sunfishe's review against another edition
im not gonna put a star rating for now because i am hugely conflicted about this book. what started as a book that was light-hearted and conversational ended in a confusing mess of violence. the last 13 questions of the book brought the whole thing to quite a head.
conceptually i love this book, but I am very conflicted about the character of the taxidermist -- which I think is exactly the authors point
i love the words about faith being like being in the sun, and Virgil having God days and Godless days.
conceptually i love this book, but I am very conflicted about the character of the taxidermist -- which I think is exactly the authors point
i love the words about faith being like being in the sun, and Virgil having God days and Godless days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Suicide, Physical abuse, Murder, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Genocide, Antisemitism, and Torture
pirate's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Genocide, Death, Child death, and Antisemitism
emilyspurr's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, War, Grief, and Death
doublydaring's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
If you are Jewish do not read this book
I have trouble finishing this book because it made me feel sick but I have to for school. When I finally finished I was brought to tears not of sadness or joy but of disgust. The contents of this book were disturbing to me. In the Q&A Martel describes being fascinated by the Holocaust. One is fascinated by a carousel or an enchanting piece of music I simply couldn't take the language. My main problem with this book is the comparison abused animals wiped out by Extinction. The Jews in the Holocaust were not killed by the careless habitat destroying greed of humanity they were killed by a deliberate hateful action. You might bring up Maus as a Counterpoint in Maus the Jews are portrayed as mice there's one very important difference. In Maus the Germans are cats the English are pigs the French are frogs, everyone is an animal. In Beatrice and Virgil, the Jews are animals and the Germans are people. Another defense to be made for this book is that Henry doesn't agree with the views of the taxidermist, but it's not a question of agreeing or disagreeing this book is a portrayal of obscene gratuitous pornographic antisemitic violence.
I have trouble finishing this book because it made me feel sick but I have to for school. When I finally finished I was brought to tears not of sadness or joy but of disgust. The contents of this book were disturbing to me. In the Q&A Martel describes being fascinated by the Holocaust. One is fascinated by a carousel or an enchanting piece of music I simply couldn't take the language. My main problem with this book is the comparison abused animals wiped out by Extinction. The Jews in the Holocaust were not killed by the careless habitat destroying greed of humanity they were killed by a deliberate hateful action. You might bring up Maus as a Counterpoint in Maus the Jews are portrayed as mice there's one very important difference. In Maus the Germans are cats the English are pigs the French are frogs, everyone is an animal. In Beatrice and Virgil, the Jews are animals and the Germans are people. Another defense to be made for this book is that Henry doesn't agree with the views of the taxidermist, but it's not a question of agreeing or disagreeing this book is a portrayal of obscene gratuitous pornographic antisemitic violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Violence
lanid's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Death
Minor: Suicide, Genocide, and Animal cruelty
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