leniverse's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
janegonz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
booksnacks's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
kelz's review against another edition
3.75
Reallllllyyy dragged in the middle but wow the ending was worth it. I have so many questions
tbsluongo's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
cryfest's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Medical content
hollyko's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rorikae's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
'The Memory of Animals' by Claire Fuller is a novel about a woman trying to survive during a pandemic while using her past memories as a buffer.
As a pandemic rages throughout the world, Neffy arrives at an undisclosed hospital in central London to undergo a vaccine trial. When the virus mutates while Neffy is sick and recovering from receiving the vaccine, she wakes up to a dystopia where she and a few of the other trial volunteers are the only ones left in the building. The world outside is in turmoil and their group has decided to stay indoors so as not to risk catching the virus. As the only person who received the vaccine, Neffy is the only one who has the potential to go outside to get more food but she is stuck in her past and scared of the world outside.
Claire Fuller always does an exceptional job at creating lived in characters. It's one of the reasons I come back to her books again and again. This works particularly well in an isolated setting where there are only so many characters interacting with one another. This book was a little hard to read given the pandemic aspects but definitely worth it. I really appreciated the speculative element in the story that allows Neffy to travel back through her memories. This, plus the mysterious H that Neffy is writing letters to throughout the story, added a sense of the wider world that we don't get from the isolated setting. Another exceptional character study. Claire Fuller does not disappoint.
As a pandemic rages throughout the world, Neffy arrives at an undisclosed hospital in central London to undergo a vaccine trial. When the virus mutates while Neffy is sick and recovering from receiving the vaccine, she wakes up to a dystopia where she and a few of the other trial volunteers are the only ones left in the building. The world outside is in turmoil and their group has decided to stay indoors so as not to risk catching the virus. As the only person who received the vaccine, Neffy is the only one who has the potential to go outside to get more food but she is stuck in her past and scared of the world outside.
Claire Fuller always does an exceptional job at creating lived in characters. It's one of the reasons I come back to her books again and again. This works particularly well in an isolated setting where there are only so many characters interacting with one another. This book was a little hard to read given the pandemic aspects but definitely worth it. I really appreciated the speculative element in the story that allows Neffy to travel back through her memories. This, plus the mysterious H that Neffy is writing letters to throughout the story, added a sense of the wider world that we don't get from the isolated setting. Another exceptional character study. Claire Fuller does not disappoint.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual violence