. I am aware that art is meant to make you feel uncomfortable and question your understanding of the world, but a lot of the events in this book felt gratuitous. I'm not sure that it left me with any questions or deeper thoughts about human beings and how we treat each other. It just left me with a queasy feeling. It's the Damien Hirst exhibition of the literary world.

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korinnagarcia's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Lisa Taddeo is an incredible storyteller! I was completely enthralled! She captured what it’s like being a woman and all of the dark, twisted, tragic things that go along with that.

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sageysage's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Obsessed with this book. Woven together in such an enthralling way.

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cajengirl's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I listened to this on audio and I think the narration was very well done. I feel like this book was written for shock factor. There are a lot of really blunt discussions of sexual acts that I think are intended to shock the reader. There was a little mystery involved, and although I started to get exhausted by the never ending list of bad decisions made by the main character, I stuck around because I wanted to know the answers to the mysteries. All those questions are answered in the last couple of chapters and overall they were a little underwhelming. I had pretty much guessed everything. I almost expected a bigger shock based on the rest of the book so it was a little anti-climatic in the end.

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sharonleavy's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This book deeply upset me to the point where I felt sick and angry at the author for being able to manipulate my emotions and provoke a physical, gutteral reaction.

In one way I suppose that's a sign of a talented writer - but is it? Or is it just a sign that people who know how to push buttons will conjure up the most intimate, upsetting incidents to provoke?

This book is supposed to make you angry. The main character, Joan, is anger personified. She has been hurt, mistreated, and used by men throughout her entire life, over and over again. She no longer cares whether or not she takes advantage of them in return.

"Smart older men will have a way of crawling up your leg. It won't feel seedy at first, and it might seem like it was your idea."

My notes for this book (among a lot of "WTAF??!!!s") include one that says "all these people are disgusting" which I think is accurate. There isn't one redeeming character. The men are all vile, the women all stereotypes.

The incident that upset me the most involved child loss. I thought that the incident itself was grossly overwritten, it added nothing to the story nor the character's story, it just seemed like it was there to provoke. Almost as if saying "are you angry enough yet? Is your skin crawling? No? Here you go, then!". I've read much worse in horror novels, but that's not what this was. It just felt like manipulation and I hated it, I hated how it made me feel. Repeated references to sexual assault and abuse also need to be approached with caution, as does the treatment of a character with Alzheimer's.

For me - even though the writing itself was engaging enough to keep me reading, I just didn't see the overall point of any of it. There was NOTHING redeeming about the main character, her story in itself wasn't particularly interesting, and the side characters were one-dimensional and forgettable.

Many will disagree (many have) but imho there are better ways to rally against a patriarchal society. Ones that don't involve graphic child loss as deliberately provocative filler - I felt more emotionally manipulated by this book than I have been by a man in a very long time.

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emelymarie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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