jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review
2.0
This was a bit of a frustrating read for me - it started SO strong with just the right level of vagueness and short chapters that kept me turning those pages quickly. The story is set in Australia in the near future and follows a mother’s perspective as she embarks on a medically assisted pregnancy in a study of sorts. The novel is structured in chapters that follow the weeks in the pregnancy, and then move into years after the birth. While it moves in a very literal sense with the pregnancy and then life of the child, it felt like it became a factual chronicling of growth and other milestones rather than a story or even a character study. I also just felt like it was on the precipice of building into something by way of a plot twist for a large portion of the narrative, and that just never delivered for me - the vague nature of the ending also help this, so all in all not one I would recommend personally.
keepingupwiththepenguins's review
4.0
Fauna is perhaps best classified as “eco-gothic speculative fiction”, but that’s a bit of a tongue twister. It falls somewhere between feminist dystopias, like The Handmaid’s Tale, and contemporary Australian climate fiction, like Dyschronia. In it, Donna Mazza imagines a too-near speculative future where a company, Lifeblood(R), offers huge incentives for women to join an experimental genetics program splicing non-human DNA into embryos for in-vitro fertilisation. My thanks to Allen & Unwin for sending me a review copy!
I can’t tell you too much about the plot of Fauna, because – as is the way with speculative novels – most of the impact comes from the slow unveiling of the truth. What I will say is that it grapples with big themes (the nature of personhood, motherhood, grief, yearning, and reckoning with one’s deal with the devil), and it will surely spark a lot of debate at book club!
An extended review of Fauna is available to subscribers at Keeping Up With The Penguins.
I can’t tell you too much about the plot of Fauna, because – as is the way with speculative novels – most of the impact comes from the slow unveiling of the truth. What I will say is that it grapples with big themes (the nature of personhood, motherhood, grief, yearning, and reckoning with one’s deal with the devil), and it will surely spark a lot of debate at book club!
An extended review of Fauna is available to subscribers at Keeping Up With The Penguins.
aksel_dadswell's review
4.0
The economy of Mazza’s prose belies the narrative’s – or more particularly its characters’ – icebergian depth. Every word feels carefully chosen and painstakingly placed, every page a blistering rainfall of ideas and imagery made up of individual drops all falling towards the same purpose, narrative- and gravity-driven wonder. This is a beautifully written book, and the language flows in a consistent and engaging tone.
Stacey is a character very much in her own head, but Mazza is canny enough to constantly engage and relate her protagonist to aspects of the world around her, the human often juxtaposed with the environment. Animals and wildlife are always close by, playing a significant role in the characters’ lives and contributing to the novel’s thematic core. Little details add weight to the story’s mood and accentuate Mazza’s crystalline imagery. In one scene, tension “hangs in a silent wake that seems to hiss”, which is evocative by itself, until “a languid fly crawls across a convex mango skin scraped clean by small teeth.” Fauna’s world feels lived-in and tactile, constantly responding to and being shaped by its characters. Stacey’s point of view is cleverly taken advantage of, and there’s a sly disparity between her dialogue and her inner thoughts, in the spaces between people, what’s spoken and unspoken. Mazza teases out this dichotomy with the glacial weight of all the complicated emotions and tensions and knots that lie between two people in a long-term relationship, their words often inadequate at articulating the vastness and complexity of their emotions.
For my full review check out my blog at https://larvalforms.wordpress.com/
Stacey is a character very much in her own head, but Mazza is canny enough to constantly engage and relate her protagonist to aspects of the world around her, the human often juxtaposed with the environment. Animals and wildlife are always close by, playing a significant role in the characters’ lives and contributing to the novel’s thematic core. Little details add weight to the story’s mood and accentuate Mazza’s crystalline imagery. In one scene, tension “hangs in a silent wake that seems to hiss”, which is evocative by itself, until “a languid fly crawls across a convex mango skin scraped clean by small teeth.” Fauna’s world feels lived-in and tactile, constantly responding to and being shaped by its characters. Stacey’s point of view is cleverly taken advantage of, and there’s a sly disparity between her dialogue and her inner thoughts, in the spaces between people, what’s spoken and unspoken. Mazza teases out this dichotomy with the glacial weight of all the complicated emotions and tensions and knots that lie between two people in a long-term relationship, their words often inadequate at articulating the vastness and complexity of their emotions.
For my full review check out my blog at https://larvalforms.wordpress.com/
girlboss_gina's review
4.0
This was a really interesting book to read. I had to read it for one of my University classes and I honestly thought that is was horrible at the beginning, a slog.
But the more I read, the more I fell in love with the book. I definitely recommend it.
But the more I read, the more I fell in love with the book. I definitely recommend it.
polyreader's review
2.0
I may need time to put my thoughts into coherent sentences as it’s late.
*edit* here's my review.
OK. This book is such a difficult one to review. On one hand, I love books that talk about motherhood in frank and vulnerable ways, and this book did that well. However, I have too many grievances with the book as a whole for that element to make up for the parts in which it lacked.
Firstly, this is such an interesting and promising concept to write about and I commend the author for taking it in her stride. Being based in Australia made for another element of enjoyment for me. There were many descriptive passages about Australian bird-life (fauna), landscape and flora. But it all just felt a bit lost.
I really wish there had been stronger character development – the first section of the book (the protagonists pregnancy) felt like a completely different writing style to the latter half of the book. At first it felt plot driven and I assumed we didn't need much character development due to wherever the story was headed... but unfortunately it didn't really go very far. Was I reading a thriller? A sci-fi? A family drama? The latter felt more descriptive and lyrical (as mentioned above) which proves the writer can put together a beautiful story... but I don't think this book demonstrates her ability very well.
To sum it up – this is a family drama, which at first follows the protagonists (sci-fi/unlikely) IVF experience, and then the life of the family once that baby is born. My major grievances were with the plot, the lack of character development, and the length. It could have been much more enjoyable at half the size (emphasising the writers strengths).
I'll definitely read Mazza's next book, because I can see how well she can write, but this was a miss for me.
Also - I reeeeally hate writing negative reviews. People that write books are incredible and I take my hat off to everyone who has accomplished that.
**Anyone who is after a great sci-fi/dystopian book about pregnancy/motherhood and or IVF - read XX by Angela Chadwick.
*edit* here's my review.
OK. This book is such a difficult one to review. On one hand, I love books that talk about motherhood in frank and vulnerable ways, and this book did that well. However, I have too many grievances with the book as a whole for that element to make up for the parts in which it lacked.
Firstly, this is such an interesting and promising concept to write about and I commend the author for taking it in her stride. Being based in Australia made for another element of enjoyment for me. There were many descriptive passages about Australian bird-life (fauna), landscape and flora. But it all just felt a bit lost.
I really wish there had been stronger character development – the first section of the book (the protagonists pregnancy) felt like a completely different writing style to the latter half of the book. At first it felt plot driven and I assumed we didn't need much character development due to wherever the story was headed... but unfortunately it didn't really go very far. Was I reading a thriller? A sci-fi? A family drama? The latter felt more descriptive and lyrical (as mentioned above) which proves the writer can put together a beautiful story... but I don't think this book demonstrates her ability very well.
To sum it up – this is a family drama, which at first follows the protagonists (sci-fi/unlikely) IVF experience, and then the life of the family once that baby is born. My major grievances were with the plot, the lack of character development, and the length. It could have been much more enjoyable at half the size (emphasising the writers strengths).
I'll definitely read Mazza's next book, because I can see how well she can write, but this was a miss for me.
Also - I reeeeally hate writing negative reviews. People that write books are incredible and I take my hat off to everyone who has accomplished that.
**Anyone who is after a great sci-fi/dystopian book about pregnancy/motherhood and or IVF - read XX by Angela Chadwick.
rynkem's review against another edition
5.0
Gripping emotional saga set in the near future …
While it involves DNA technology … the real force of the novel for me, was the depiction of the interpersonal relationships and undercurrents of a family in crisis …
Really enjoyed the novel being set in Western Australian south west … as I was transported so easily to the locations and settings described.
While it involves DNA technology … the real force of the novel for me, was the depiction of the interpersonal relationships and undercurrents of a family in crisis …
Really enjoyed the novel being set in Western Australian south west … as I was transported so easily to the locations and settings described.