Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor

19 reviews

kimothay's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is my first Brandon Taylor read! Short story collections are usually not my favorite because I very much need detailed, direct character development to thoroughly get invested in a story. However, I enjoyed many of the stories in this collection and I’m interested to read more of Taylor’s work. This is definitely a dark read with lots of content/trigger warnings; however, since the main theme of the book is how humans seek connection but resort to violence, it was to be expected. I would have liked to see more character development or addressing of core problems, but overall, I enjoyed the collection. The standout for me was Anne of Cleves. 

Potluck: 4/5

Little Beast: 4/5

Flesh: 3.5/5

As Though That Were Love: 3.5/5

Proctoring: 4/5

Filthy Animals: 3/5

Mass: 2.5/5 

Anne of Cleves: 4.5/5 

Apartment: 3/5 

What Made Them Made You: 4/5

Meat: 3/5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Grief, and Outing

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

xosirenox's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

calliejarvis's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

glorifiedloveletters's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

I liked this a lot, though I admit to some discomfort with some of the violence. And that feels sort of intentional, theme-wise, which is fine. Ymmv

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit

changelingreader_adrian's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, and Death of parent

smolfrog's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, and Sexism

netylu's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Violence, and Suicide attempt

sydapel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this a lot more than 'Real Life', though I'm skeptical if the 'interconnected short story' format worked for me, at least in audiobook form. It makes the story at the core, and thereby the story I was most invested in, feel disjointed and a little less developed in comparison. Despite this, the emotional heart in each of the stories is deeply felt, always centering a craving for intimacy or something past or future that seems too far to grasp. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Excrement, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

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