Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Animal

After reading Three Women, Taddeo became an auto-buy author for me. It was a book so powerfully written that I was convinced that I would adore everything she writes. Sadly, I didn’t love this book, and am struggling to articulate exactly why that is.

Animal was an interesting and visceral novel; a gritty exploration of female trauma and rage. On paper, it’s the sort of thing that I would be hooked by. Unfortunately, I found this to be so fragmented that I kept losing the narrative thread. I suspect that this may be the aim, but half of the time I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. Perhaps this wasn’t helped by the fact that I read this as an audiobook; jumps between past and present with no warning, that may have been better signposted in a physical book, made for a disorienting and disjointed read that was quite confusing.

I do adore Taddeo’s unflinching attitude towards taboo and intimate subject matter, and the fallout of trauma, but overall I found this novel to be a bit heavy-handed and confusing.

I think, if the premise appeals to you, this is one that you need to read and judge for yourself as it’s very much divided opinions!

Content Warnings

jmcampbell57's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

lilysaddler's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

Content Warnings

savazelena's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Content Warnings

ramalam98's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Horrendous and yet so fucking relatable. Every other page had an amazing quote about female rage and how shit men are. I loved it. The main character is both enviable and pitiable and I loved her.

Check the trigger warnings jfc

The message of men and their privilege obliviously destroying the lives of countless women around them, absolutely incredible.

Spoiler

I was however hoping for more pay-off at the end and was expecting a killing spree to be honest. But overall I found this book satisfying and frustrating and so so true.

Content Warnings