Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

Animal by Lisa Taddeo

20 reviews

daretoread's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

eyes_on_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious 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

2.5

First half of the book had a good pace. You feel intrigued and you want to know the main character better - who is she, what drives her actions and who is Alice. Then, at some point (for me it was when the daughter of her ex lover arrived), the plot started to be go downhill. I was very dissatisfied and disappointed - especially when the beginning of the book was strong and promising. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

igfromero's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

laurenparham's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I was kind of hating this until I got about 80% of the way through at which point I really started to like it, so, sometime that’s how it goes!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

angebrown's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

branca's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

emelymarie's review against another edition

Go to review page

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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

onmalsshelf's review against another edition

Go to review page

Thank you Avid Reader Press and Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I had to DNF this one. I made it to 19%, but for my sanity, I refuse to go any further. I *may* try again later with a physical copy.

This one just isn't working for me. I LOVE Emma Roberts as the narrator, but she cannot make up for how annoying the main character is nor how unlikeable/unreliable she is. Also, she's so emotionless that it caused me to raise red flags immediately.

Also....holy disjointed plot. I am still in a realm of confusion. It looks to me that a lot of the story will be based on the main character dehumanizing the traumas people's lives.

How many times does the c u next Tuesday need to be included in one phone call between a mistress and the wife? Honestly? Not as much as it was.

I didn't read her nonfiction, Three Women, and I probably won't now.

This book will obviously work for some people, but it just isn't working for me.

Please be aware of the trigger warnings that people have finished are sharing.

I haven't come across those points in the story yet, but from what I've seen in reviews and on social media - the they are very triggering.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gemelizabeth's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

cko's review against another edition

Go to review page

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. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings