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literary_liv's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, and Abandonment
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
_biblio_obscura_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Pros
+ unreliable female narrator
+ chaotic, dangerous road trip of a grandma and dingo Sue across virus-contaminated Australia
+ slow-burn apocalyptic virus which turns eyes pink/red and allows humans to understand animals
+ truly couldn't predict what would happen one moment to the next
+ smooth writing that immerses you from the very beginning
+ focus on the hubris of humans thinking they "understand" animals, the treatment of animals in captivity, and making and breaking family/pack bonds
+ unlikeable female MC that I couldn't help but empathise with
+ reading this was like rubbernecking a slow-speed car accident--awful, bloody, and undeniably fascinating
+ excellent ending (sad, heartbreaking, and lots to think about)
+ could have gone even darker and I would have been even more in love
Neutral
/ Some character endings were left open but oddly seemed to fit the vibe of the ending
Cons
- has cheating (not by MC and off-page) which is an element I hate reading about
+ unreliable female narrator
+ chaotic, dangerous road trip of a grandma and dingo Sue across virus-contaminated Australia
+ slow-burn apocalyptic virus which turns eyes pink/red and allows humans to understand animals
+ truly couldn't predict what would happen one moment to the next
+ smooth writing that immerses you from the very beginning
+ focus on the hubris of humans thinking they "understand" animals, the treatment of animals in captivity, and making and breaking family/pack bonds
+ unlikeable female MC that I couldn't help but empathise with
+ reading this was like rubbernecking a slow-speed car accident--awful, bloody, and undeniably fascinating
+ excellent ending (sad, heartbreaking, and lots to think about)
+ could have gone even darker and I would have been even more in love
Neutral
/ Some character endings were left open but oddly seemed to fit the vibe of the ending
Cons
- has cheating (not by MC and off-page) which is an element I hate reading about
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, and Abandonment
franklyreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Someone recommended this book on one of the panels at Novacon this year (I can't remember which panel), so I picked it up when I was looking for what to spend my next credit on.
I'm not quite sure how to feel about it. I appreciate the overall feel of the story, the way we get a journey from understanding a little to understanding a lotand then having it all broken down again at the end, once she's already integrated . But the execution didn't really gel with me.
My main gripe is with the main character. I did find her likeable in places, and at the very least sympathetic, especially towards the end. She's a bit of a mess, though. I think that was intentional, to highlight the animals being 'cleaner', in a sense. When she's not getting drunk, she's sleeping her way across Australia with a bit of an obsession with mentioning genitals, sometimes in the most inappropriate situations. When she randomly started reminiscing about her ex-husband's dick halfway through a scene, I had to pause to do a double-take.
Speaking of which, this isn't a book I'd recommend listening to in audio, at least not without headphones. The narration is fine, but there's Jean's sex life springing out at you from the left and animals screaming F bombs from the right. Overhearers will be confused and perhaps perturbed.
On another note, even when Jean could theoretically understand the animals quite well, I couldn't. Their words never made that much more sense, although they did make some. It was confusing, but given the theme of the book and everything that happens, I'd say it's intentional confusion. It just makes pretty wild listening. I think as a side-effect, though, the extent to which people went crazy didn't feel that realistic. Even the initial setting felt a little... isolated, somehow. And I know it's Australia, so lots of it is very isolated, but some of the people who popped up at the start of zoo flu seemed to do so completely out of the blue. Perhaps that's just a consequence of me listening rather than reading.
I'm not quite sure how to feel about it. I appreciate the overall feel of the story, the way we get a journey from understanding a little to understanding a lot
My main gripe is with the main character. I did find her likeable in places, and at the very least sympathetic, especially towards the end. She's a bit of a mess, though. I think that was intentional, to highlight the animals being 'cleaner', in a sense. When she's not getting drunk, she's sleeping her way across Australia with a bit of an obsession with mentioning genitals, sometimes in the most inappropriate situations. When she randomly started reminiscing about her ex-husband's dick halfway through a scene, I had to pause to do a double-take.
Speaking of which, this isn't a book I'd recommend listening to in audio, at least not without headphones. The narration is fine, but there's Jean's sex life springing out at you from the left and animals screaming F bombs from the right. Overhearers will be confused and perhaps perturbed.
On another note, even when Jean could theoretically understand the animals quite well, I couldn't. Their words never made that much more sense, although they did make some. It was confusing, but given the theme of the book and everything that happens, I'd say it's intentional confusion. It just makes pretty wild listening. I think as a side-effect, though, the extent to which people went crazy didn't feel that realistic. Even the initial setting felt a little... isolated, somehow. And I know it's Australia, so lots of it is very isolated, but some of the people who popped up at the start of zoo flu seemed to do so completely out of the blue. Perhaps that's just a consequence of me listening rather than reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Sexual content
Minor: Death and Injury/Injury detail
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, Excrement, Vomit, and Kidnapping
Minor: Biphobia
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