Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor

3 reviews

annmariebrok's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Outing

marjoleinvanderspoel's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Brandon Taylor continues to prove his immense skill with this collection of short stories unlike any other such collection I've read. With this collection Taylor proves his breadth as a story teller by branching into many different kinds of lives, whilst maintaining an atmosphere that keeps the collection coherent. The incorporation of an overarching or recurring story about Lionel, Charles and Sophie was cleverly done, and the story itself was wonderfully complex and compelling, reminiscent of Real Life in it's dealing with mental health and academia, something that I appreciated enormously in his debut. In addition I greatly enjoyed "as if that were love" and perhaps my favourite story, "anne of cleves". I only wish we would have gotten a story from Sophie's perspective as I found her to be a much more interesting character than Charles. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Misogyny, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

mmatti300's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book was so close to a five star in a lot of ways, except for the fact that I actually hated the central story. I found Lionel, Charles, and Sophie’s story to be way too similar to real life and with more of the subtle abuses (to the point where it was so subtle that others may not have seen their relationship as inherently abusive). However, Anne of Cleves, What Made them Made You, and Mass were all 5 stars for me, and if Lionel and Charles had been more like those this would have been a 5 star collection. I also was not expecting it to have a central story like it did. Instead of a short story collection, this is more of a novella with short stories that branch off of it attached. What Brandon Taylor does do really well, and shows in this book, is offering a glimpse into real life and the betrayal and filthy nature of real people. And I really appreciated how, because each story was like a snapshot of one persons life, it ended in a vague spot — open to countless questions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Outing, and Sexual harassment