Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge

4 reviews

lanid's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Alcohol

Minor: Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Grief

laurareads87's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

Strange Beasts of China follows an unnamed narrator who writes about beasts: creatures of various kinds who inhabit the city of Yong'an and who are different in some way but 'otherwise are just the same as humans.'  Each chapter relates the story of one type of beast, while also touching on the relationships between the narrator and other characters, particularly her professor and his assistant.  The whole book has a sort of eerie, mysterious tone, and the writing is beautiful.  The author addresses many themes -- labour exploitation, gendered oppression, urban alienation, grief -- in nuanced ways.  I will say I did like the beginning of the book more than the ending, and the 'twists' at the end felt abrupt and a bit out of place, but overall I really enjoyed this and would happily read more from the same author.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Cannibalism

the_literarylinguist's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Magical realism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Forced institutionalization

ohlhauc's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

This was a disappointing read. 

Each chapter follows a formula of describing a new beast, sharing a story  tinged with mystery involving the narrator and that beast, and then revealing the true nature of the beast that explains the mystery. Each story builds upon each other in the sense that they take place one after each other in the timeline.

I liked the idea of the book and can see why others would like per other reviews, but I was bored. SUPER bored reading this. Even the social commentary fell flat as I felt it was so subtle that it was easy to miss if you weren't expecting it (as I was) and then, the ideas didn't share new perspectives or interpretations on common issues like environmentalism, racism, confinement, state control, etc. It felt basic and the stories themselves lacked a tension or energy. There was always a mystery so that drove the plot forward, but the reveals were predictable, which I'm not against in and of itself, but it felt like the resolutions were too neat and full of coincidences and plot conveniences.

I really only finished this as it was part of a larger project. If the other reviews and the plot sparks your interest, you may like this. But you may also be bored like me so it's hard to say whether or not I'd recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy

State-sanctioned euthanization/murder