Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

30 reviews

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious medium-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

3.0

I was initially drawn to this story by the writing. I loved the unreliable first person, and Rosemary herself frequently points out that her memories are affected by what her family tells her. Mysteries in her childhood were intriguing and I was excited to learn more about what really happened when her siblings disappeared.

To an extent, some of these revelations didn't disappoint. The twist, such as it is, actually comes pretty early in the book - to the point I spent the end almost looking for another one that didn't come. Learning more about Rosemary's past fleshed out her story and definitely helped me connect emotionally. All of her family are interesting characters, all fundamentally flawed and muddling through the best they can.

Unfortunately, for some reason I found myself drifting through the middle section when Rosemary is in college. I understood her connection to Harlow but really didn't care about Harlow as a character. There were moments that would bring me back but something definitely disconnected me from the story. I found my way back by the end (which I really liked), but it seemed slightly disjointed.
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issy_jacob's review against another edition

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mysterious relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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briarivet's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

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jpfortmiller's review against another edition

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

2.75

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onlyapples's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-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? No

5.0

The narrator, Rosemary, breaks the fourth wall. She is smart, sarcastic, and unreliable. She jumps back and forth in time when telling the story. There's a plot twist! Overall, superb writing.
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juffnstuff's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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amelieeee's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-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

2.5

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alexiconic's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-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

i truly can see why it’s a good book. it just wasn’t for me. 

by and large, i did not enjoy reading this book. the twists were underwhelming, and i felt no connection to our main character and narrator. for me, it felt like this was a book too light on plot to be a good action book and too light on character to be a good character study.  it was too light on the science and references to be a non-fiction informed book, but too explicit in its references to be fully narrative. that said, i like the attempt to connect science to human experience. i’m very much about that and i’ve loved this exact combination in the past. it just didn’t work for me in this book. 
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aniglen's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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studiomikarts's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I picked up this book after seeing it on a list of fiction for vegans and noting its good reviews. It ended up being exactly the kind of book I wanted, full of compassion for animals, but not blatantly catering to only a vegan readership. This book is for ANYONE who likes good writing, compelling mystery, and bittersweet endings. It's hard to say more, because it's such a well-written book, I don't want to give anything away. Let it suffice to say I absolutely devoured this story and I think you will, too!
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