Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - Animal

The world had set me up to believe that it was women who went mad. It was simply woman’s pain that manifested as madness.¨
¡Wow! Una historia que no aburre en lo absoluto, está llena de giros y misterio, así como una telenovela pero bien hecha [de la mejor manera posible]. Me provocó muchísimas cosas, ansiedad, asco, ternura, tristeza y mucha, mucha rabia. La protagonista vive en constante peligro y nos lleva por un camino fragmentado hacia la búsqueda de cercanía en un mundo que la amenaza y la cosifica.
Para mí está siendo imposible articular todo lo que me movió, es un libro que se vive.
Y si te atreves a leerlo, agárrate bien porque estoy segura que no deja espacio para la indiferencia, lo amas o lo odias.
Mucho trigger warning así que beware.

Content Warnings

mmegantylerr's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

horourke's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

A stunning, raw portrait of female rage. I found myself identifying deeply with Joan and feeling her anger for all the violence she experienced. Had less murder in it than I expected it to based on the book’s description. Surprisingly hopeful message about unconditional love and finding yourself despite your pain.

Content Warnings

bookishpip's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

After reading Three Women, Taddeo became an auto-buy author for me. It was a book so powerfully written that I was convinced that I would adore everything she writes. Sadly, I didn’t love this book, and am struggling to articulate exactly why that is.

Animal was an interesting and visceral novel; a gritty exploration of female trauma and rage. On paper, it’s the sort of thing that I would be hooked by. Unfortunately, I found this to be so fragmented that I kept losing the narrative thread. I suspect that this may be the aim, but half of the time I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. Perhaps this wasn’t helped by the fact that I read this as an audiobook; jumps between past and present with no warning, that may have been better signposted in a physical book, made for a disorienting and disjointed read that was quite confusing.

I do adore Taddeo’s unflinching attitude towards taboo and intimate subject matter, and the fallout of trauma, but overall I found this novel to be a bit heavy-handed and confusing.

I think, if the premise appeals to you, this is one that you need to read and judge for yourself as it’s very much divided opinions!

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