Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Diecinueve garras y un pájaro oscuro by Agustina Bazterrica

8 reviews

masonwe's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

I really did not like this I almost dnf’d it

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

cozy_soul_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

 "Human evil knows no limits."
 🗡 Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird
 By Agustina Baztterrica 

😨 One Of My Favorite Short Story Collections 😨 

✨️🗡 Mary Carminum ✨️🗡
 👻🚎 The Solitary Ones 👻🚎
 🍒Roberto 
 👽 Anita & Happiness 
 🪴 Soil
 🚌 The Wolf's Breath
 💀 The Dead
 🎫📽 Elena Marie Sandoz 
 🕳 A Hole That Hides A House 

🖤 Mini Review 🖤
 Teicher vs Nietzsche was darkly funny. The story titled Hell had the most poetic and horrific descriptions of the older women and what they do to a bird, this collection will leave you breathless and scared. I found this collection of stories dark and terrifying. There were stories that felt like a dark nightmare full of wild thoughts and warped views of life, the body, and what madness looks like in different people. I also thought it was interesting stories like Soil and The Dead were from POV of children which made them even scarier. 

🚎⚡️My #1 Favorite Short Story was called "The Solitary Ones," all I'll say is the electricity goes out on New Years while a women is on the last train alone... wow my heart was racing and I was glad to be in a well lit highly populated place when I listened to this story. 

💙 My 2nd favorite was a story was revenge, female rage, and was incredibly haunting... a man who targets women is haunted himself while going to a rock concert. The story as called Mary Carminum. Going into this story blind reminded me a lot of the vibes of They Never Learn by Layne Fargo. 

🎫📽 My 3rd Favorite Short Story was about the fictional movie, "Eyes Of Pain" was definitely top 3 best stories as it was about a movie and the last copy being with a man obsessed with the leading lady. 

🖤💀🗡 If you decide to read this series of stories in one haunting experience I highly reccomend experiencing as an audiobook ~ felt like a spooky podcast hidden behind dusty books. 

🚨Please check trigger warnings prior to reading as this short story collection is haunting and discusses adult content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, and Sexual violence

femmeprints's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I loved this short story book. Adiobooking this type of book can be hard because everything is just so fast paced but I really liked it. Most of the stories were deeply dark, mysterious, grotesque, obscure, and horror based. Really good for those who are into those types of stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, and Abortion

priscillarobock's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

minimicropup's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Ruthless, pensive, uneasy. 

So I don't spoil these layered, symbolic, and sometimes bizarre stories, I'm going to reduce them to their most literal base note:
1-An upstairs neighbour commits suicide 

2-A teacher takes an unhealthy interest in a young girl’s bunny 

3-Does a taxi driver with perfect nails hide a dirty secret? 

4-The five destructive final stages of break-up grief 

5-An alien or denial? 

6-A NY transplant worries the city has infiltrated her brain 

7-A child just wants to be close to their parents 

8-The last act before joining the twenty-seven club 

9-The subtly of the wolf 

10-Literary cat vengeance 

11-The danger of neglecting a grieving child planning a trip to the moon 

12-Celebrity obsession takes a toll 

13-Sitting on a bench observing a painting 

14-A family tradition must never be tainted with tears 

15-Circular aspirations 

16-A sick abused teen under a hole in the roof 

17-Torturing a caged bird while feeding those in the park 

18-An examination of stained glass 

19-A double-date to see a band in an undisclosed location

20-Being forced to work late puts a woman in danger

🐺🐕Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags: 

🤔 I think these are meaningful but varied stories, so I doubt they will all be impactful or even understandable for all readers. I enjoyed the ones that had more of a direct plot (6, 15, 19, and 20), but I also didn't mind reading ones with a style or themes I would normally dislike (9, 13, 17, and 18). They're all short so even if you don't resonate with some, it's not a huge time investment. 

👍 Metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, irony, and allegory abound. None of the tales (even those that went right over my head) felt pretentious, weird for the sake of weird, forced edgy, or word salad. It was that I didn't have the education or life experience (thankfully?) to "get" it. Most of the stories were subjective so the reader and their interpretation can be a vital part of the experience. 

🥺 These are not like Tender is the Flesh. Any commonalities are in writing style and the ability of the author to make familiar unsettling feelings emerge from seemingly absurd unfamiliar moments. I would guess that even if you loved Tender is the Flesh, you won't necessarily not enjoy this. But if you enjoyed this, you will likely enjoy Tender is the Flesh too. 

😟 I read these all in one sitting without breaks and felt a little low-key anxious after, but very happy to be back in my world. Check the content warnings and be in the mental space for it going in. 

Mood Reading Match Up: 

• Highly symbolic, layered stories
• Themes and commentary about assumption, retribution, and abuse from (and abuse of) friends, family, acquaintances, strangers, society, and values. 
• Bizarro fiction involving elements of absurdism, satire, and the grotesque
• Deep, dark, confusing, unsettling, cathartic tales

Content Heads-Up: Suicide. Child abuse (sexual; insinuated on page or described via symbolism). Rape. Murder. Suicidal ideation and planning. Death of a spouse. Grief. Alcohol use (self-medication). Body shaming. Body horror (self-mutilation). Termination of pregnancy (involuntary). Animal cruelty and death (bird). Misogyny.

Format: Scribd Digital

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Abortion

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion

catell's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child abuse

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging dark

5.0

For fans of Samanta Schweblin and Mariana Enríquez, Agustina Bazterrica is another Argentine powerhouse of feminist literary horror.  Much like her counterparts, Bazterrica uses horror to talk about violence against women, in many forms.  This well-rounded collection includes twenty unique and memorable stories touching on relationships, desire, Catholicism, control, endings, and more.  These stories are bold and breathtaking, dripping with blood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Pedophilia, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abortion