Scan barcode
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
funktious's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is one of those books that is objectively very good and ground breaking, but that I found very difficult to enjoy.
The pandemic that allows humans to understand animal communication is brilliantly done; no fluffy Disney stories here, it's all very visceral and dirty and violent. The way McKay writes the animals 'speech' is fantastic - it's not just words but smell and body language and still hard for us to understand, so I'm not surprised that so many people went crazy.
I don't think there was a single sympathetic character, other than Kimberley. While I'm all for older, female protagonists, I just really struggled with Jean and her substance abuse - I just wanted to reach into the book and slap the whisky out of her hand! But she deals with the pandemic a lot better than many others, understanding the animals more easily, perhaps because of her own issues.
Ultimately I think I get that we're supposed to see how humans are just animals too, and despite our supposed 'sophistication' we're generally no better than the species we think are below us. But that's achieved by depicting everything in a very coarse, visceral way (so much terrible sex, or attempts at sex) that I found difficult to enjoy.
Sue, though, was fantastic - I really enjoyed the dingo characterisation and Sue is a feisty and fun protagonist.
The pandemic that allows humans to understand animal communication is brilliantly done; no fluffy Disney stories here, it's all very visceral and dirty and violent. The way McKay writes the animals 'speech' is fantastic - it's not just words but smell and body language and still hard for us to understand, so I'm not surprised that so many people went crazy.
I don't think there was a single sympathetic character, other than Kimberley. While I'm all for older, female protagonists, I just really struggled with Jean and her substance abuse - I just wanted to reach into the book and slap the whisky out of her hand! But she deals with the pandemic a lot better than many others, understanding the animals more easily, perhaps because of her own issues.
Ultimately I think I get that we're supposed to see how humans are just animals too, and despite our supposed 'sophistication' we're generally no better than the species we think are below us. But that's achieved by depicting everything in a very coarse, visceral way (so much terrible sex, or attempts at sex) that I found difficult to enjoy.
Sue, though, was fantastic - I really enjoyed the dingo characterisation and Sue is a feisty and fun protagonist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Pandemic/Epidemic
wholesomeghost's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
3.0
The writing is really good and I will definitely read this author’s other work. But there are animal deaths and is pretty bleak. I really didn’t like the protagonist. It just wasn’t for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
More...