Reviews with content warning for Child death - Animal

“You must remember that most people don’t like to hear when bad things happen. They can tolerate only a little here and there. The bad things must be comestible. If there are too many bad things, they plug their ears and vilify the victim. But a hundred very bad things happened to me. Am I supposed to be quiet? Bear my pain like a good girl? Or shall I be very bad and take it out on the world? Either way I won’t be loved.” //

i absolutely loved this book. i've always been a fan of stories with flawed and somewhat unlikeable characters. having studied psychology, i'm always searching for the "why?" factor when i hear or read about deviant human behaviour - which particular combination of genes and environmental factors/experiences led to this manifestation? by the end of this novel, all of my questions had been answered, and i felt nothing but compassion for joan.

NOTE: this book is exceptionally heavy. please review the content warnings to check whether it's right for you.

Content Warnings

lilacsandliterature's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

Thank you to Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for the gifted advanced copy!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: this book is full of graphic descriptions of rape and miscarriage so please be warned

Wow. This book is incredibly dark but equally as compelling and I couldn’t put it down until the last pages. It’s hard to express enjoying such dark subject matter but it was written in such a way that I can’t deny its power. The story of Joan, the daughter of parents who have made many decisions that will effect her life forever, is one that will stay with me for a while. Joan goes on a mission to find a woman she’s never met before but who changes the course of her life without even knowing she exists. Joan is an incredibly complex character who seems to let herself be treated poorly in order to punish her child self.

This book could not be more graphic and disturbing but so well written. I recommend to fans of books like Luster and The Push.

Content Warnings

cko's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Reading this felt like watching something get murdered on animal planet: wet, grotesque, and in HD. I could not look away. There was a matter-of-factness to Taddeo's language and syntax that made the book feel elegant and freeing. There was so little self-doubt or self-criticism. Joan is real with herself, even if she isn't always real with others. Her history unfolded in a very organic way; associations to objects or phrases brought up memories of the past, which were told in fluid paragraphs, before returning to what seems to be the story's "present." It helped us learn about Joan in a cloying, piecemeal way.

There is a lot of sexual assault content and the use of a character with Down's syndrome as a plot device felt a little off to me, but overall, this novel was so frank and gripping, it was hard to put down. It is the kind of novel you feel in your gut.

P.S. If I remember correctly, there is mention of a racial slur for Black folks, by an old man/problematic grandfather figure, which did not feel necessary to include.

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