The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
kandicez's review against another edition
4.0
Jones has a beautiful, sparse and realistic way of writing that comes across as almost sentimental in its brutality. The world is the way it is and we cannot change it. Jones seems to be an expert at pointing this out without spin. In simple terms.
This is about a bereft widower who lives on a lambing farm in Wales. It's also about an outside the law badger baiter who also lives in Wales. Their paths cross, and although I don't know exactly what happens when they do. I know it is not good.
Jones paints the widower's grief so expertly, using small, but well places phrases, much like the brush strokes of a master. He doesn't waste words and yet the grief jumps off the page. I felt his grief as I read. It hurt.
The badger baiter was disgusting. He was doing what he knew to get along, but, OH! how awful it was. I had never heard of badger baiting, but there were dog and cock fights where I grew up and this was about the same. Sad, cruel and awful. Jones, in a very observant way, also paints the baiter.
The two meet one night and we the readers are left to wonder what exactly happened. Jones' writing reminds me so much of [a:Annie Proulx|1262010|Annie Proulx|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219720509p2/1262010.jpg]. Not everyone has a happy life, and there are seldom happy endings. It's not sentimental, it's true.
This is about a bereft widower who lives on a lambing farm in Wales. It's also about an outside the law badger baiter who also lives in Wales. Their paths cross, and although I don't know exactly what happens when they do. I know it is not good.
Jones paints the widower's grief so expertly, using small, but well places phrases, much like the brush strokes of a master. He doesn't waste words and yet the grief jumps off the page. I felt his grief as I read. It hurt.
The badger baiter was disgusting. He was doing what he knew to get along, but, OH! how awful it was. I had never heard of badger baiting, but there were dog and cock fights where I grew up and this was about the same. Sad, cruel and awful. Jones, in a very observant way, also paints the baiter.
The two meet one night and we the readers are left to wonder what exactly happened. Jones' writing reminds me so much of [a:Annie Proulx|1262010|Annie Proulx|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219720509p2/1262010.jpg]. Not everyone has a happy life, and there are seldom happy endings. It's not sentimental, it's true.
600bars's review against another edition
4.0
This was depressing as hell! A fitting thing to read on a dreary rainy day. I cried a few times regarding the farmer's grief. Reading was a very sensual experience, not in a sexy way at all but lots of very visceral smells and noises. Lots of heads being smashed in, lots of mist and steam. I am thankful to the state fair letting me witness livestock births and my childhood memories of my grandpas farm giving me a blueprint for all the sights sounds and smells. I liked the simple way it was written. Reminded me of The Road. Very cold masculine vibes but had enough feelings to make me teary and stay interested in the main character.
I was really confused as to what the big man was up to for like 70% of the book. I kept googling badger culling and I couldn't understand why what he was doing was so secretive. I was horrified when I found out what he does w the badgers. I didn't quite understand the significance of The Shard. Was the big man being booked on animal cruelty charges? Why was he secretive about having a gun? I guess to me as an american it seems very normal and appropriate for someone to have a gun in a rural setting. Did Daniel die or just get knocked out? Was the awful lamb birth a two headed lamb or a set of twins where one was malformed? I am a bit fuzzy on these details. But overall I thought this was a great book, you just have to be in the mood to stomach lots of grief, brutality, blood, afterbirth, and animal cruelty
I was really confused as to what the big man was up to for like 70% of the book. I kept googling badger culling and I couldn't understand why what he was doing was so secretive. I was horrified when I found out what he does w the badgers. I didn't quite understand the significance of The Shard. Was the big man being booked on animal cruelty charges? Why was he secretive about having a gun? I guess to me as an american it seems very normal and appropriate for someone to have a gun in a rural setting. Did Daniel die or just get knocked out? Was the awful lamb birth a two headed lamb or a set of twins where one was malformed? I am a bit fuzzy on these details. But overall I thought this was a great book, you just have to be in the mood to stomach lots of grief, brutality, blood, afterbirth, and animal cruelty
the_s_lightacademic's review against another edition
2.0
I guess I just don't understand what everyone else does. This seemed.... almost pointless to me. There was literally NO plot, we just followed the two characters as they lived their life. It was definitely very... not descriptive necessarily, but I could imagine the setting very well. So that was nice. It just didn't seem like anything was happening and I ended up being confused most of the time. Just really wasn't for me.
Though I will say that despite it not capturing my attention fully, I also found myself not able to DNF. I found myself wanting to finish it. Whether it was because it's such a short book or something about the story actually did speak to me, I'm not sure. But there's that.
Though I will say that despite it not capturing my attention fully, I also found myself not able to DNF. I found myself wanting to finish it. Whether it was because it's such a short book or something about the story actually did speak to me, I'm not sure. But there's that.
fern17's review against another edition
dark
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
1.5
chloerose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
rcampbell's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
ash_acoustic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
A quick read and hard to put down. Will need to reread at some point to better understand the unwritten story. Brutal in parts, so not recommended for everyone.Â
reubenlb's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
short and tense - an analysis of dealing with loss amongst visceral violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, Death, Blood, Confinement, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Miscarriage
andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
This novella set in the Welsh farming countryside is a compelling read. it captures vividly the hard life of a sheep farmer and is at times a gruelling read in its description of day to day life, however the farmer Daniel is at the same time struggling to cope with a loss which is made more poignant as we learn that Daniel is a silent man who has given himself to his farm and a woman who is his life's love, fellow worker and friend, the writer beautifully in very few words creates that emotion and from the first few paragraphs we are drawn to Daniel. However the contrasting tale is about an unnamed character , a big man, who we know has served a prison sentence for a crime but who is graphically involved in badger baiting. The book contains hard to read descriptions of him digging up a badger sett with his dogs and various companions and a visceral scene of a badger baiting arena. The contrast is evident in the two men who only meet twice and on the first time the 'big man' thinking Daniel weak because of the effect of his loss upon him. I raced through this book as it is very short but an excellent read but I suspect that it is deserving of a reread at some point as the descriptive writing also merits closer attention. I'd really recommend it even though at times tough going in terms of description of nature and man at it's darkest.
mimosaeyes's review against another edition
4.0
A raw and brutal read. Not a word wasted, and each scene able to snatch your breath away with either its violence (sometimes graphic) or its poignance (related to grief).