stardust_heidi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.5
What the fuck did I just read?
Graphic: Death of parent, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Alcohol, Gore, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Animal death, Infidelity, and Suicide
kyrad4983's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit
As many other reviews have mentioned - this book is not for the faint of heart. I felt nauseated, dreadful, disgusted - while the taxidermy scenes were difficult to stomach at times it was the raw chicken cooking scenes that broke me. I wanted to scream “WASH YOUR FUCKING HANDS OH MY GOD” Babes - everyone in this narrative is getting salmonella. The text oozes with grime, artfully mirroring the nasty coils of grief entangling this family. However, in the book’s attempts to raise the stakes on the gross, it runs out of steam handling the implications of said actions.Spoiler
Jessa brings up the point that murdering animals is anti-social behavior and neither she nor the narrative returns to this again. The resolution sees Bastien outsourcing his “dirty deeds” but not stopping them, or contending with what that predilection might meanleah_alexandra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a really good read. Not enjoyable, necessarily (way too many descriptions of the taxidermy process for that), but it was well-written and interesting. Arnett has a great talent for description, whether it be of animal dissection or a backyard wedding.
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, and Suicide
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